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Through business continuity planning, Los Angeles registered investment advisors (RIAs) can deliver important services to clients — even in the event of a disaster or another disruption. A firm can minimize threats and quickly rebound from potentially devastating circumstances, such as natural disasters, cyber attacks, and power failures when secure data backups are consistently performed and a solid recovery plan is in place.
So what will it take for you to address your disaster recovery process before the need arises? Startling research from Clutch, a Washington, D.C.-based research firm, shows that 58% of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) aren’t prepared for in the event that their data becomes lost or stolen. Moreover, 60% of SMBs that lose their data end up going out of business within the following six months.
RIAs can avoid becoming a part of these sorts of statistics simply by taking the time to plan and prepare for what they think “can’t” or “won’t” happen with a business continuity plan. I’ve put together a list of three business continuity planning tips to help LA investment advisors navigate a crisis without losing business or eroding the confidence of their firms’ clients.
Tip 1. Implement a Disaster Recovery Plan
Server downtime and data loss can result in big expenses for any investment firm. When it comes to wealth management services, even brief outages can translate into significant business losses. A disaster recovery solution is a mandatory operations asset to ensure that your clients’ important and sensitive data are safeguarded and continually available.
FPA Backup & Data Recovery (BDR): This popular business recovery suite prevents information corruption and data loss while maintaining access to critical systems during the disaster recovery process. The secure data backup capability has an infinite number of restore points and a recovery rate that is rapid and efficient.
Tip 2. Use Risk Assessment Software
Investment firms are responsible for identifying and mitigating data integrity risks for their clients. Risk assessments, which are an essential part of any business continuity plan, allow companies to plan for unexpected complications and be ready to deal with those situations quickly and efficiently.
SecureWatch, a complete enterprise risk management suite, assists IT security professionals in developing guidelines for:
- Evaluating risks or areas of concern
- Identifying opportunities
- Making informed decisions about how to treat certain risks
This risk assessment system categorizes risks from low to high, enabling security teams to effectively focus resources. The system features:
- A web-based interface that can be accessed on any device, creating a remote risk management solution;
- Timely threat data from the industry’s most reliable source, including risk scores for more than 140 countries;
- Encrypted server data storage, safeguarding your data from intrusion; and
- A “heat map” that displays up-to-date developments of serious risk cultures based on accurate metrics and analytics.
Tip 3. Adopt an Incident Management and Notification Technology
Investment firms need a technology partner that can notify key recovery personnel in the event of a cyber threat or data disaster. Incident management capabilities and knowledge also are necessary so that the crisis team can effectively collaborate to fix the issue.
Clearview: This award-winning business continuity management (BCM) technology supports the BCM lifecycle through a variety of functions, including:
- Impact analysis
- Thorough risk assessment and plan development
- Rapid incident notification
- Action plans that are formulated and executed with speed
Bottom Line
Business continuity planning is vital to any investment firm’s operating strategy. To ensure that important and confidential information remains secure, careful attention must be paid to the contingency planning, data security, and risk management efforts.
Strategic and smart planning, in this respect, can provide Los Angeles investment advisors with the edge they need to survive and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace. FPA’s consistent, high quality IT services
Does your LA investment firm have any business continuity plans in place? If so, how effective do you think they are and why? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments box below or shoot me an email if you’d like to chat about this in more detail.
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