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Why More Firms Are Turning to Outsourced Fund and Adviser CCOs: Burnout, Bandwidth, and the New Reality of Modern Compliance
Cory Gossard | 27 January 2026
Across the investment management industry, compliance officers are feeling the strain. A recent Ignites article, More Work, Same Staff Count: CCOs Face Burnout, highlighted what many firms already know firsthand: compliance workloads are skyrocketing while staffing levels remain flat. As firms expand into complex strategies, AI-enabled tools, private markets, and new distribution models, the demands placed on Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) have never been higher.
These pressures are not cyclical; they are structural. Despite the increasing complexity, many organizations continue to operate with lean or even single-person compliance teams, creating an environment where burnout is almost inevitable. And many firms find themselves increasingly exposed to operational strain, knowledge concentration, and continuity risk.
Some of the challenges highlighted include:
Rising regulatory expectations across marketing, cybersecurity, ESG, operations, and data privacy
Technology transitions that require specialized expertise
A shrinking pipeline of experienced compliance professionals
Compensation pressures and limited career mobility
Organizational isolation — many CCOs operate as a “team of one”
Limited succession planning for senior compliance leadership roles
Increased SEC scrutiny expected in 2026
This combination of more work with the same, or shrinking, staffing levels is not sustainable. And it’s exactly why many firms, especially fund complexes, are exploring an increasingly strategic approach: outsourcing the Fund CCO role.
At PINE Advisor Solutions, we see these challenges every day. And we also see how the outsourced model can help firms break the cycle of burnout, operational strain, and staffing gaps.
Across the industry, firms explore outsourced CCO arrangements as part of a broader effort to improve resilience, continuity, and governance oversight.
Here are the key advantages:
Hiring a full-time Fund CCO — particularly one with the specialized experience required for ‘40 Act oversight can cost firms significantly, before accounting for:
Benefits
Retention incentives
Continuing education
Turnover risk
An outsourced Fund CCO solution gives firms access to that same level of expertise at a lower and more predictable cost with an improved value, without long-term fixed compensation commitments.
One of the biggest risks is the “team of one” problem. When a single person owns everything — from institutional knowledge to exams and training, as well as controls, operational oversight, policies, and more — there’s a single point of failure.
This risk is magnified when there is no defined succession plan for the CCO role. Unexpected departures — often occurring during exams, remediation efforts, or periods of strategic change — can leave firms scrambling to maintain continuity. Outsourced models eliminate this risk by giving firms:
A team-based compliance structure
Built-in redundancy
Backup coverage for exams, reviews, and reporting
A consistent resource even during turnover or leave
Firms are no longer relying on a single individual, and the compliance program is no longer at risk if someone leaves unexpectedly.
After more than two decades of the Fund CCO role being required, many senior compliance professionals are approaching retirement or exiting the industry altogether. There is a growing shortage of experienced compliance professionals, especially at senior levels. Many early-career professionals leave the field before they build the depth needed to lead a modern compliance program.
Outsourced models help address this by providing:
Access to seasoned compliance professionals
Deep specialization across fund, adviser, and product structures
Expertise spanning testing, surveillance, governance, regulatory exams, marketing review, risk, and more
The ability to deploy resources during high-demand periods, such as regulatory exams or new product launches
Exposure to best practices across multiple fund complexes, services providers, and other stakeholders
For many firms, this model gives firms enterprise-level compliance support, even if their internal team has a limited capacity.
Most firms maintain succession plans for senior executives, portfolio managers, and key operational roles. Far fewer have formal plans in place for the CCO position — despite its central role in regulatory oversight, risk management, and governance.
As regulatory expectations increasingly assume continuity and institutional resilience, boards and management teams are beginning to view compliance succession planning as an important risk-management consideration.
In this context, outsourced CCO models can support planned leadership transitions, preserve institutional knowledge, and strengthen long-term business continuity.
Firms are rethinking whether traditional compliance staffing models remain fit for purpose. The compliance demands of 2026 and beyond aren’t slowing down. With increasingly complex products coming to market, new technology, and more regulatory scrutiny on the horizon, relying on a single internal CCO to “do it all” is an almost impossible ask.
An outsourced Fund CCO solution represents one way that organizations are addressing these challenges, by opting for a sustainable alternative built for modern regulatory expectations.
At PINE Advisor Solutions, we help fund boards and management teams:
Strengthen compliance oversight
Reduce operational risk
Improve continuity and resilience
Support scalability
Lower cost without lowering standards
And most importantly, we help prevent the burnout that is becoming far too common in our industry.
Contact us to learn more about how PINE can help your organization stay ahead in the new reality of modern compliance.
These pressures are not cyclical; they are structural. Despite the increasing complexity, many organizations continue to operate with lean or even single-person compliance teams, creating an environment where burnout is almost inevitable. And many firms find themselves increasingly exposed to operational strain, knowledge concentration, and continuity risk.
Some of the challenges highlighted include:
Rising regulatory expectations across marketing, cybersecurity, ESG, operations, and data privacy
Technology transitions that require specialized expertise
A shrinking pipeline of experienced compliance professionals
Compensation pressures and limited career mobility
Organizational isolation — many CCOs operate as a “team of one”
Limited succession planning for senior compliance leadership roles
Increased SEC scrutiny expected in 2026
This combination of more work with the same, or shrinking, staffing levels is not sustainable. And it’s exactly why many firms, especially fund complexes, are exploring an increasingly strategic approach: outsourcing the Fund CCO role.
The Benefits of an Outsourced Fund CCO
At PINE Advisor Solutions, we see these challenges every day. And we also see how the outsourced model can help firms break the cycle of burnout, operational strain, and staffing gaps.
Across the industry, firms explore outsourced CCO arrangements as part of a broader effort to improve resilience, continuity, and governance oversight.
Here are the key advantages:
1. Lower and More Predictable Cost
Hiring a full-time Fund CCO — particularly one with the specialized experience required for ‘40 Act oversight can cost firms significantly, before accounting for:
Benefits
Retention incentives
Continuing education
Turnover risk
An outsourced Fund CCO solution gives firms access to that same level of expertise at a lower and more predictable cost with an improved value, without long-term fixed compensation commitments.
2. Eliminating Single Point of Failure Risk
One of the biggest risks is the “team of one” problem. When a single person owns everything — from institutional knowledge to exams and training, as well as controls, operational oversight, policies, and more — there’s a single point of failure.
This risk is magnified when there is no defined succession plan for the CCO role. Unexpected departures — often occurring during exams, remediation efforts, or periods of strategic change — can leave firms scrambling to maintain continuity. Outsourced models eliminate this risk by giving firms:
A team-based compliance structure
Built-in redundancy
Backup coverage for exams, reviews, and reporting
A consistent resource even during turnover or leave
Firms are no longer relying on a single individual, and the compliance program is no longer at risk if someone leaves unexpectedly.
3. Access to an Experienced, Scalable Compliance Team
After more than two decades of the Fund CCO role being required, many senior compliance professionals are approaching retirement or exiting the industry altogether. There is a growing shortage of experienced compliance professionals, especially at senior levels. Many early-career professionals leave the field before they build the depth needed to lead a modern compliance program.
Outsourced models help address this by providing:
Access to seasoned compliance professionals
Deep specialization across fund, adviser, and product structures
Expertise spanning testing, surveillance, governance, regulatory exams, marketing review, risk, and more
The ability to deploy resources during high-demand periods, such as regulatory exams or new product launches
Exposure to best practices across multiple fund complexes, services providers, and other stakeholders
For many firms, this model gives firms enterprise-level compliance support, even if their internal team has a limited capacity.
Compliance Succession Planning is a Board-Level Concern
Most firms maintain succession plans for senior executives, portfolio managers, and key operational roles. Far fewer have formal plans in place for the CCO position — despite its central role in regulatory oversight, risk management, and governance.
As regulatory expectations increasingly assume continuity and institutional resilience, boards and management teams are beginning to view compliance succession planning as an important risk-management consideration.
In this context, outsourced CCO models can support planned leadership transitions, preserve institutional knowledge, and strengthen long-term business continuity.
A More Sustainable Path Forward
Firms are rethinking whether traditional compliance staffing models remain fit for purpose. The compliance demands of 2026 and beyond aren’t slowing down. With increasingly complex products coming to market, new technology, and more regulatory scrutiny on the horizon, relying on a single internal CCO to “do it all” is an almost impossible ask.
An outsourced Fund CCO solution represents one way that organizations are addressing these challenges, by opting for a sustainable alternative built for modern regulatory expectations.
At PINE Advisor Solutions, we help fund boards and management teams:
Strengthen compliance oversight
Reduce operational risk
Improve continuity and resilience
Support scalability
Lower cost without lowering standards
And most importantly, we help prevent the burnout that is becoming far too common in our industry.
Contact us to learn more about how PINE can help your organization stay ahead in the new reality of modern compliance.