The Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule announced this year has created big challenges for financial advisors. The rule says advisors must prove they acted in clients’ best interests when recommending investment products. Manual processes for gathering this information are often slow and laborious. Plus, manual processes are more likely to have errors. And they lack a consistent and repeatable auditable trail for compliance reviews.

Streamlining DOL Compliance: The Power of Technology

Because of the extensive documentation and data collection required, financial advisors need an electronic and automated solution.

Without automated tools, advisors have to manually input all client information. They’d also need to gather and input product details, fees, compensation, and more. This manual process is time-consuming.

Advisors may also not know all that needs to be collected as part of the process for in good order processing. Without an automated solution, advisors may not complete the process consistently across clients. Also, the data collected usually is not connected to the application process creating a disconnected process/experience.

Pre-sale solutions solve these issues by streamlining the entire data collection process.

Automating Data Collection: A Pre-Sale Revolutionizer

With the right pre-sale technology, you can automate the data collection process. It can also gather product criteria, fees, compensation data, and other relevant information. All through wizards and forms.

One key advantage of pre-sale solutions is they cut redundant data entry, when connected to other sales activities. Advisors input information once. Then, the data captured can be used in disclosures, applications and other forms. This ensures consistency and accuracy.

Additionally, the best pre-sale technology has robust rule engines. These engines guide advisors through each required step. All based on product parameters and client profiles captured. This ensures the collection of all necessary data and signatures. It helps firms to integrate their defined DOL fiduciary rule requirements into their sales process.

Creating an Ironclad Audit Trail with Pre-Sale Solutions 

Let’s say an advisor is recommending an annuity product to a client. The pre-sale solution would prompt the advisor to input information. Examples are client’s age, financial goals, risk tolerance, and other relevant information.  

If scoring or rules are set up, it would then present annuity options that fit the client’s needs. It does this by capturing details like fees, surrender charges, and compensation disclosure.  

All this data creates an auditable trail. Proof it was in the client’s best interest based on their profile. 

5 Golden Nuggets to Maximize Your Pre-Sale Solution 

1. 1. Review your firm’s interpretation of the DOL fiduciary rule requirements.
   2. Configure the pre-sale solution to align with your firm’s specific needs and processes. 
   3. Train advisors on effective use of the pre-sale solution to capture all required data and signatures.
   4. Review and audit the data collected through the pre-sale solution. 
   5. Leverage the pre-sale solution’s integration capabilities for a seamless, compliant sales process. 

FireLight Pre-Sale: Your Competitive Edge for DOL Compliance

Automated Compliant Data Collection. Gather required client needs, product criteria, fees, and compensation data.

Recommendations. All data inputs and advisor recommendations in FireLight create an auditable trail. This demonstrates adherence to the fiduciary rule’s best interest standards.

Seamless Integration with Sales Process. Approved pre-sale data flows into FireLight’s e-application for a cohesive, compliant sales process from start to submission, including generation of all required disclosure documents.

Flexible Configuration. FireLight’s no-code tools allow easy configuration of pre-sale workflows, forms, and rules. This will align with your firm’s specific interpretation of DOL requirements. This flexibility enables rapid adaptation as regulations evolve, without heavy IT overhead. Advisors can streamline their processes and maintain an audit trail for compliance reviews.

Learn more about how FireLight can support your DOL-compliant workflows. Request a consultation today!