Straightening Up

Securities America calls it "straight-through processing," or STP In Doreen Griffith's organ of visions it's the antidote to a paperwork overdose that has lengthy had a stranglehold on the industry.

Griffith, Securities America's chief information officer and senior vice president, is referring to the proces that is the lifeblood of each broker-dealer: completing applications to locate up new brokerage accounts or to purchase the investment and insurance outcomes of direct sponsors. "First, the rep manually penetrates the client's information on a brokerage account application and casts it to us," she says. "The domicile office receives the documentation and manually inputs it, interpreting handwriting glitches along the way. NIGOs,' or not in advantageous order' items, are then flagged and sent back to the rep causing further time delays." Ultimately, the compliance department obtains a crack at it, and after more revisions, the application is finally approved.

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