http://eassistllc.com/blog Share your views and experiences concerning operational challenges, regulations, audits and other topics close to the hearts of IBDs and RIAs Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:39:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Founded in 2004, Access Financial Group is a commission-based retail group. AFG serves mid- to high-net worth individuals as an independent registered representative and works with other registered representatives and registered investment advisors providing private labeled turn-key technology solutions critical to their business. Access Financial Group is Headquartered ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/09/09/access-financial-group-case-study-sept-08/ In the July issue of Wall Street & Technology, our CEO, Ted Tsung has a featured article (click here) on how to approach technology as a solution to your compliance woes. The article includes helpful formulas to calculate your cost/benefit analysis of automating administrative tasks: % of admin tasks that ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/wst-byline-deploying-technology-to-conquer-your-compliance-demons/ One of our clients recently completed a month long FINRA audit where they asked to see the check blotter and procedures. Unfortunately the existing manual processes where not adequate. E*Assist created a bespoke blotter in days that allowed reps and home office to store and track the progress ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/finra-audits-and-check-blotters/ Absent any modifying agreements between a firm and a rep, in most states, clients' personal information is the property of the firm and the firm is responsible for protecting it. But how much do you really know about your client? In many firms, reps hold client data in ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/regulation-s-p-what-it-could-mean-for-you/ The imminent implementation of Regulation 2821 affecting the sale of variable annuities has many compliance teams searching for viable solutions. Unfortunately the recent market turmoil has CEOs looking to hold or cut costs, complicating the building or buying of effective 2821 solutions. E*Assist’s low cost platform allows many of the ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/implementing-rule-2821-during-a-tight-financial-market/ Progressive firms make every effort to minimize overhead and support costs. But with ever more stringent regulations, demands to hire more support and compliance personnel keep increasing. Firms are throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars in inefficient and wasteful manual procedures that require more support heads than ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/growing-your-business-while-holding-or-shrinking-your-support-costs/ Removing the need for a rep to fill out a form manually is well understood. Popular form filling software, while expensive, helps to ensure that all the relevant fields are completed, which helps to remove the risk of rejection due to missing data or illegible handwriting. But is this enough ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/complete-automatic-form-filling-filing/ Building deep client relationships requires extensive communication and email is a profoundly important communication channel. But it comes with inherent limitations and surveillance headaches. Firms are mandating the use of popular email tools such as Outlook, but these tools often lack an easy way to automatically customize emails ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/a-single-integrated-compliant-communication-platform-to-manage-client-emails/ A panel of independent brokers/advisors at SIFMA’s May conference in Chicago highlighted a key business concern. In many cases the BD/IA’s business is the individual’s largest asset – bigger than their house or retirement fund. This makes protecting it all the more important such that when it comes ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/the-industry%e2%80%99s-first-true-succession-management-platform/ Explaining complex financial concepts to investors is never easy, especially now that regulators are also looking for more evidence of suitability. This is forcing home office and compliance teams to be equally demanding, which can delay or even prevent a sale. The challenge facing registered representatives includes showing a ... http://eassistllc.com/blog/2008/07/02/free-investment-calculators-to-help-brokers-and-advisors-analyze-complex-financial-scenarios/