What’s the Best Archiving Solution for Financial Advisors?

Connecting with clients through technology has become essential in any effective marketing plan however, we understand this can be a complex puzzle for financial advisors. Rules and regulations are constantly changing but we always do our due diligence to stay updated and make compliance simple for clients. Currently, one of the most important pieces to compliance is archiving, which needs to be integrated into any online communication.

Today we will outline a few of our favorite archiving tools (for websites, social media, email, and text messaging communications) from the Twenty Over Ten platform, Smarsh, ArchiveSocial, Global Relay, and PageFreezer

Archiving for Advisor Websites

1. Twenty Over Ten

First, we must note that Twenty Over Ten provides a built-in FINRA and SEC-approved archiving and approval process for websites built on our platform. This means that for Twenty Over Ten users, your initial website build, as well as all future changes and updates will be archived. This is not a specific package but a feature included for all clients using our platform.

Best Features:

• All activity and edits made to your website (including all blog posts and landing pages) will automatically be archived in the system without any manual action
• Archiving process meets SEC (17a-4) standards
• Archives are available in various forms including a PDF of all of your website content and a private URL
• Browse a visual calendar to access individual archives by day, making it easy to find what you’re looking for
• All of your archives are sent to you directly via email and also accessible anytime through your dashboard upon login
• Our Providence platform includes other advanced compliance features, such as allowing team members review, request changes, and approve edits before updates are published to your website and an internal communication tool where advisors can talk with their team and compliance officers
• Free 14-Day Trial gives you the opportunity to try out these features before committing to a monthly package

Archiving Tools for Email, Social Media, Instant Messaging & Text Messages

It is imperative that advisors are following compliance rules and regulations. Especially on social media and other digital platforms as more and more advisors begin to develop their online presence beyond just having a website. In early 2019, the SEC distributed a risk alert around the use of advisor instant messaging, email communication and social media to remind advisors of the legal obligations they are under to maintain these type of records for their online communications. At Twenty Over Ten, we provide website and blog archiving but understand that a lot of our clients are in need of social media archiving services as well. So we created a list of four of our favorite tools for social media archiving.

1. SMARSH

Smarsh provides cloud-based archiving and compliance tools for business owners in heavily regulated industries such as financial services. Smarsh is the recipient of many awards and one of the most dignified was the 2014 FTF Award: Best Social Media Compliance Solution.

Best Features:

• • • • • Archives information via the cloud allowing you and your team to post from anywhere.
        • Supports 16+ of the most common social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and many more!
        • High-performance searching feature enables you to find specific dates/time ranges, people, keywords, proximity, and content types.
        • Add and define new policies at any time to minimize risk when rules and regulations change.
        • “Do It Yourself” feature allows you to export your archives in a variety of formats without data-related fees

 

What to Know:

• • • • • Price: Starter Package $75/month, Professional Package $150/month

2. ARCHIVESOCIAL

If you are looking for an archiving solution specifically for social media, Archive Social is a good option. The archiving site was designed specifically with financial planners in mind. The fully automated tool simplifies complying with FOIA, FINRA, and SEC rules surrounding record keeping.

Best Features:

• • • • • Collects historical records from each social media account’s entire existence.
        • Add an unlimited number of accounts with unlimited storage of data.
        • Control the retention period of your records.
        • An open archive allows the public to search your sites record, putting transparency first.
        • Every post is archived in its original format in order to capture metadata often necessary for authentic records.

 

What to Know:

• • • • • Price: Economy Package $199/month or Standard Package $399/month
        • A limited number of social media accounts are currently supported by the app.

3. GLOBAL RELAY

Global Relay provides cloud archiving for more than 45 data types and is the message archiving vendor in FINRA’s Compliance Resource Provider Program. It captures and archives an authentic and complete record of your electronic business communications in a secure but easily accessible cloud repository. Going well beyond social media, Global Relay archives instant messaging, text messaging, email, voice, web-based chats, mobile, and more.

Best Features:

• • • • • Automation, ease of access, and rapid search speeds create an excellent client experience.
        • Designed to meet the strict recordkeeping and compliance requirements of the financial industry such as the rules in place by SEC, FINRA, and FRCP.
        • Migration of legacy data so that you have all of your records in one place.
        • Efficient tool to quickly respond to regulatory audits and evidentiary requests.
        • Flexible supervision tools that easy flag prohibited content.

 

What to Know

• • • • • Price: $7.79 per user + set up fees
        • Exclusive discount for members of FINRA: $6 per user, per month + set up fees

 

4. PAGEFREEZER

PageFreezer is an archiving site that is built around complying with all FINRA, SOX, and SEC regulations. It securely collects your online content automatically and in the required financial industry format.

Best Features:

• • • • • Simplicity. PageFreezer’s easy-to-use portal allows for quick retrieval of important data.
        • Real-time archiving with a timeline view of all of your past social media posts and interactions.
        • Captures Direct Messages on Facebook and Private Messages on Twitter.
        • Keyword filter that streamlines the search process during an audit.

 

What to Know:

• • • • • Price: Bundle of 3 for $75/month or Bundle of 5 for $99/month
        • Can only export archives as an excel spreadsheet.
        • Maximum of 5 social media accounts can be archived.

 

“The potential for fabricating or tampering with electronically stored information on a social networking site, thus poses significant challenges from the standpoint of authentication.” – Griffin v. Maryland, 2010