Edition 5, 2024
Empowering you to thrive
Erinn Ford: Thank You for Being Part of the Osaic Community
Valued Partners,
This month, I’m feeling especially grateful for the incredible community we are cultivating thanks to all of you. During our conversations, I often hear how important your relationships with your peers and Osaic employees are to your business, and I must tell you: it’s mutual and it’s only going to get better!
Connection in action
We continue to see connection in action in March, including at our 18th annual W Forum event that took place in beautiful Hollywood, FL. This year’s event brought record-breaking attendance, with over 600 in-person participants, and another 700+ who streamed W Forum remotely. It was remarkable to see so many familiar and new faces, and if you had the opportunity to be there, I hope we had the chance to say hello. If you missed the event but would like to tune in, you can rewatch any of the remarkable sessions on the conference website (simply register as a virtual attendee first).
In addition, we also held our first Osaic Teams Advisory Council Meeting in Dallas! And I can affirm the saying that everything IS bigger in Texas as we had big ideas, big momentum, and big vision. All translating to a bold new agenda for our newest Osaic council focused on how to continue to drive Osaic forward as a leading wealth management firm for Financial Professional teams. I’d like to thank Shawn Wooden, Associated Financial Consultants and Investor Services, for his leadership, and to all our valued Council members for a productive dialogue. I know this group is going to have a lasting mark in co-creating a differentiated offering for how we deliver value and support Financial Professionals who have a Teams-style business model.
Striving to deliver a frictionless experience
One of the other topics I’ve been talking to many of you about recently is how we as your partner can make it easier for you to do business. While we acknowledge that things may not feel easy at times, and in our heavily regulated industry few things are ever truly frictionless, Osaic is actively incorporating your feedback in all that we do to enhance your experience. If you have a few minutes, please tune into Advice and Wealth Management President Greg Cornick’s recent conversation with Tim Hodge, EVP, Trading and Operations, where Tim shares examples of this important focus.
Next month, Greg will be joined by Kristen Kimmell, EVP, Business Development, for a conversation on how we’re helping you increase the value of your business, including through capital solutions and succession planning. In the meantime, hear what Derick Klug, High Point Capital Group, had to share about the critical importance of having a succession plan.
Thank you for your partnership
As always, thank you for all that you do on behalf of your clients, and for your business and your partnership. We are so energized by our mission to serve you and will continue to lean in on our commitment to helping you thrive.
Please always feel welcome to reach out at AdvisorEngagement@Osaic.com and a member of my team will get back to you promptly.
Best,
Erinn Ford
EVP, Advisor Engagement
Independent Channel Leader
Greg Cornick: Creating Frictionless Experiences – A conversation with Tim Hodge, EVP, Trading and Operations
Advice and Wealth Management President Greg Cornick recently sat down with Tim Hodge, EVP, Trading and Operations, for a conversation about the Four Pillars of Value we’re focused on as part of our commitment to being an exceptional partner to you, and, specifically, how we’re focused on creating frictionless experiences.
New Osaic Teams Advisory Council Kicks Off in Texas
They say everything is bigger in Texas—and after kicking off our inaugural Osaic Teams Advisory Council gathering in Dallas—we wholeheartedly agree. Big ideas. Big momentum. Big vision. All translating to a bold new agenda for our newest Osaic council focused on how to continue to drive Osaic forward as a leading wealth management firm for Financial Professional teams.
“We had amazing leaders of team-based practices from across the nation convene with top talent at Osaic to collaborate and exchange ideas. This type of collaboration is only meaningful if there is a true partnership and everyone in the room truly wants to be the best and is open and honest,” said Council Chair Shawn Wooden, Associated Financial Consultants and Investor Services. “Together, we are aiming to make Osaic’s team-based ecosystem top in class. It has been a great start, and we are looking forward to the journey.”
Erinn Ford, Executive Vice President, Osaic Advisor Engagement, and Osaic Teams Advisory Council Executive Sponsor, echoed Shawn’s remarks.
“The Osaic Teams Advisory Council is a dynamic Osaic community of affiliated Financial Professionals from across the country who are helping us co-create a differentiated offering for a Teams-style business model focused on four key areas: business management, holistic wealth management, business development, and community,” she said. “Incredible progress takes place at the intersection of feedback and strategy, and we could not be more energized by the fellowship and outcomes of our inaugural gathering.”
During the meeting, the importance of transparency around Osaic’s definition of Teams as it relates to pricing benefits was also discussed. Osaic shared that we define Teams-style business models as advisor groups that share the same DBA name and have centralized revenue and client management, including a shared book of business and shared approach for investment management and service support.
The Teams Advisory Council members include:
- Jeff Brooks, BFA™, City Fiduciary Group
- Todd Bury, Bury Financial Group
- Gus Catanzaro, PPS Advisors
- Michael Cozad, CFP®, MSFS Smith Moses & Cozad
- Chad Feucht, Feucht Financial Group, LLC
- Will Isaacs, CFP®, Wealth Strategies
- Jack Jones, CHFC, CFP®, Robare & Jones Wealth Management
- Howard Mattson, Plan One Financial Group
- Alex Petsis, CFP® ChSNC®, Anthony Petsis & Associates
- Tony Petsis, CLU® ChFC®, Anthony Petsis & Associates
- Matt Pulsipher, ChFC, CFP®, NSSA City Fiduciary Group
- Jacob Schmidt, CFP®, Financial Planning Services
- Andrea Sheikh, CFP®, CIMA®, CAIA®, Iron Bridge Wealth Counsel
- David A. Smith, CFP®, MSFS, AIF®, Smith Moses & Cozad
- Brant Spesshardt, , CFP®, CKA®, Steward Wealth Strategies
- Paul Vladem, CPA, PFS™, Associated Financial Consultants & Investor Service
- Jonathan Webb, CFP®, Bach Wealth Management
- John Williams, BFA™, CHFC®, CLU®, RFC®, Davis Williams Wealth Management
- Shawn Wooden, Associated Financial Consultants and Investor Services
Advancing the Council’s impact throughout Osaic in addition to Erinn are Shannon Larson, SVP, Platform Management and Product Development; Claire Besant, Director, Business Development; Stacy O’Keeffe, SVP, Advisor Engagement; and Casey Davison, SVP, Advisor Engagement, Relationship Executive.
If you have questions or feedback, please contact AdvisorEngagement@Osaic.com.
Learn more about what’s happening across all Osaic advisory councils and boards.
National Advisory Board’s key advice to Osaic
Last month’s National Advisory Board covered key areas of focus for Osaic’s priorities. With continued transparency into the input your peers are providing, this following recap gives insight into the lively discussion.
Business-Centric Strategy
Increase clarity about the multiple affiliation models and the business types, so financial professionals can clearly see the value and benefits within each to their business and their clients: Osaic Wealth (Independent), Osaic RIA (RIA Solutions), Osaic Institutions (Financial Institutions), Osaic Advisors (W-2).
Frictionless Experience
Continued focused on tangible changes that help financial professionals quickly by avoiding tactical errors. Empower employees with resourcing and information to be an effective and efficient when serving financial professionals and their teams when they call.
Community
Explain and highlight the opportunities for connection that exist as we move from the transactional, general approach to a transformational, specialized approach by business-centric relationships and peer community development.
The My Assistant program has openings!
What can Osaic’s My Assistant program do for you? Here’s how easy it can be to experience the value of a trained assistant without the additional managerial effort. Get started today.
Thank you!
On behalf of our My Assistant team, we want to thank the following advisors for trusting their business assistant needs with us!
Hear from your peers
Our advice to a new user of the program would be to figure out which parts of the administrative process they dislike doing the most and outsourcing those tasks to the program.
We use My Assistant for most of our new paperwork and related administrative tasks. We provide them with basic client info, and they complete the rest from sending DocuSigns to clients, to making sure follow-up compliance items are completed.
Our advice to a new user of the program would be to figure out which parts of the administrative process they dislike doing the most and outsourcing those tasks to the program.
We are very thankful to have Donna by our side and acting as an advocate for our team!
Perspective From Your Peers
How does Osaic help and support you and your business today and into the future? This was a key topic of conversation at the W Forum, and your peers led the discussion.
In context, the “Journey to One” transition becomes “the power of one,” and here’s what that means for you and your businesses.
What are your thoughts on community and connection?
We've had so much change and it is constant, but I would like to give a shoutout to Jamie Price for continuing to do this conference and keep it positive and continuing to build. Because some companies when looking at the bottom line is cut-cut-cut, but we are still here. This has been amazing since we arrived and last night we met some awesome women.
Is there a ceiling on growth? How do you think about your growth and balancing it with your life goal and aspirations?
I look at how many appointments I want to do and what I want my work week to look like.Where was I spending my life? How was I going to be healthy enough to be an important part of their lives? I broke down how much I would be working, when is vacation, and number of appointments, so I had control over my schedule.
What are your thoughts on community and connection?
We've had so much change and it is constant, but I would like to give a shoutout to Jamie Price for continuing to do this conference and keep it positive and continuing to build. Because some companies when looking at the bottom line is cut-cut-cut, but we are still here. This has been amazing since we arrived and last night we met some awesome women.
To rewatch general session or other advisor-led breakouts, visit the W Forum virtual platform. Content will be available for 90 days after the event.
Pershing recently upgraded their system experience to a new web-based version called NetX360+. To address some of the most significant changes, guidance is provided below.
If you have suggestions for future improvements, feedback can be submitted via NetX360+. While Osaic partners closely with Pershing, NetX360+ changes are led by Pershing and are separate from our digital transformation roadmap.
We are continuing to enhance Osaic’s digital platforms offerings (e.g., OneHub, new eQuipt, and Wealth Management Platform), which will simplify your access to wealth management tools and help you grow faster.
Explore answers to your top five questions >
The Wealth Management Platform (WMP) is going through a transformation, starting with a new modern user interface. The intuitive interface provides easy navigation through the full client and wealth management process. While the look and feel of the interface has been modernized, functionality has not changed and you will use the same robust infrastructure of WMP.
You can continue to access the old interface, but we encourage you to start familiarizing yourself with the new interface today, as the old interface will retire on June 30, 2024.
Osaic’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Crimes (FCM) Group has seen an increase in fraudulent attempts to steal client funds via client email account takeovers and client email spoofing.
Email spoofing
Through email spoofs, fraudsters send emails that look like they are coming from your client or even create an email address that looks very similar to your client’s, but with an added or omitted digit or letter. The fraudulent email asks you to reply to a generic request to provide account balances. Your response gives the fraudster insights into types of account(s) and balances, which they use to follow up with a request to disburse funds, usually through a new bank account or via a third party.
Email account takeovers
In an email account takeover, a client’s email is hacked, which means fraudsters have access to email communications between you and your client. They use the information they gain from these personal interactions to fool you into thinking you are communicating with your client.
As the first line of defense against email fraud, you must independently verify all disbursements by contacting the client, either in person or by phone, as outlined in the Osaic Compliance Manual. Also, as a best practice to help safeguard your client assets, we strongly recommend you verbally confirm any changes to ACH or bank standing instructions before submitting the change request.
If you have any questionable interactions with clients or unnamed persons claiming to be clients, please contact Osaic’s AML team immediately, utilizing the Questionable Activity Form. Please also contact us via email or through the Fraud hotline if you are concerned about any pending or actioned money movements.
- Fraud@Osaic.com
- 866-270-6153
- Investigators are available Monday – Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm ET, excluding holidays