Mario Pecoraro, CEO of Alliance Risk Group, has just issued a new whitepaper which answers the question, “What searches should be conducted to be compliant with the new FINRA background check rule effective July 1, 2015?” Download the .pdf here.
Here is an excerpt:

The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has approved the FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Association) rule which requires firms to conduct more due-diligence based background investigations on applicants seeking registration. The question that remains, however, is what specific searches must be conducted, and what does FINRA deem to be the “standard”. What is the goal of such a process? According to FINRA, its purpose is to provide clarity concerning what a firm must do to provide “reasonable efforts” aka due-diligence prior to hiring an investment advisor.