Introducing Secure Messaging - A New Way to Help Keep Your Personal Information Safe

Contributed by: Lauren Adams, CFA®, MBA

From presidential campaign email hacking to “zombie” internet-enabled devices, it’s hard to watch the news lately and deny that cybersecurity will likely be one of the most important issues and challenges of our time. Cybersecurity is a constant threat for individuals, businesses, and governments alike, and it’s a subject that we take very seriously here at Center for Financial Planning.

That’s why we continually work to find ways to make sure your personal information is kept safe and secure. Going forward, you should expect to see messages from us that contain personally identifiable information (such as Social Security Numbers or account numbers) sent via Raymond James’ Secure Messaging system. Secure Messaging allows us to encrypt the entire message we send, not just the attachment. Opening and replying to this email is fairly straightforward once you get the hang of it, and the process depends on whether or not you have an Investor Access account.

For Clients That Have Investor Access

You can receive and view a secure email on your computer, open the secure email, and open the secure email attachment entitled SecureMessageAtt.html (opening the attachment may differ slightly depending on the internet browser you use). If viewing from a mobile device, just click the link embedded within the message itself. Then, you will be able to click a button to “Read secure message” by logging in with your Investor Access email address, password, and security question. Your secure message will then appear. Need to send us an attachment back? Make sure you reply within the Secure Messaging system (not just to the email you received alerting you that have received a secure message from Raymond James Financial), and use the Attach a File, Add, and Upload buttons to send us the document back.

Want step by step instructions with screenshots? Check out this link.

For Clients That Do Not Have Investor Access

You can receive and view a secure email on your computer, open the secure email, and open the secure email attachment entitled SecureMessageAtt.html (opening the attachment may differ slightly depending on the internet browser you use). If viewing from a mobile device, just click the link embedded within the message itself. Then, you will be able to click a button to “Read secure message.” The first time you open a secure email, you’ll go through a one-time registration process. After that, you access a secure message by logging in with the password you’ve established. Your secure message will then appear. Need to send us an attachment back? Make sure you reply within the Secure Messaging system (not just to the email you received alerting you that have received a secure message from Raymond James Financial), and use the Attach a File, Add, and Upload buttons to send us the document back.

Want step-by-step instructions with screenshots? Check out this link.

Other Secure Ways to Send and Receive Information

Furthermore, as an alternative to Secure Messaging we also continue to use e-Signature, to allow clients to easily and securely sign forms electronically, and, our online content management and file sharing platform, the Vault. Haven’t tried the Vault yet? Get signed up for Investor Access and discover this easy way to upload secure information for your planner to review! Check out the blog articles we’ve already written on e-Signature and Vault for more information, or contact your Client Service Associate. We love when clients start using these tools for the first time, and we’re happy to walk through Secure Messaging, the Vault, or e-Signature together!

Lauren Adams, CFA®, MBA is Director of Client Services at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.®

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The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Lauren Adams and not necessarily those of Raymond James.

We're Expanding!

Contributed by: Lauren Adams, CFA®, MBA

If you happened to visit The Center in December (perhaps for your annual review or maybe just to drop off a gift for Toys for Tots), you may have noticed an unusual amount of construction workers milling around and near our offices. You may have heard the occasional drill or hammer while chatting with Gerri or having a coffee in the reception area. You may have even come in to find a wall there one day and gone the next. To our December visitors, thank you for pardoning our dust. We really hope you’ll like what we did with the place.

2016 was a major year of investment in our team and resources at The Center. I was hired in July as the Director of Client Services, Jeanette LoPiccolo, CRPC®, who was hired as a Client Service Manager, Emily Lucido and Ashley Frank, both Client Service Associates, all came on in September, and Josh Bitel, another Client Service Associate, was added to our team in December. These new faces brought enthusiasm and fresh ideas with them… but things also started to get pretty cramped around here. And so, to cap of a year of major investment, the partners decided that it was also time to expand our physical location as well.

Now, visitors to The Center will notice that the office opens up both to the left and to the right from the lobby. We’ve added over 2,000 square feet of new space, new offices, new workstations, and even a new conference room where we can hold additional client and team meetings. We’ll be putting the finishing touches on our new space in the coming weeks; walls will receive special touches and additional furniture will arrive. This new space will allow those that were previously sharing close workspaces to spread out, and for us to arrange our departments, including Financial Planning, Investments, and Client Service, together to help share knowledge and function more cohesively. With the addition, Matt Trujillo, CFP®, and Nick Defenthaler, CFP®, will now have room to host client meetings in their offices.

We also have room to grow.  This year marks 32 years since our founding. Our commitment to the financial planning process, putting clients first, and providing exceptional service hasn’t changed since Dan Boyce, Marilyn Gunther, and Estelle Wade started the firm in 1985, and we know our steadfast commitment will allow us to continue to grow into the future. So come in, say “hi!” and see our new space!

Lauren Adams, CFA®, MBA is Director of Client Services at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.®

Diving into Raymond James: Conference Style

Contributed by: Lauren Adams, CFA®, MBA

In September, I was given the wonderful opportunity to attend the Raymond James Branch Professionals Foundations Conference, which an intensive hands-on educational experience for new employees of Raymond James-associated offices. Just as the weather was starting to cool in Michigan, I headed south to hot and humid Atlanta for the two-day training.

The roughly 30 attendees came from all over the United States, including as far as California and Washington. I’m proud to say that Michigan represented well with five of us attending from different Michigan offices (which also gave us a chance to ask each other where to find the “pop” during breaks and actually be understood… although I’m still puzzling over my new southern friends’ tendency to ask for a “Coke” and then proceed to select a Sprite or Dr. Pepper).

We started the conference with a deep dive into Client Center, which is Raymond James’s command center for managing client accounts, and new account processes, where we learned everything from how to monitor the opening, funding, and ongoing maintenance of accounts to the difference between IRAs and SAR SEP IRAs and UTMAs and UGMAs. All the while gaining a newfound appreciation for acronyms!

Day two started with a bang.... which, if you’re an operations nerd like me, that means an hour and a half session on compliance! Two senior compliance professionals presented to us about how to best prepare for a branch audit and learn about other compliance best practices. They quizzed us on the most common compliance issues (spoiler: the most common issues generally center on advertising) and gave us plenty of time for questions and answers.

We then moved into sessions on how to quickly and efficiently conduct money movement, which is of critical importance for our clients, and reporting. I found the sessions on practice management and client reporting especially helpful, as it allows us to do everything from make sure account administration goes smoothly to conduct interesting analysis on our business. Our last session was on how to use social media to better understand our clients and connect with them on issues that are most important to them.

Since returning from the conference, I’ve already used what I’ve learned to run reports that allow me to better analyze the potential FDIC exposure of our clients and identify the different sweep options used by our managed accounts (both of these topics are especially relevant given new SEC money market reform rules). Also, I’m eager to tell our clients about the benefits of our secure document center called the Vault, which clients can access through their online Investor Access account and share documents back and forth with The Center team in a secure and organized way. I’m also jazzed about the ease of using eSignature, a convenient (and eco-friendly) way to electronically sign documents.

We ended our time together with a competitive game of Jeopardy to test what we’ve learned. The prize was your pick from a table of Raymond James swag. As good branch associates, we all learned the material quite well, so winning came down to who could raise their hands the fastest after the questions were asked. I even took to jumping in the air along with raising my hand, but sadly, another team was somehow quicker on the draw; my team came in second place. Next year, I hope to be able to attend the Raymond James Branch Professional Development Conference to learn more advanced concepts in technology, office procedures, and compliance… and for another chance at the Jeopardy Gold.

Lauren Adams, CFA®, MBA is Director of Client Services at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.®