IIROC Investment Dealer Transitions Team

June 01, 2017

Paperwork Automation Case Study Of IIROC Dealer Transitions Team When Advisors Switch Dealers

PROCESS BEFORE SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION

• The dealer's interpretation of the regulations prevented the dealer from accessing any client data (except basic information like name, address, and type of account) until the dealer received written authorization from those clients.
• A signed NCAF contains this authorization, but incoming advisors are prohibited from having access to the new dealer's documents until they are licensed with the new dealer.
• It is impractical and unlikely that incoming advisors would attempt to obtain separate written authorization, prior to transferring their licenses to the new dealer, then meet with those clients again to have additional account opening documentation signed after their licenses are transferred to the new dealer.
• The transitions team would obtain a spreadsheet from new advisors containing only the permitted basic client data.
• The team would hire temporary employees to help transfer the client information to fillable PDF documents using manual data entry and copy and paste functions.
• The team would print and organize all of the documents for new advisors.
• The new advisors would meet with the clients, complete the paperwork, adding all of the missing information, and have the clients sign the completed documents.
• The new advisors would be frustrated by inaccuracies in the documentation caused by human error during the manual data entry process.
• The new advisors would be frustrated by the amount of time it would take to receive all of the completed documents from the transitions team.
• The new advisors would submit the documents to the dealer so accounts could be opened and assets transferred.

REQUIREMENTS FOR AN AUTOMATED SOFTWARE SOLUTION

• Must be easy to use and require minimal training.
• Must save time.
• Must improve accuracy.
• Must have excellent technical support.
• Must have flexibility to quickly accommodate customized requests and changes.

PROCESS AFTER IMPLEMENTING SOFTWARE

• The dealer's interpretation of the regulations prevented the dealer from accessing any client data (except basic information like name, address, and type of account) until the dealer received written authorization from those clients.
• A signed NCAF contains this authorization, but incoming advisors are prohibited from having access to the new dealer's documents until they are licensed with the new dealer.
• It is impractical and unlikely that incoming advisors would attempt to obtain separate written authorization, prior to transferring their licenses to the new dealer, then meet with those clients again to have additional account opening paperwork signed after their license is transferred to the new dealer.
• Members of the transitions team were quickly trained in the use of adminPRO FormFiller. Most users were able to operate the software with extreme efficiency shortly after reading the instructions and looking at the screenshots, or watching a live online demonstration by the developer.
• The team would obtain a spreadsheet from the new advisor containing only the permitted basic client data.
• The team would run the software, which would automatically populate and print all required documents.
• The team would organize the documents for the new advisor.
• The new advisor would be pleased with the accuracy of the documents.
• The new advisor would be pleased with the short amount of time to receive the completed documents from the transitions team.
• The new advisor would meet with clients, complete the paperwork with all of the missing information, and have the clients sign the completed documents.
• The new advisor would submit the documents to the dealer so accounts could be opened and assets transferred.
• A request from the team to group certain documents so they could be populated together or separately was quickly implemented.
• The need to hire temporary data entry employees was eliminated.
• The average amount time required to complete the task was reduced significantly.
• The accuracy of the documents was improved significantly.

If you are an investment dealer that needs help with the paperwork for advisor transitions please fill out the contact form and start the conversation. We have also been building custom paperwork automation software for investment dealers, investment companies, and independent financial advisors since 2004. We can design a custom solution for you.