Compliance software comparisons for advisers
20 comparisons in 3 categories
Each comparison reads a handful of vendors against what the rule asks of that kind of software: what an archive must capture and how it must store it, what a texting app must hand to the archive, what a CRM keeps that counts as a record. Every vendor gets a status word per requirement, taken from the vendor's own pages on the date the page shows, and a line naming the document to ask the vendor for before you sign.
Verdicts are by use case, never by price, and nothing is scored or starred; the terms of use set out how comparisons and listings are made. Below, each comparison starts with its three verdicts. For a wider list of vendors, filed by what they do, see the vendor directory.
- Best email archiving software for advisers (SEC and FINRA)
Best overall: Smarsh; best for a one-adviser RIA: Archive Intel; best for a broker-dealer that must evidence review: Global Relay.
Email archives judged on the adviser and broker-dealer record rules, with general business archives named as such. - Best social media archiving software for advisers
Best overall: Archive Intel; best for a broker-dealer that needs an undertaking: Smarsh; best for pre-approving advisers' posts: Hearsay Social.
Archiving for LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram posts, comments and messages, judged against the record rules. - Smarsh alternatives for advisers and small broker-dealers
Best like-for-like alternative: Global Relay; best for bringing a long history across: Jatheon; best for an adviser whose website is a record too: MirrorWeb.
Who else archives adviser communications, what drives an archiving quote, and when a small firm switches. - Best SEC 17a-4 compliant cloud storage for broker-dealer records
Best overall: Google Cloud Storage; best for a firm or IT provider building its own store: Amazon S3 Object Lock; best for an RIA's client documents: FutureVault.
Document and object storage checked against the two storage modes the amended Rule 17a-4(f) allows. - Global Relay alternatives, and what drives an archiving quote
Best like-for-like replacement: Smarsh; best for a small RIA whose advisers text on iPhones: Archive Intel; best for a firm that wants the archive on its own servers: Jatheon.
What drives an archiving quote, then the other archives a small firm can use and who each one fits. - Best WhatsApp and iMessage archiving for financial firms
Best overall: LeapXpert; best for a small firm buying capture and archive together: MirrorWeb; best for a firm whose clients use WhatsApp only: Global Relay.
Capture tools for the two consumer messaging apps at the centre of the SEC's off-channel cases. - Best text message archiving software for financial firms
Best overall: Smarsh; best for a firm that already has an archive: CellTrust; best for firm-issued Android phones: Global Relay.
Carrier, app and device capture tools for keeping the texts a firm's people already send.
- Best FINRA-compliant texting for advisers
Best overall: MyRepChat; best for a one-adviser RIA: iPlum; best for a firm whose reps text on iMessage: Archive Intel.
Texting apps advisers can use with clients while every message is still kept and supervised. - Best advertising review software for advisers
Best overall: Red Oak; best for an RIA that must show each version and its approval: Hadrius; best when the website and emails already run on one marketing platform: FMG.
Review-and-approve software for adviser marketing under the SEC Marketing Rule and FINRA's communications rules.
- Best CRM for financial advisors and RIAs
Best overall: Wealthbox; best for reps under a broker-dealer: Redtail CRM; best for an RIA with set service models: Practifi.
CRMs for RIAs and reps, judged on the record-keeping jobs a CRM touches rather than on features alone. - Best CRM for wealth management firms
Best for teams sharing households: Wealthbox; best for a firm that builds its own model: Salesforce Agentforce Financial Services; best for a firm with several business lines: SS&C Black Diamond CRM.
CRMs for multi-adviser and family-office style firms that manage households, entities and teams. - Best trade surveillance software for small firms
Best overall: Docupace ComplianceEdge; best for a small RIA: Orion Compliance; best for a firm that handles its own orders: TT Trade Surveillance.
Surveillance tools for small broker-dealers and advisers: what the alerts cover and how reviews are documented. - Best compliance software for small broker-dealers
Best overall: Hadrius; best for a firm that files ads with FINRA: Red Oak; best for supervising customer accounts and trades: Docupace ComplianceEdge.
Compliance platforms for small FINRA member firms, judged on the supervision and record duties a broker-dealer carries. - Best RIA compliance consultants for small advisers
Best overall for an SEC-registered RIA: Joot; best for a state-registered RIA: Quadrant Regulatory Group; best for a firm that needs a named CCO: Core Compliance.
Outsourced compliance firms for advisers: the services each one offers and the firm sizes it serves. - Best software for financial advisors: the compliant stack
Best overall: Wealthbox; best for one platform across layers: Orion; best for a small RIA's compliance and archive: Comply.
The adviser software stack by category, with the record and supervision duty each piece touches. - Best RIA compliance software for small firms
Best overall for an SEC-registered RIA: Comply; best for a firm that already has a consultant: Smartria; best for a firm that markets every week: Hadrius.
Compliance suites for SEC- and state-registered advisers, judged on the compliance program rule's three duties. - Best personal trading compliance software
Best overall: Comply; best for a small RIA's 204A-1 reports: Smartria; best for access persons with accounts at many brokers: ACA Group ComplianceAlpha.
Code-of-ethics software for access-person reports, pre-clearance and restricted lists. - Redtail vs Wealthbox for RIAs and reps
Best for a rep under a broker-dealer: Redtail CRM; best for a team RIA: Wealthbox; if you also want email and texting from your CRM vendor: Redtail CRM.
The two adviser CRMs side by side on the record-keeping jobs a CRM touches. - Best FINRA compliance consultants for small broker-dealers
Best overall for a small member firm: Quadrant Regulatory Group; best for a firm that needs a principal in the seat: CRC Oyster; best for a technology-led firm applying for membership: InnReg.
Compliance consultants for small broker-dealers: supervisory procedures, inspections, filings and AML support. - Best free CRM for financial advisors
Best free plan for a one-adviser RIA: Zoho CRM; best free plan for leaving cleanly: Capsule CRM; best trial of an adviser-built CRM: Wealthbox.
Free CRM tiers for advisers and the record-keeping features each free tier leaves out.