Products June 19, 2014

ComputerSupport Offers Compliance Solution

ComputerSupport.com, a provider of cloud computing and digital security solutions, has expanded its compliance support and remote information technology capabilities for use by financial advisers and broker/dealers.
Reported by

The firm says the third generation of its ITAnyWhere Cloud platform can provide advisers and broker/dealers with remote and dependable access to critical computing infrastructure and client account data. All of a firm’s data, emails and business applications can be accessed through the ITAnyWhere solution.

Users can access the platform through a variety of mobile and desktop devices. The ITAnyWhere Cloud has a variable per-user monthly cost and a low initial investment, the firm says. By leveraging the cloud-based solution, advisers and broker/dealers can eliminate the need to buy expensive new hardware and software. A self-service portal allows financial professionals to instantly add or remove users and applications to meet changing business needs.

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The cloud computing service provides a range of capabilities that can help financial professionals meet strict regulatory requirements, including:

  • Key client documents are stored and accessible in the ITAnyWhere Cloud for as long as needed. All documents and records are easily accessible for their lifetime, the firm says.
  • Reports, advertisements, operating documents and manuals can be segregated and organized.
  • Customers using the ITAnyWhere Cloud with compliance features benefit from permanent file retention—even if a file is deleted from the user system, it can be retrieved upon request. This feature also extends to previous versions of documents, which are copied as changes are made to leave an audit trail.
  • Access to data for regulators can be provided upon customer request. Third-party access is logged and controlled by a specific username and password.
  • All files and data are stored within Amazon Web Services Elastic Block Store service (EBS). EBS Encryption, the firm says, is significantly more resilient then standard disk drives.
  • Only users with delete access can delete a file. All access to files and folders is controlled administratively, and can be limited to none/view/read-only/read-write/read-write-modify access by individual user or group.

ComputerSupport.com also released a white paper covering important data security and compliance concepts for broker/dealers and financial advisers, available here.

Diversions June 19, 2014

Real Money Brings Pets

Slightly under half of investors own pets, and the few who own more than four are the wealthiest, a survey finds. 
Reported by

Judged on the number of pets they own, the most avid pet owners are investors with a net worth exceeding $5 million, not including their primary residence, according to the latest Investor Pulse survey from Spectrem Group’s Millionaire Corner.

Twenty-nine percent of those investors own more than four pets, compared with just 5% of investors with less than $100,000 net worth. Women tend to own more pets than men. Five percent of women own more than four pets, compared with just 2% of men. Of investors who own pets, the largest percentage (30%) spend $500 to $999 on their pets each year.

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Dogs are more popular than cats: More than two thirds (67%) of pet-owning investors have dogs, compared with the 49% who own cats.

About equal numbers of affluent pet owners got pets from a shelter or a breeder. Thirty-six percent report adopting a shelter or rescue pet, compared with one third who purchased their pet from a breeder.

About a fifth of survey participants (21%) adopted their pet from someone they know. Fourteen percent say they rescued their pet, which they found abandoned. Fewer than 10% got their companion from a chain or local pet store.

Younger affluent households surveyed were most likely to have gotten their pet from a breeder. The percentage of those who buy from breeders decreases as the age of the respondent increases, from 39% of those younger than 40, to 30% of Baby Boomers, age 51 to 60.

Shelter or rescue adoptions increased with age, from 27% of those under 40 to 41% of pet-owning respondents 61 and older.

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