AdvisorVault Chosen by Perth Advisors

Small FINRA firms like Perth Advisors, LLC use the cloud to store data and email which saves them money they would otherwise spend on hardware or software.

The combination of Dropbox for storage and Gmail for email is perfect for small firms; it gives them an instant outsourced option for electronic records storage and sharing among the entire company. However, by default the cloud is not compliant because data isn’t retained for 7 years and anyone can delete files or emails at any time. In order to remain compliant to 17a-4, FINRA firms need to add another layer to their cloud storage.

“We needed a complete solution to archive data for 17a-4 before we could move to Dropbox and Gmail, which are the two main systems we now use to run our company. We contacted AdvisorVault, the only provider that had a compliant option for small firms,” said Julianne Fernandez, compliance officer, Perth Advisors. “AdvisorVault plugged directly into our cloud data with automated software to make it 17a-4 compliant as our FINRA designated third party.”

AdvisorVault, Inc. seamlessly plugs into cloud services, such as Dropbox, Gmail, Office 365, and most other cloud storage services, putting in place an automated method to transfer cloud data to a 17a-4 compliant disk. Included with AdvisorVault is a centralized web interface to access all data for audits or DR, thereby meeting all the electronic records archiving demands of 17a-4. Additionally, since AdvisorVault retains this data for 7 years in its original format, the Designated Third Party is also met, ensuring compliance to that part of 17a-4 as well.

“Perth came to us because they wanted to use the cloud for storage which saves them money and gives them instant file and email storage accessibility anywhere, which is a great combination. AdvisorVault’s turn-key solution allows them to do this while staying compliant with SEC rule 17a-4,” stated Allan Lonz, president, AdvisorVault.