Letters to the editor

Regarding the Tech Update column “A Warning Before You Twitter,” which appeared in the June 22 issue, I think that Eric Rosenberg, an attorney and president of Litigation Proofing LLC in Mamaroneck, N.Y., is mistaken in his comment that “there is no technique for retaining [Twitter] and supervising it.”

New services are available to retain Twitter messages

Regarding the Tech Update column “A Warning Before You Twitter,” which appeared in the June 22 issue, I think that Eric Rosenberg, an attorney and president of Litigation Proofing LLC in Mamaroneck, N.Y., is mistaken in his comment that “there is no technique for retaining [Twitter] and supervising it.”

New services are available to capture, retain and back up messages distributed through social-media tools. Some services, such as the new archiving service from Smarsh of Portland, Ore., are limited to Twitter messages, while others such as LifestreamBackup of Louisville, Ky., encompass services such as Flickr, WordPress and many others.

I concede that retention is separate from supervision, yet compliance officers are free to use RSS feeds of social-media content to monitor messages posted by representatives.

If prior approval is required, compliance officers ought to consider supporting a fast turnaround of approval for social-media messages.

Unfortunately, I can imagine how such support could turn into a costly service for a broker-dealer, so I suppose it is far easier to ban the use of social media by reps altogether.

Bill Winterberg

Principal

FPPad.com

Portland, Ore.

Industry is behind curve on tech developments

I was very interested to read the Tech Update column “A Warning Before You Twitter,” which appeared in the June 22 issue.

It was an utterly fascinating article in that it largely confirms that regulators and many compliance officers haven’t made the slightest effort to understand what Twitter is, what it is for, its core functionality and just about anything about it.

Once again, the world of financial services is being left behind by technology developments and how technology can be used to enhance the perception of the financial advice profession. And it isn’t as if Twitter is even new anymore!

Here is a golden opportunity for the financial advice profession to make itself more attractive and more relevant to consumers, yet regulation and compliance conspire to keep the profession at arm’s length from what is happening in the real world.

Advisers should take the time to educate and inform compliance experts on what Twitter is all about, how it works and how they plan to use it. Compliance people don’t like surprises.

Philip Calvert

Founder

IFA Life

Cranleigh, Surrey, United Kingdom

Focusing on spouses during presentations

I liked the article “Widows’ needs being ignored by advisers,” which appeared in the June 22 issue. It was well written, topical and very true.

I usually focus on the spouses in presentations where I get the feeling that the husband isn’t the “listening to an adviser” type. Someday, I know she will call me.

Pasquale J. Sacchetta

Principal

Wealth Management LLC

Westport, Conn.