Laserfiche has been successfully implemented in numerous financial services firms, including RIAs and broker-dealers regulated by the SEC and FINRA. Advisory firms who work through a broker-dealer must comply with FINRA regulations along with those of their broker-dealer. For the electronic storage of documents, the relevant regulations are rules 17a-3/4. Our customers who implement Laserfiche in a manner which is compliant with SEC and FINRA regulations have passed audits by FINRA and the SEC quickly and painlessly.
Compliance is a process, not just use of the software. Laserfiche can be configured to be implemented in compliance with these regulations. To be in compliance with rules 17a-3/4, some of the requirements are that:
- The records are preserved exclusively in a non-rewritable, non-erasable format
- You can verify automatically the quality and accuracy of the storage media recording process
- The records must be serialized and indexed
- Store the records on WORM media
- Store a duplicate record separate from the original, with a duplicate index
- There must be an audit system in place documenting all changes made to each version of every document
As the regulations are tricky, it is best to work with a compliance professional to ensure that the solution is configured in accordance with these regulations.
Another important part of the regulation is that the advisor must notify SEC, FINRA and the broker-dealer of the use of the content management system and include expertise that the solution meets compliance regulations. Example letters to the SEC and FINRA are included in the appendix of the attached whitepaper on compliance.
For this specific case, it seems like the best course of action is to have the advisor provide the regulating authorities (SEC and FINRA) with the notification and documentation of compliance processes and work with the broker-dealer to meet any specific concerns that they have about the use of Laserfiche. It seems like they are just asking for evidence that the advisor has filed this documentation with FINRA as this is the exception they state to their prohibition of other content management systems.