‍Hearsay’s introduction of the first automated, scalable testimonial management system for advisors captures judges’ attention in the Compliance category

SAN FRANCISCO – June 14, 2023 – Hearsay Systems, the trusted global leader in digital client engagement for the financial services industry, today announced that it has been named a finalist in the WealthManagement.com 2023 Industry Awards (the Wealthies). Now in its ninth year, the Wealthies honor the best companies, people, and organizations that support financial advisor success. Hearsay was named a finalist in the Technology Providers: Compliance category.

Hearsay is being recognized for its innovation in the wake of the SEC’s new Marketing Rule, which treats endorsements and other testimonials written about advisors and shared publicly by the advisor via social media as advertisements. Hearsay’s new, highly scalable solution is a first for the financial services industry. It allows users to leverage this long-prohibited type of advertising. 

‍Hearsay Social enables regulated firms to compliantly capture and supervise testimonials on Linkedin and Facebook (specifically, LinkedIn Recommendations and Skills and Facebook Ratings and Reviews fields), as follows:

• When a user adds LinkedIn skills to their profile, receives or requests a LinkedIn recommendation, or receives a Facebook rating, information is passed to the archive and alerts are created for administrative compliance review.
• Advisors can attest to any solicitation, conflict, client, and paid status of each testimonial within the Hearsay platform.
• These attestations then help guide the workflow according to each firm’s specific policies, and testimonials that don’t adhere are automatically removed. 

‍As such, Hearsay solves the conflict between advisors’ desire to use testimonials with compliance’s need to confidently supervise and archive them in a scalable manner so that advisors can take full advantage.

“Financial professionals operate in a social world driven by likes, comments, and shares. Testimonials and endorsements are critical tools in an advisor’s marketing toolkit, so we developed a simple and compelling solution that enables them to grow their business while remaining in compliance,” said Bill Simpson, Director of Compliance, Hearsay Systems. “We are honored that the Wealthies continues to see the value and innovation Hearsay consistently delivers in response to advisors’ most pressing needs.” 

WealthManagement.com named Hearsay Systems as a finalist in the Compliance category in 2022 and 2021. In 2020, Hearsay was also a finalist in Social Media leadership for its initiative regarding “Safeguarding Social During Covid.” 

The WealthManagement.com Industry Awards is the only awards program of its kind. An independent panel of judges made up of top names in the industry reviewed more than 1,000 entries from over 400 companies this year, across 92 categories. Winners will be announced on September 7th.

“The Industry Awards serve as a beacon, illuminating the trailblazers and innovators who are shaping the future of the financial services industry,” said David Armstrong, director of editorial strategy and operations, in a statement. “With record-setting participation this year, the awards program stands as a powerful testament to the value firms place in the Wealthies as a trusted third-party validation of their market leadership.” 

To learn more about how Hearsay helps advisors take advantage of endorsements and testimonials, please visit www.hearsaysystems.com.