Technology at the core of reinvention

Earlier this year after many months of planning and research, our team began the process of reinventing our advice firm by drawing up a wish list of enhancements. Technology is the core component of our reinvention.
We feel a robust technology centerpiece is imperative for any financial advisory firm that wants to have a shot at becoming a top firm in the industry. My definition of a top firm is not necessarily according to AUM or even number of clients, but as one that efficiently and profitably delivers an exceptional level of service to its desired number of ideal clients by a staff that loves to come to work each day.
(More: Why high-performing advisers are aggressively adopting technology )
Our team recognizes that for a top firm to offer exceptional service profitably and to have the ability to scale and grow, it needs to use a great suite of technology on a daily basis. Over the past several years, industry stalwarts such as Redtail Technology, eMoney Advisor, MoneyGuidePro and others have committed to painfully reinventing themselves so they could continue to innovate. Their new cloud-based versions and an agreement to “step into the sandbox to play” with other tech companies have catapulted data sharing and integrations to new heights.
One big piece of tech has eluded our firm until now. We couldn’t find cloud-based technology that could consistently and automatically follow and document best-in-class compliance procedures. Our firm needed an integrated compliance solution that could “talk” to other platforms in order to get access to automations with the push and pull of data sharing.
Our firm was familiar with National Regulatory Services’ comprehensive compliance resources and consulting. I believe they still have the largest library of compliance literature and resources that they make available to their clients. However, at this point in time, they lack a platform that can automate various compliance tasks (although I am told this is in development).
We recently became aware of BasisCode, which has a very robust offering, especially for medium to large firms. It offers a browser-based interface, however when we tested it, the platform did not have a modern look and feel. But recently BasisCode introduced a completely redesigned user interface that includes a fresh look, addition modules, a phone app and easy navigation.
It also offers a compliance administrator the ability to perform deep analytics with reporting, to create rules, to schedule tasks and trigger alerts. The platform also provides a complete audit trail of performed tests.
Next, we found Smart RIA, a relatively new offering in the compliance space. Roger Kiger, the principal of an RIA firm, founded Smart RIA. He was trying to find a solution for his compliance challenges, but couldn’t find a solution that met his needs, so he had one built for his firm. Mr. Kiger’s advisory firm was audited in 2011 while he was using the first version of his software. The auditor was able to collect all the requested documents in half a day and, even more impressive, the auditor called a week later and told him there were zero deficiencies.
Smart RIA has evolved a lot since Mr. Kiger’s audit. The software was officially released earlier this year to the adviser community. It resonated with our team immediately. It automates many of the compliance tasks in a cloud-based environment, which usually need to be completed manually. The tool identifies deficiencies and sends out alerts. Smart RIA also has the ability to perform a daily comparison of client portfolios with an investment policy statement to ensure a client is invested appropriately. The system will send out an alert when an asset class is a certain percentage outside its defined allocation.
Our firm was pleased to learn Smart RIA also now integrates with Redtail CRM and can import clients, notes and meeting details, which makes it easy to get up and running. It also will begin pushing out compliance alerts into Redtail.
(More: Technology can help advisers ensure they are giving best advice to meet DOL fiduciary rule)
Managing compliance procedures is usually not at the top of the list of enjoyable daily tasks. However, with the recent new compliance technology innovations, advisory firms now have ways to literally slash the time devoted to this important area.

Deborah Fox is chief executive and founder of Fox Financial Planning Network.