If you are an investment adviser registered or required to be registered under RCW 21.20.040, it will constitute an "act, practice, or course of business" which operates or would operate as a fraud within the meaning of RCW 21.20.020 for you to have custody of client funds or securities unless:

(1) You notify the director. You notify the director promptly on Form ADV that you have or may have custody;

(2) A qualified custodian maintains your clients' funds and securities.

(a) A qualified custodian maintains your clients' funds and securities:

(i) In a separate account for each client under that client's name; or

(ii) In accounts that contain only your clients' funds and securities, under either your name as agent or trustee for the clients or, in the case of a pooled investment vehicle that you manage, in the name of the pooled investment vehicle; and

(b) You maintain a separate record for each such account which shows the name and address of the qualified custodian where such account is maintained, the dates and amounts of deposits in and withdrawals from such account, and the exact amount of each client's beneficial interest in such account;

(3) You notify clients of the identity of the qualified custodian. If you open an account with a qualified custodian on your client's behalf, either under the client's name, under your name as agent, or under the name of a pooled investment vehicle, you notify the client in writing of the qualified custodian's name, address, and the manner in which the funds or securities are maintained, promptly when the account is opened and following any changes to this information. If both you and the qualified custodian send account statements to a client to which you are required to provide this notice, you must include in the notification provided to that client and in any subsequent account statement you send that client a statement urging the client to compare the account statements from the custodian with those from you;

(4) Either you or a qualified custodian sends account statements to your clients. You or a qualified custodian sends your clients account statements subject to the following requirements:

(a) Requirements if qualified custodian sends account statements. If you do not send account statements to your clients, you have a reasonable basis for believing, after due inquiry, that the qualified custodian sends an account statement, at least quarterly, to each of your clients for which the qualified custodian maintains funds or securities, within a reasonable period of time after the end of the statement period, identifying the amount of funds and of each security in the account at the end of the period and setting forth all transactions in the account during that period;

(b) Requirements if you send account statements. If the qualified custodian does not send account statements to your clients:

(i) You send account statements, at least quarterly, to each of your clients for whom you have custody of funds or securities, within a reasonable period of time after the end of the statement period, identifying the amount of funds and of each security of which you have custody at the end of the period and setting forth all transactions during that period;

(ii) An independent certified public accountant verifies all client funds and securities by actual examination at least once during each calendar year, pursuant to a written agreement between you and the accountant, at a time that is chosen by the accountant without prior notice or announcement to you and that is irregular from year to year. The written agreement must provide for the first examination to occur within six months of becoming subject to this subsection, except that, if the investment adviser maintains client funds or securities pursuant to this rule as a qualified custodian, the agreement must provide for the first examination to occur no later than six months after obtaining the internal control report. The written agreement must require the accountant to:

(A) File a certificate on Form ADV-E with the director within one hundred twenty days of the time chosen by the independent certified public accountant to conduct the examination, stating that it has examined the funds and securities and describing the nature and extent of the examination; and

(B) Notify the director within one business day of the finding of any material discrepancies during the course of the examination, by means of a facsimile transmission or electronic mail, followed by first class mail, directed to the attention of the director; and

(C) File within four business days of the resignation or dismissal from, or other termination of, the engagement, or removing itself or being removed from consideration for being reappointed, Form ADV-E accompanied by a statement that includes:

(I) The date of such resignation, dismissal, removal, or other termination, and the name, address, and contact information of the independent certified public accountant; and

(II) An explanation of any problems relating to examination scope or procedure that contributed to such resignation, dismissal, removal, or other termination;

(5) A client may designate an independent representative to receive account statements. A client may designate an independent representative to receive, on his or her behalf, notices and account statements as required under subsections (3) and (4) of this section. You must not recommend persons to serve as independent representatives;

(6) Investment advisers acting as qualified custodians. If you are an investment adviser that maintains, or if you have custody because a related person maintains, client funds or securities pursuant to this rule as a qualified custodian in connection with the advisory services you provide to clients:

(a) You must enter into an agreement with an independent certified public accountant to conduct an examination to verify client funds and securities as otherwise provided in subsection (4)(b)(ii) of this section. The independent certified public accountant you retain must be registered with, and subject to regular inspection as of the commencement of the professional engagement period, and as of each calendar year-end, by, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in accordance with its rules; and

(b) You must obtain, or receive from your related person, within six months of becoming subject to this subsection (6) and thereafter no less frequently than once each calendar year a written internal control report prepared by an independent certified public accountant subject to the following:

(i) The internal control report must include an opinion of an independent certified public accountant as to whether controls have been placed in operation as of a specific date, and are suitably designed and are operating effectively to meet control objectives relating to custodial services, including safeguarding of funds and securities held by either you or a related person on behalf of your clients;

(ii) The independent certified public accountant must verify that the funds and securities are reconciled to a custodian other than you or your related person; and

(iii) The independent certified public accountant must be registered with, and subject to regular inspection as of the commencement of the professional engagement period, and as of each calendar year-end, by, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in accordance with its rules.