When it comes to their firm’s infrastructure, many financial advisors rely on the same paper files they’ve been using since they joined the industry. For some advisors, letting go of their paper is an unfathomable hurdle.

But other advisors—and their firms—recognize the benefits of document management. From immediately eliminating clutter to long-term benefits such as saving time, space and money, the return on investment with document management is quite impressive.

Stage 2 Planning Partners is one of those innovative firms achieving their goals thanks to document management. Founded by Principal Josh Patrick in 1997, the firm offers wealth management services for owners of closely held businesses, individuals and groups, focusing on a variety of strategic and financial issues.
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For financial advisors at Bond and Devick Financial Network, over twenty years of industry experience had given them a heightened awareness of the problems of a paper-based filing system. File cabinets took up almost 50 square feet of office space, and staff wasted time and money making multiple copies of the same document so advisors could have simultaneous access to information.

“We were dealing with an enormous amount of paper,” remembers Teresa Devick. “And the paper files concerned us greatly, mainly because if our office were ever damaged, our information would be completely unrecoverable.”

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“Personally, I think that every financial advisor has to move eventually to an electronic filing system. It’s not a matter of if, but when,” says Nick Cosentino, president and founder of Financial Foundations, Inc. “In my opinion, it would be impossible to succeed without it.”

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Laserfiche became a hot topic at the home offices of NFP Securities in Austin, TX, a major national broker/dealer, when its compliance officer returned from a visit to Bingham and Hensley of Kingsport, TN, one of its 300 member firms.
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Bingham and Hensley, Inc., a certified financial planning organization in Kingsport, TN, had serious problems with its existing document management system and needed a solution.

“We are in our files on a daily basis, and there was no way to easily see the individual files for any given client, and no way to easily separate non-qualified and qualified life insurance files, as dictated by regulations,” says Jeff Bingham. “We were and are solely dedicated to going paperless, but our system was not living up to expectations and was not giving us the solution that we needed.”
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Advisors at Berger Financial Group, Inc., (BFG) have always taken pride in providing sound advice and stellar client service, but when it came to their filing system, they knew that improvement was crucial.

“We had file cabinets that were using up valuable space,” says Principal Mark Berger, “not to mention the substantial administrative time required to keep each physical file up-to-date. We knew we needed to improve our filing to improve our efficiency.”

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Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. (TFA), an indirect subsidiary of AEGON N.V., provides investments and financial planning to clients nationwide. With a network of more than 700 registered representatives, 42 offices of supervisory jurisdiction (OSJ) branches and 51 home office staff, TFA is a rapidly growing enterprise whose independent representatives faced the growing cost of paper-based processes: misplaced documents, time-consuming manual workflows, express-mail costs and file storage expenses.
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Established in 1993 as a full service broker-dealer, Workman Securities provides comprehensive services to registered representatives and their clients. But paper-based processes were impeding staff’s ability to provide quality services in a compliant manner.

“We used to print out e-mails to conduct surveillance,” remembers Operations Manager Kelly Buda. “And when you consider we have over 260 representatives and home office staff, that was a lot of paper.” . . Full story »

Long Beach, CA - June 20, 2008 - Laserfiche, an electronic document management system (EDMS) firm, is hosting a free workshop on July 23 to teach investment advisors and financial planners about document management technology. . . Full story »

Credential Securities, Inc., employs more than 2,000 staff and representatives who provide integrated wealth management solutions and services to Canadian credit unions, with over $10.8 billion in assets under management. But helping clients achieve their financial goals came with a price—overstuffed file cabinets, difficulty locating information and the stress of complying with regulatory requirements. . . Full story »

When Commonwealth Financial Network of Waltham, MA, the nation’s third-largest privately-held broker-dealer, decided to adopt a standardized document management system for its 1,000 financial planners from coast-to-coast, it put its reputation as a technology leader on the line.

But after a 12 month review of 32 software packages, Michael Sundberg, Commonwealth’s Due Diligence Officer, recommended Laserfiche to CIO Ed Bell, and the solution has been working well ever since. . . Full story »

“Our decision to go paperless was driven not by cost or budget issues, but by the desire to grow our business, tame a paper monster that was consuming every available square foot of office space, improve our customer service, and keep up with a rapidly-changing financial planning industry,” says Blake Woodard, Managing Partner of Woodard Insurance, LLP, a Fort Worth-based firm of financial advisors and insurance professionals. “In our view, we had no choice as to whether to go paperless. You must go paperless if you want to survive and thrive in the financial planning industry.” . . Full story »

In the world of finance, managing even a single department’s documents can be an arduous task. When four disparate departments merge, however, managing the ensuing amalgamation of client records takes on a life of its own. For Christina Bacon, client records manager for Fortis Guernsey, taming the paper monster proved a considerable challenge. But through thorough, thoughtful planning, and with the help of Laserfiche® digital document management, staff at Fortis Guernsey now enjoy the familiarity of their former paper-based business processes—accelerated at the speed of today’s technology. . . Full story »

Rigorous auditing and regulatory mandates required a reliable, transparent solution for tracking and managing records. And a premier financial firm like Geneos couldn’t afford any obstacles to sharing critical information across 60 branch offices and as many as 150 remote locations. Geneos needed a system that could keep up with its success, tracking and exchanging thousands of records and documents. . . Full story »

By Davis Janowski, Investment News

A recent study and white paper sponsored by Laserfiche shows that the smallest of advisory firms can save $40,000 or more annually by implementing a document management solution. Reporter Davis Janowski states that going paperless improves customer service, enhances compliance and transforms audits into little more than minor data calls instead of multi-day office shutdowns. For owners considering retiring or selling, a document management system can add significantly to a firm’s value.