Rhonda Davis

Rhonda Davis is the Managing Director of the Compliance Practice at Bates Group. She joined Bates Group in 2021 and is based in Houston, Texas. Prior to joining Bates, she founded Cobia Compliance LLC in 2009 to provide regulatory and consulting services to broker-dealers and investment advisers and specializes in AML independent testing, FINRA 3120 testing, and annual Rule 206(4)-7 testing for investment advisers. Rhonda also assists with FINRA Membership Applications, Continuing Membership Applications, and with winding down operations. Other services she provides include assisting with FINRA and SEC examinations and examination responses, litigation support for broker-dealers and investment advisers, and providing independent AML audit services to money service businesses (MSBs) and credit unions.

Rhonda has spent nearly 25 years serving in both legal and compliance roles in the securities industry. She began her career in the securities industry as in-house counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for a boutique bond firm in Jackson, Mississippi. She then served as Legal Officer for a national bank where she was also responsible for compliance for the bank’s investment adviser, mutual funds, and trust company. In 2005, she moved to Houston where she was Chief Compliance Officer for an SEC-registered investment advisory firm and a senior compliance officer for the firm’s affiliated broker-dealer.

Rhonda holds both the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) as well as the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designations. She is also licensed to practice law in both Mississippi and Texas but is not currently practicing. She is an active member of the Houston Fraud Association and serves on the Board of Our Daughters House, a home for girls who age out of foster care.