First Allied Securities, Inc (First Allied), a full-service independent broker-dealer, has selected SunGard's Protegent Social Media Surveillance to help establish and enforce policies relating to the use of social networks by its independent financial advisors and to mitigate exposure to regulatory risks.
SunGard's Protegent Social Media Surveillance provides end-to-end social media policy enforcement that helps firms develop and administer policies, train and educate employees and manage regulatory compliance obligations. First Allied will use Protegent to help monitor and archive advisors' social networking activity and quickly identify content that might be considered a breach of internal or regulatory policies.
Financial firms' use of social networking sites to promote their businesses can present significant risks if the content violates internal communication and regulatory policies. SunGard's Protegent Social Media Surveillance helps firms archive, monitor, report and filter content posted on social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. First Allied Securities will use Protegent to help adhere to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) supervisory requirements by utilizing tools for moderation and pre-approval of custom content prior to posting. Protegent's solution will be integrated into First Allied's email archiving system and help support email surveillance and review processes. Protegent's automated surveillance and supervision workflow helps firms promote the use of social media for business purposes while managing exposure to reputational risk.
Mark Quinn, chief risk officer of First Allied, said, "Efficiency, ease of use and experience played a major role in our search for a compliance technology partner. We believe that SunGard's proven experience with Protegent in the compliance space reflects knowledge of our business and the ability to provide us with the tools needed to efficiently meet regulatory requirements. Protegent's social media platform offers us a dynamic, easy to use tool for enforcing social networking policies and complying with FINRA's requirements."
Steve Sabin, chief operating officer of SunGard's Protegent business unit, said, "Firms are seeking better ways to develop and implemennt social media policies that support business objectives and reduce regulatory and reputational risks. At SunGard, we guide and advise firms through the policy development process and leverage our extensive compliance expertise to help ensure that firms are able to meet their regulatory obligations. Protegent can help First Allied Securities gain greater control and transparency of their advisors' social networking activity."