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Industry Spotlight > RIAs

Getting to Know--and Serve--Clients With an Online Document Service

By Mike Patton

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Last week I spent a good deal of time putting the finishing touches on a new initiative I call eVault. The plan is to roll it out during my quarterly portfolio review meetings which begin this week. I have also spent time determining which documents or information I lack so when I meet with clients I can remedy this. Some of the documents include my Confidentiality Agreement, Investment Advisory Agreement, and Financial Planning Renewal Agreement. There may also be some services I may not have discussed yet with clients, such as online account access, consolidated statements, and more.

I’m also planning to go over their goals and make sure I have up-to-date information on their family. After all, family matters. Have there been any new grandchildren? Did they do anything special for little Johnny’s birthday? I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t interested in discussing their family. So, in a nutshell, I am pushing to get to the point where every client has every possible benefit available and I know much more than just names and numbers. This business is really about focusing on the person, something I am eager to do. Let’s get back to the eVault I mentioned earlier.

eVault is a Web-based service where I will scan, upload, and store every important document for my clients. To further protect their confidentiality, I have a Confidentiality Agreement (mentioned earlier) and I also include a membership to LifeLock Identity Theft Protection Service. At the heart of eVault is the Document Locator. This is essentially an inventory page which shows the name of every document, the name and phone number of the primary contact person, the location of the original document, and whether or not it’s in the eVault. In short, it’s a client life-simplification tool. Want to look at an earlier financial plan? It’s in the eVault. How about a tax return from three years ago? It’s also in the eVault. Even if the document is not in the eVault, the document locator will show where it is and whom to contact to get that document. If something unexpected should ever happen to the client or their spouse, I may not be the first one to receive a phone call, but I will certainly be in the top five.

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