First Western Advisors is registered Broker-Dealer (B/D) and Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firm handling financial services from wealth management and strategic alliances. First Western came to Sendside to find a way to communicate with clients that conformed to all of their regulation and compliance needs. What they found with Sendside was a comprehensive easy-to-use solution that exceeded their expectations.

The Challenge: Meeting regulatory and compliance needs while providing high-touch client communications.

In the highly regulated financial industry, federal mandates state that firms cannot send non-public client information on unsecure, unencrypted systems. First Western Advisors sought a solution that would enable them to electronically send messages and documents to their clients and eliminate the need for faxing and mailing.

First Western Advisors, a Salt Lake City based full service stock brokerage and investment firm, was looking for a solution to their client communication needs and something that would comply with Regulation S-P ("Reg S-P"), which requires financial institutions under the authority of the SEC to implement policies and procedures to protect and safe guard non-public client information. Under this regulation, client information can't be sent by traditional email and forces firms to rely heavily on standard mail and fax for sending documents. Both are time consuming and can be costly. Recognizing the need to provide their customers with an added convenience, First Western Advisors approached Sendside Networks for an application that will allow them to send confidential data electronically and securely, meeting their Reg S-P specifications.

"First Western Advisors strives to meet and exceed all of the regulation requirements in the financial industry," said Kami Asay, IT Manager/Client Relations Manager. "So, to meet the requirements of Reg S-P, we were seeking a solution that not only addressed the issue, but gave us the ability to supercede our competition in the industry by giving our customers an added layer of security and convenience."

In seeking the best option for their needs, First Western Advisors did due diligence and looked at other options, but chose to go with Sendside's robust and user friendly system for its comprehensive capabilities: web based, no additional software required, ability to integrate with Outlook and current email archive vendor, extensive reporting capabilities and security.

The Solution: Sendside's secure storage and multi-dimensional messaging.

First Western Advisors implemented Sendside's secure storage, secure/encrypted communications platform and multi-dimensional messaging for use with all client communication. The secure platform gave them the ability to send all client related statements and documents electronically and provide the most current account information possible.

Sendside's premiere product, Packages, the multi-dimentional messaging delivery system, gives them the opportunity to enhance email communication and provide a personal touch to each of their clients with an embedded video from their president and CEO and easy access to web content and account information.

"Our primary use of Sendside is centered on sending secure and encrypted email communications," said Asay. "Thanks to Sendside we have the ability to send account statements, updates on accounts, questions regarding personal information and all information that is considered to be private and confidential. Not only do the customers appreciate it, but it saves us a tremendous amount of time, money and resources."

The Success Story: Easy-to-use client communications that set them above the competition.

"Sendside has been an incredible business partner. With Sendside, we are staying ahead of the industry trends and establishing ourselves as leaders in innovative practices." ~ Kami Asay, First Western Advisors

Implementing Sendside allowed First Western Advisors to send documents via Packages and Multi-dimensional Messages instead of via fax or paper mail, providing First Western clients with better service and greater efficiencies and decreasing mailing and faxing costs. Improved time management (less time is required to send an email versus faxing and mailing) streamlined operations. In addition, Sendside provided immediately reporting analytics that reflect open and read activity by a client, providing better time management and client follow up.

Sendside enabled First Western Advisors to:

• Meet compliance mandates in weeks, not months at an affordable price.
• Protect client information with powerful next-generation security.
• Improve the client experience -- delivery and storage of messages and documents in a single location.
• Provide more frequent, relevant and interactive communications to clients with delivery of video, audio and documents -- all within a single message.