Let’s be real: your team isn’t living in Outlook anymore. Deals are getting done over iMessage. Onboarding happens over WhatsApp. And Bloomberg Chat might as well be your second CRM. The tools are modern.
Meanwhile, compliance rules? Still catching up.
That creates a messy middle: how do you keep FINRA happy without capturing every “lol” someone sends in a family group chat?
The Compliance Question: What Counts as Business Communication Under FINRA and SEC Rules?
FINRA and SEC regulations are clear on one point:
If a message touches on your securities business, even if it’s a casual chat on someone’s personal phone, it needs to be archived.
Doesn't matter if it is a voice note on a personal phone or a quick DM during lunch. If it relates to investments, advice, transactions, or anything that might guide a client decision, it is a business message.
But that is where it gets tricky...
The Pitfall of Over-collecting Everything
Some compliance software tries to solve the problem with a sledgehammer: "GRAB EVERYTHING JUST IN CASE." But that approach backfires quickly. Personal chats, client jokes, even birthday emails from Grandma get swept into the archive.
It is a flawed approach. Over-collection does not just bloat your records. It creates a privacy problem and an audit nightmare. It is surveillance in the name of safety - turtles all the way down. Each justification for overreach justifies another, until compliance spirals into something else entirely.
Regs are starting to acknowledge that. In early 2025, FINRA’s CEO called for changes to the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), advocating that it should stop collecting retail investors’ personal information. The takeaway? Even reg bodies are signaling that effective oversight does not require invasive surveillance. It is time compliance systems caught up.
A Smarter Way to Filter
TCC’s software takes a more refined approach. We filter based on contacts, meaning we retain the messages that matter for compliance and discard the ones that do not.
Captured Content Typically Include
- Communication with clients, prospects, or financial partners
- investment discussions, transaction updates, and advice
- business-related messages.
Excluded Messages Include
- Personal email threads (Seriously. SEC doesn’t want to know about your Dr appt reminder.)
- Group chats with friends or family
- Your friend's WhatsApp messages on his golf scores. (no offense to your buddy.)
This is not just about convenience. It is about compliance that demonstrably respects privacy, reduces risk, and aligns with current regulatory expectations.
Compliance should be smart... not Paranoid
Yes, FInra and SEC are strict. FINRA Rule 3110 and SEC Rule 17a4 do not leave room for interpretation. If it is business, it must be archived. But there is no mandate saying you have to violate privacy to stay compliant.
Compliance does not need to tilt at windmills. You do not need to chase every message to prove diligence. You need the right ones and a defensible, transparent way to know the difference.
The Bottom Line
Oversight doesn’t have to be overkill. (privacy concerns)
Archiving doesn’t have to be everything-and-the-kitchen-sink. (bloated)
And compliance doesn’t have to be the enemy of common sense. (let's be thoughtful)
With TCC, compliance becomes about solving the actual problem, not over-engineering around it.
Want to see how it works in practice?
[Book a demo] and see how your firm can stay compliant without losing control.
