SagePoint Financial
Leading Broker-Dealer Affiliated Financial Services Firms Go For Paperless Processes
Industry/Solution
Financial Planning and Insurance Services
CNG-SAFE document management and workflow solution supports growth and success of SagePoint
independent affiliated firms and automatically sends required documents electronically into the home office system.
Phoenix, AZ-based SagePoint Financial, Inc. is a registered broker-dealer and SEC registered investment advisor, member of FINRA, SIPC, and member company of American International Group, Inc. SagePoint is responsible for over $25 billion in assets and works with 1,996 independent financial advisors
Independent Affiliated Financial Advisors Choose Cabinet NG (CNG)
SagePoint’s independent financial advisors are focused on their customers, not technology – so when SagePoint presented a list of document management vendors, most of its affiliated advisors looked for firms with SagePoint’s stamp of approval. Betina Wolfe, Director of Advisor Services for Isys Management, LLC, a select network of independent financial advisors nationwide, said “CNG was ranked very highly and compared to some other companies, was a very affordable option. Later we discovered how user-friendly Cabinet NG’s Shared Access Filing Environment (CNG-SAFE) was, which really made CNG a wise choice.”
Key to the appeal of CNG-SAFE is how seamlessly electronic document management moves into a firm’s business environment. By being flexible enough to electronically mimic business processes and workflows already in place, CNG-SAFE added value to SagePoint affiliates without interrupting day-to-day business or requiring busy independent advisors to completely revamp operations
Financial advisors can use CNG-SAFE to handle day-to-day basic scanning and document retrieval, and CNG Synchronizer to connect with a firm’s database to populate client folder information. CNG-SAFE also supports a special interface for SagePoint advisors. The interface allows users to become more efficient in the office and cut costs associated with reproducing and mailing and/or faxing documents to the home office. By simply scanning in the documents, they are immediately routed and automatically uploaded into the home office’s system for processing. Documents may include variable annuity approval requests, client signature pages, account transfer forms for brokerage accounts (ACAT), along with the actual account application and forms needed to establish and continue servicing a client account. This interface supports SagePoint Financial, Royal Alliance Associates, and FSC Securities advisors.
Benefits of Paperless Matched by CNG’s Compliance-Readiness Most small to medium businesses go paperless in order to gain the efficiencies and productivity available from a cutting-edge technology solution that cuts down on paper. Independent financial services firms, such as those affiliated with SagePoint, also share the desire to improve business processes by automating workflows and maximizing office space by eliminating unnecessary physical documents.
As Shawn Williams of Sherrill Bambauer noted, “We experienced a significant reduction in the physical space needed to store paper files and folders, going from 15 file cabinets to just two, thanks to CNG.”
Equally important to firms in the financial services industry is the ability of electronic document management software to manage the compliance process. Most SagePoint advisors chose the CNG-SAFE system on the basis of its compliance-readiness and ability to adhere to FINRA, SEC and a host of other regulatory directives.
One of CNG’s SagePoint independent representative customers claimed enthusiastically, “CNG is better than lock and key!”. Client documents, financial and otherwise, are far more secure in CNG electronic file cabinets than in metal file cabinets.
The ability to set security levels at the cabinet level for each user is also attractive in terms of data protection. This ensures a high comfort level in extending access to client folders to employees traveling or located in satellite offices. Isys Management’s Betina Wolfe also observed that CNG-SAFE takes compliance responsibility out of the hands of representatives because CNG-SAFE acts as a centralized, secure information repository that assigns each user individual password-protected access parameters.
It’s A Set-Up! - For A Faultless Compliance Visit, That Is
Sherrill Bambauer Financial Planning’s Shawn Williams said she works for an office that “likes to be perfect” and that CNG helped her business achieve compliance excellence. Sherrill Bambauer has had seven compliance visits from regulatory authorities, passing all with zero deficiencies. Sherrill Bambauer’s Shawn Williams noted that CNG software set up records and electronically stamped files with dates, customer account numbers, most recent activities and other needed information so that compliance visits only lasted an hour or two – a significant reduction from the 3-4 hours associated with audits in the pre-paperless era. Time saved during the audit process can be attributed to no longer having to search for lost or misplaced files by using a system that easily allows for the search and retrieval of all transactions and provides an irrefutable digital record.
Enabling Anywhere, Anytime Information
Access
Isys Management’s Betina Wolfe explained that CNG helped smoothly transition her firm into a merger that saw the number of financial representatives go from 30 to 60. Client files and other documents were immediately accessible by all representatives, eliminating a few of the significant growing pains associated with service industry mergers. At Isys, three individuals have full access to all files, but all representatives are only able to access the parts of the files they need to conduct business. In fact, says Isys Management’s Betina Wolfe, “CNG has been a huge help in recruitment. We have found younger reps love being paperless – it is a big selling point to offer them anytime, anywhere access.”
CNG-SAFE also enables the financial services industry to tailor document management to their unique needs. Many firms scan client documents such as wills and marriage certificates as part of their commitment to excellent customer service. In these and countless other ways, CNG transforms paper trails into an automated electronic document workflow that increases productivity and responsiveness.
To help its independent financial advisors grow and develop their practices, SagePoint invests in a robust technology platform that supports superior customer service and more efficient business processes. SagePoint chooses user-friendly, intuitive systems that allow their network of independent, affiliated financial advisors to focus on providing sound, unbiased advice and financial strategies for every stage of life.
Shawn Williams, Office Administrator at Sherrill Bambauer Financial Planning in Redding, CA, noted that CNG’s ease of use meant she could load the software and master its key features herself – CNG-SAFE was that intuitive.
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