Compliance June 8, 2011

Compliance Tool Tracks LinkedIn Profiles

Social media compliance firm, Actiance, added capabilities to its Socialite platform that allow organizations to approve content and changes made to employee LinkedIn profiles.
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Known as Static Content Pre-Approval Workflow, Actiance reports that the tool allows financial services firms to remain in compliance with Financial Industry Regulatory Advisory (FINRA) regulations, such as Regulatory Notice 10-06, which requires all static content to be pre-approved prior to publishing.

When an employee edits his or her profile on LinkedIn, Socialite intercepts those edits and re-routes the changes to a compliance officer for review. The reviewer is then able to identify the specific elements of a LinkedIn profile that were changed and can either accept or reject the edits and make comments. The profile owner is able to review comments, make any necessary changes, and post the approved content, all from within the Socialite application.

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Actiance’s Socialite solution gives employers the ability to manage access and content shared across more than 160 features on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Since the issuance of FINRA 10-06 and subsequent draft guidelines from IIROC, there has been a requirement to ensure that static content on social networks is pre-approved. As FINRA and IIROC registered firms move towards departmentalizing the use of social media, it’s imperative to the growth of the business that this is automated, Actiance explained.

“As social media has changed the way people interact and communicate with each other, LinkedIn has become increasingly popular with financial advisers and wealth managers who wish to connect and communicate with prospects and current clients,” said Kailash Ambwani, CEO at Actiance. “In FINRA-regulated firms, the requirement to pre-approve static content, such as the LinkedIn profile has been an obstruction to its use. Until now, there was no way to proactively monitor the profile, alert upon changes, or ensure that changes received pre-approvals. Our workflow functionality opens up LinkedIn in a whole new way that truly enables regulated individuals to leverage the social network while remaining compliant.”

For more information, visit: http://www.actiance.com.

Products June 8, 2011

College Funding with Stock Options and NQDC Plans

For employees with stock options or nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans at work, myStockOptions.com and myNQDC.com are offering guidance on how to successfully save for college.
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Troy Onink, a college-funding authority and Forbes blogger, has written a series of articles for the Web sites, explaining the issues and steps involved in using these forms of compensation to meet the costs of university tuition.   

On myStockOptions.com, the three-part series Funding Your Child’s College Education With Stock Options And Other Stock Grants explains:  

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  • The impact of equity awards on financial aid eligibility
  • The basics of gift tax and the tax treatment of stock compensation in the financial planning for higher education
  • Methods to minimize capital gains at sale, planning for the kiddie tax and education tax credits, and strategies that students can use

On myNQDC.com, the two-part series College Financial Aid & Funding With Nonqualified Deferred Compensation explains:  

  • NQDC in the context of eligibility for need-based financial aid
  • The ways in which NQDC income deferrals and distributions by parents affect a student’s eligibility for financial aid
  • Impact of NQDC on eligibility for the American Opportunity Tax Credit
  • Financial-planning strategies with NQDC that can help your cash flow for meeting college expenses.  

Content on myStockOptions.com and myNQDC.com is suited for licensing by companies, stock plan providers, and securities firms for training, research, and ongoing education. For more information, visit http://mystockoptions.com, email sales@mystockoptions.com, or call 617-734-1979.

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