Here at FutureVault, our team regularly gets asked about how our platform offers solutions to address the numerous challenges standing in the way of advisors and firms.

To respond to this question, we compiled a list of ten (10) of the most common use cases we’re seeing today with respect to how wealth management firms and wealth professionals are using the platform, showing the value and the utility of FutureVault as the industry standard of Digital Vault solutions.  

Leveraging FutureVault to Meet Books and Records Regulation

FutureVault’s platform is widely adopted to help firms and institutions confidently meet digital books and records regulation, including data residency, document retention, accessibility, and data redundancy requirements. FutureVault satisfies recordkeeping requirements provisioned by IIROC (now CIRO), FINRA, and the SEC, including SEC Rule 17a4 requirements, in addition to several others.

Automating the Delivery of Statements

One of the most time-saving and efficiency-gaining use cases is the platform’s ability to automate the secure delivery of client-facing documents.  Dozens of firms and institutions we work with leverage integrations (via APIs) and Bulk Uploads (via SFTPs) to automatically deliver important documents, which commonly include the following:

• Monthly Account Statements (Multi-Custodial)
• Account Opening and Onboarding Documents
• Quarterly and Annual Reports
• Tax Slips

Several of our Broker-Dealer (Investment Dealer) customers are also leveraging APIs and SFTPs to automate the delivery of documentation directly to their Advisors, which includes monthly commission fee statements.

Securely Exchange Documents with Clients  

Communicating and exchanging critical information and documents with clients and their family members is a fundamental component of financial services. FutureVault makes this process both efficient and secure by offering tools and features like secure document checklists and encrypted document handling to ensure that the information you request, receive, access, and exchange with your clients is safe, secure, and compliant.

Improving the Management of Client Files

For many of our Family Office and Wealth Management clients, including Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), FutureVault serves as the secure single source of truth of all client documents. For firms looking to improve the way client documents and files are stored, accessed, and managed, FutureVault can be easily implemented as an efficient digital filing cabinet, or as some of our customers refer to it, as the digital Personal Financial Organizer (dPFO) for their clients.

By leveraging our platform, and leveraging the ability to create multiple standardized folder structures for different client segments (ex, UHNW clients, insurance-only clients, estate planning clients, etc.) and by also leveraging the different types of folders available within the platform (Essential, Private, In Review, Global, etc), your firm can materially improve the way you are organizing and accessing your clients’ most critical information and documents.

This is especially invaluable for advisors and firms planning their succession to demonstrate governance or organization across the board.

Streamline Internal and External Audits

FutureVault helps to simplify and streamline internal and external audits by leveraging structured organization of folders and files across a large segment of end clients, along with other key tools and functionality including digital audit trails, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and our patented permissioning model. One of the primary use cases with respect to Vault permissions includes Back Office or Advisory teams providing access to regulators, such as an SEC Auditor, where these individuals can access real-time information and the evidenced documentation within one spot, in real-time and on-demand as required.

Drive Advisor-Client Engagement

By having a centralized place to access and exchange critical documents and information, Advisors (and firms altogether) can drive more engagement with their clients. Additionally, the Personal Life Management Vault™ is a unique way to build more trust and create more value for clients by not only offering a client-facing portal, but by offering a secure platform for your clients to now store, access, and manage their legal, estate, business, and personal documentation, while being able to share this information and provide access to their family members and the next generation.

Scale Trusted Collaborator Access to Information

Collaborating and working with trusted third parties where information and documents are often shared, accessed, and exchanged, is not only inevitable, it’s traditionally challenging. FutureVault’s patented Trusted Advisor permissioning functionality allows for Vaultholders and administrative users to easily provide secure Vault access to specific areas within one or many Vaults.

We see this feature being used in numerous ways and especially during tax season where both clients and firms are providing Vault permissions to accountants who can then access, retrieve, upload, and exchange information and documents required to file personal and business taxes.

Family members of clients are also very commonly given permission to access and manage entire Vaults or specific areas of Vaults that relate to any critical information they may need to have access to such as financial information, insurance policies, and estate-related information.

Family Legacy Planning

Intergenerational continuity planning and family legacy matters continue to grow in terms of the attention it receives, largely influenced by The Great Wealth Transfer. We’re continuing to witness advisors and clients leverage the Vault as a secure way to encourage participation in family matters with additional members of the family, and notably, with the next generation.

Improve Enterprise and Advisor Governance

One of the biggest challenges that we often see with the firms we engage with is that there are disparate systems being used, in many different ways with multiple stakeholders, for the different levels of the organization.

With FutureVault, we’ve been able to help our customers take their information governance to the next level by providing a single source of truth for all documents of permanence for enterprise/compliance, advisor, and client documentation.

In many cases with our implementations, the Home Office has access to a Corporate Vault and any additional types of operational Vaults. The Front Office and Advisors would have their own Business Vault. And lastly, clients and households would have access to a client-facing Vault, where essential information shared between the firm, advisor, and client is accessible to all parties.

Automate eSignature-Driven Processes

FutureVault integrates with eSignature platforms, such as DocuSign, to automate document filing and reduce post-onboarding administrative burdens. When documents are signed multiple actions can automatically take place:

• New client Vaults can be created during the onboarding process;
• Any and all e-signed documents can get deposited into mapped folders and sub-folder locations with notifications being sent to relevant parties;
• Data can be extracted from forms and templates to send to downstream systems

Conclusion

FutureVault extends well beyond simple document management to provide material value across multiple stakeholders, and importantly to help firms deliver a unique value proposition to their clients and the next generation.

In the words of our own partners and customers: Not all digital vaults are created equal.