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Selecting a Clearing Provider

By: Pete McAteer
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In our previous blogs we discuss the things you should consider when deciding whether to change clearing platforms. Once you have assessed your needs and determined your firm’s direction around growth, recruiting and technology improvements, it’s time to begin the process of finding the best partner to help achieve your firm’s goals.   Make sure you have projected your business needs far enough into the future (5, 10 or 15 years); you do not want to make a platform change very often. Selecting a new provider for the right reasons and making the transition are a lot of work and will disrupt your firm’s operations, home office, your sales force (including recruiting efforts), and may also impact your clients along the way. You will need processes and strategies designed to make the change as painless as possible.  

Get the Entire Team Involved

It is important that there is consensus reached and shared ownership around the assessments done to get to this point. A solid and unified business plan will help align and unite your leadership team. Once a decision is made, the leadership team should be 100% onboard and kept fully involved to make the selection process and transition go as smoothly as possible. All key stakeholders should be present for the appropriate demonstrations and relevant follow-up meetings. It is vital for all leaders to share in the decision-making process. 

Outsourcing Facilitation of the Selection Processes

If your organization is like most, everyone is busily focused on the day-to-day job of running the firm. Engaging a partner to guide you through the process will take some of the disruption pains away. For example, the Request for Proposal (RFP) process from potential providers can run three to six months and, if done well, takes a lot of focus and attention.  

Oyster Can Help

Oyster has developed a firm ‘Playbook’ approach that provides clearing firms with everything they need to properly prepare a demonstration and provide a better, more accurate first proposal on pricing and various options – it helps the clearing firms quickly understand your firm and focuses them on your specific needs.  Oyster’s streamlined and tailored approach provides your firm with competitive intelligence, benchmarking, unbiased recommendations and best practices to help your firm manage the selection process and changes efficiently. Not only can Oyster help you decide which clearing firm is right for you, we can also provide support to help your firm to successfully execute the conversion cost-effectively.

Not Sure Where to Start?

Whether you’re registering for the first time, preparing for an examination, or looking for ongoing compliance support, CRC Oyster is the full-service partner to help you find the right path.

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