Resource Center

Like most companies, employees at financial firms demand a modern environment with technology that makes it easy to communicate and be productive. To that end, many firms are increasingly allowing the use of collaboration platforms, instant messaging, file sharing applications and group chat suites. However, this new communication environment comes with a host of compliance challenges. Addressing and overcoming these issues is critical to your employees’ satisfaction and your firm’s success.

Download this white paper now to understand the applicable regulations for these types of communication platforms and how you can comply. You will discover how to:

• Ensure IT implements the proper technology
• Develop Written Supervisory Policies and train employees
• Keep communications efficient but supervised

Workplace communication continues to change - make sure your firm is being proactive with recordkeeping and remains compliant with increasing regulations!

The widespread options for communication in today’s landscape help your firm stay connected to each other and clients. However, while some firms leverage best practices and get the most out of the technology available, others stumble into bad habits that create dangerous vulnerabilities.

Download this field guide to understand what not to do with modern communication tools in order to remain compliant to regulatory obligations. You will understand how to limit risk involving:

• Text messaging
• Social media
• Email
• Other sharing platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams

Don’t just stick your head in the sand with danger on the horizon, act now to make sure you protect your firm and your clients as you embrace the digital age.

Younger clients and tech-savvy employees continue to expect easier and faster ways to conduct business in today’s market – via social media, text messaging and collaboration platforms like Slack. However, you know that bowing to these demands means a drastic increase in the amount of data you need to collect and archive in order to remain compliant to industry regulations.

Download this guide now to understand how to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance while taking advantage of these tools that increase productivity. This guide will also teach you:

• Why “compliant productivity” no longer has to be an oxymoron
• Why text messaging, social media and collaboration platforms are no longer the future of business, but the present, and
• The benefits and risks of this business reality

Modern tools and clever solutions make compliant productivity a realistic goal for your firm if you’re willing to take the necessary steps to achieve it. Act now to improve productivity, morale, and create better connections! 

Anyone who works in the financial services industry knows it’s critical to look for ways to connect with the millennial generation that represents a rising population in the workforce and among customers. Millennials stand to inherit an estimated $30 trillion from the Baby Boomer era. However, it can be very hard to communicate with this demographic and you need to tap into technology they already use on a regular basis: text messaging.

Download this white paper to understand why millennials demand this type of communication with their financial advisors and how your firm can overcome the compliance issues that come with it. You’ll receive 6 tips for developing a compliant texting strategy, including how to:

• Evaluate your firm’s device ownership model
• Update your policies
• Train staff and ensure integration
• And more…

Embrace the future and start using text messaging today to gain a competitive edge and meet the new generation where they feel comfortable.

Luxury hospitality and retail brands, as well as the concierge physician sector, often deliver a superior, personal experience, helping to set the service standard in their respective industries.

In our new white paper, Your high-net-worth client strategy: It's what they want, not what you know, we reveal that fostering trust and personalizing the investor experience can help you consistently meet, or exceed, your clients’ expectations. With the lack of an existing standard, today's financial advisor has an opportunity to create one for our industry.

We also discuss:

• Why your HNW clients – not you – define great service
• Why HNW investors leave – even when they’re satisfied
• How you can create a “wow-able” experience
• Why you need to earn their trust through every interaction and transaction
• How journey maps, workflows and personas can help you anticipate – not react to – their needs

Get your copy of Your High-Net-Worth Client Strategy

Information presented by Independent Advisor Solutions, a strategic business unit of SEI Investments Company (SEI).

The Financial Planning Association® is not affiliated with SEI or its subsidiaries.

Going independent unlocks more flexibility for advisors to serve their clients and grow their businesses. But the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) channel has become more than a place to break free from traditional advice models. It’s the destination of choice for advisors in search of a better way of doing business - one where advisors and their clients can thrive.

Explore this whitepaper and take a closer look at:

• The growth of the RIA channel
• Benefits of independence
• Differences among five business models for the modern RIA
• Experiences of advisors who chose independence

You'll also receive key questions to ask yourself as you consider each model. 

When we first released "Fees at a Crossroads" in 2015 — a white paper designed to help financial advisors evaluate the right pricing model for their business — the industry was steeped in the DOL ruling, customer habits were changing amid a groundswell of support for robo-advisors, and consumers began demanding more personalized service and greater digital choice.

Download our 2018 version: “Fees at a Crossroads Revisited.” It’s an important update on what’s changed — and what hasn’t — and how advisors like you are adapting.

In this white paper you’ll learn:

• What’s happening to the pricing landscape — key trends
• What consumers understand (and what they still don’t) about how they pay you
• How three advisory firms changed their fee models, and what happened as a result
• What you can do now to help clarify your own pricing strategy

Information provided by Independent Advisor Solutions by SEI, a strategic business unit of SEI Investments Company (SEI). Services provided by SEI Investments Management Corporation and SEI Global Services, Inc., wholly owned subsidiaries of SEI. 

A fixed income fund is attractive to many investors, but finding the right one is not easy, especially with the low interest rates that have persisted over the past several years. Options for increased yields can come with more risk, but not always. We believe there is a way to find funds that tap into lower-risk and ripe markets.

Download this white paper to learn about a careful, measured approach to fixed income and how it may provide the benefits your clients seek. Critical to this method is understanding what factors to look for in a fixed income fund, including:

• The right mix of bond types
• Why we choose specific bonds types
• The size of the fund

Act now to find some the best fixed income fund options for your clients.

It is natural for your clients to want to react quickly to the market to protect their financial health, but that may mean they end up making a risky decision. It is your job to help prevent clients from overreacting into disaster – to essentially protect clients from themselves. However, you know that keeping them safe in this way may put your relationship on the line.

Download this white paper for three essential strategies you can use to keep clients from putting themselves at financial risk. These tactics include:

• Which questions to ask to understand clients’ behavioral makeup
• How to manage behaviors and suggest new approaches
• Ways to avoid sending conflicting signals

Make sure you earn the trust of your clients by keeping them away from blunders and setting them on a path to success!

The freedom to design your own future doesn’t have to be a dream. As an independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), you can build your vision and serve clients—your way. You just need someone to help you get there.

That’s why Schwab Advisor Services™ brought together more than 30 years of industry-leading expertise and insight in The RIA Roadmap. This guide will help to explain the key steps to take to start your journey to independence.

In this guide, you’ll find guidance on:

• Defining your business strategy
• Preparing for legal and compliance issues
• Connecting with resources to help set up your office
• Converting your accounts
• Strengthening your practice

While many advisors prove adept at helping clients plan for their financial futures, many fall short when it comes to planning their own. Some estimates by State Street Global Advisors show that over the next decade, nearly 70,000 advisors controlling more than $2 trillion in assets will retire – and more than two-thirds of advisors have no succession plan in place.

Download this white paper to learn more about how to properly plan for a transition, including how to extract the full value of a practice when selling it. You will discover strategies and tactics to optimize the value of your practice, including:

• How to measure the value of your practice
• Types of succession plans, and their advantages and disadvantages
• 6 ways to drive up practice value
• And more…

Selling your practice could be an arduous process, but proper planning now can help you maximize profit while protecting clients and employees. Start putting ideas in place for your future.

With the rapid passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there was not much time to try and understand all the changes it brings about. Your clients need you to be able to tell them which of the tax code modifications affect them and how they can capitalize on the opportunities created.

Download this guide for an in-depth rundown of the major tax changes and recommendations on how to move forward. In many cases, the revisions may have a meaningful influence on future financial choices. You will learn:

• How to discuss tax changes with clients – including a list of important review points
• The potential impacts on clients’ after-tax income
• What the new tax law means for individuals, businesses and their investments
• And more…

Now is the time to ensure you fully grasp the key points of the new tax law to help your clients take the right steps for their financial futures!

The RIA channel has been growing steadily for the past several years. More and more advisors are seizing the opportunity to create the future they imagine for themselves and their clients.

As an RIA, you have the potential to keep up to 100% of the revenue. You determine the shape of your business. You serve clients the way you know is best.

Download this white paper and take a closer look at:

• RIA channel growth
• Benefits of independence
• Differences among RIA models
• Economics of RIA firms
• The custodian’s role

You’ll also receive time tested steps and a roadmap for making your own transformation.