The RIA space is BOOMING. Advisors are making moves left and right. The Great Resignation, brought about by a global pandemic, has reached a fever pitch and the financial services industry is in full flux. Let’s just say, it’s a good time to be a transition consultant.

Due to the extremely popular nature of the independent space in the last few years, entrepreneurs have been creating exciting products and services that are being marketed to advisors, wrapped in shiny packages, and tied up with bows. Gone are the days that advisors had limited options to choose from and overbearing compliance to contend with.

That’s not to say that compliance doesn’t still play a HUGE part of the whole. It most certainly does. There will always be that list of “musts” that advisors need to focus on. But even those requirements are becoming less of a hassle with all the new technology created to automate processes and implement procedures.

Let’s use archiving as an example. Not the most exciting subject to talk about but one of those “musts” that every advisor deals with. The idea that we must archive all our client communications to discourage the use of improper language and keep records to prove that we’re acting in the best interest of our clients seems absurdly unnecessary. Probably because I can’t imagine myself not acting in the best interest of my clients, but I realize there are those who do not. The bad apples ruin it for everyone.

When you think of archiving, what companies come to mind? Probably Smarsh and Global Relay. Maybe Message Watcher or Erado, maybe not. Clearly, this category of compliance lacks the options I mentioned a few paragraphs ago. But why? Perhaps it’s the uninspiring subject matter, or the fact that Smarsh has a bit of a monopoly on the market. Maybe it’s that the other options out there just haven’t been presented to you yet.

Either way, I’m here to educate. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that advisors don’t like being locked into expensive, long-term contracts, and from what I’ve heard, that’s exactly what the leading archive providers are doing. So, how do we remedy the situation?

I recently had a conversation with Sol, Co-Founder of Presults, an automated email compliance and archiving firm that I didn’t know much about. He reached out to me after seeing some of my LinkedIn content. I tend to get A LOT of solicitations from service providers. I’m super active on LinkedIn and always looking for the next best solution for my clients. I’m not going to lie. I ignore a lot of those solicitations. It’s clear to me who is trying to make an actual connection and provide mutual benefit and who is just trying to sell me a product. Sol approached me in a way that made me want to hear what he had to say.

After a few conversations, I expressed my interest in writing a blog post. I wanted to show you all that there are other options out there. Options built with you in mind. Ones with cool features and lower prices. So, let’s get down to business!

Our conversations were in depth and focused mainly on differentiators. We put together a list of the top 5 things that set Presults apart from the competition and provides value to advisors.

Differentiators:

• Technology
• All-In-One Solution
• Pricing
• RIA Specificity
• Customer Support

I’m going to walk you through each of them so you can understand the different features and figure out if they work for you or not. No product is going to be right for every business. One of the leading providers might be the best fit for your situation, but you’ll never know unless you have other options to choose from and compare to.

Technology

At the core of what Presults does, is exactly what is required by RIAs – archival of emails in an SEC compliant infrastructure. They have a super easy-to-use review process that lets you quickly review potentially non-compliant keywords. A unique feature they showcase, that many advisors are drawn to, is the ability to monitor emails before they reach the client.

By entering a keyword lexicon in your console, you can set your program to auto-sweep every outgoing email and flag anything of concern. All flagged items will be temporarily held for your inspection and approval. You will be automatically provided with several quick and easy ways to modify your email for delivery or approve it to be sent as is.

This eliminates the majority of work when it comes to reviewing sent emails, because you’re able to eliminate problematic language before the communications are ever sent.

All-in-One Solution

While email archiving is arguably the most important feature to have, it’s not the only archiving solution your business needs. Presults includes website and social media marketing in its basic packages. There’s no need to sign up for multiple services and pay additional fees for each new feature added.

They do have a few interesting features you could add on to truly make it an all-in-one solution, but because they aren’t items that advisors typically “need”, some may require minimal add-on pricing.

They include:

• Email Encryption
• Client Personal Information Protection (SSNs, DOBs, etc)
• Tone Detection (acts as a warning for conversations that may be escalating to shouting 😳)

Imagine technology that warns you before you get into a heated argument with your client who wants to sell at the bottom AGAIN. I had no idea that was a thing but now I kind of want to know more.

Pricing

Presults offers a month-to-month subscription. From what I understand, some of the leading providers are roping advisors into contracts as long as 7 years. The month-to-month subscriptions are priced under the $100 per month mark and include up to 3 users on the platform. This includes email, social media, and website archiving, and additional users are just $10/month. Email imports and exports to and from other providers are included in the pricing and do not require any additional fees. That’s intriguing to me because I’ve heard that some of the leading providers will charge an arm and a leg for exports, essentially holding your email hostage in order to discourage you from changing providers.

I imagine switching archiving platforms isn’t always the easiest process. It can involve breaking contracts, paying penalties, and mass exporting data. But much like a transition, it’s only temporarily painful and then you’re free to conduct your business in a much more independent and cost-effective way.

RIA Specificity

The cool thing about Presults is that it was built specifically for advisors. As features are added, they are created for advisors with their businesses in mind. There’s no concern about competing with the banking, healthcare, government, and other industries. Improvements made will always have current regulations considered and industry trends and integrations in mind.  

Customer Support

This is a big one. Presults provides an unparalleled level of support for advisors. You can actually pick up the phone and call someone. A designated support person you can contact directly who will answer all your questions and provide customized assistance on the platform. Consider it white-glove support, included in the month-to-month pricing.  

I’ll never forget the time I tried to contact Smarsh to ask a few generic questions about their service offerings. All my email communications went unanswered. When I finally picked up the phone to call them, I was bounced around to a few different departments and eventually dropped. After a few weeks, I did finally get someone on the phone who seemed eager to help. He didn’t know all the answers to my questions but assured me that he would get them and reach back out to me. I’ve been waiting for 2 years now. Luckily, I wasn’t holding my breath.

Conclusion

If you’ve made it this far in the article, I’m proud of you. Clearly, you’re interested in the subject matter.

I’m not a financial advisor. Never have been. Never will be. However, all my clients are financial advisors. I help them transition their books of business to the RIA space. They trust me with my subject matter and they’re constantly sourcing referrals and reviews from me. I may not be able to tell you what the best solution for your business is in every category, but that’s ok. It’s why I make connections with other consultants and product and service providers. If I can make advisors aware of their options, they can do the due diligence and research necessary to make the best decisions for their own businesses. I aim to help.

That being said, I do not “endorse” products or services that I will never have the opportunity to use myself. Instead, I educate and spread awareness. Presults did compensate me for the time it took me to write this article. I hope it was helpful and I’m happy to answer any questions you have about it or refer you to the people who can give you even more details. Reach out to me at grier@advisortransitionservices.com or visit the Presults website at presults.com.