4 Reasons Broker Flexibility is a Must For Equity Management

February 8, 2023

Learn Why Certent Equity Management is the Right Choice as Your Equity Management Broker Platform

Many of the biggest equity management platforms are broker-owned and will often restrict users to the brokerage services of the platform owner. This long-term relationship is known as broker “lock-in” and has the potential to cost you dearly in the long-run.

Even if you technically have the freedom to contractually choose another broker – which isn’t a guarantee – it is important to know what is required of you to make a switch. Being saddled with high financial penalty from the platform owner or get bogged down in time consuming data exports to a new system, including the costly implementation of new software.

If you’re not 100% confident in your broker, or want to leave your options open, then choosing broker agonistic software is your best solution. If you experience poor service from your broker or market conditions demand you switch, a broker agnostic equity management platform will greatly reduce the cost and effort involved.

Broker agonistic software, like Certent Equity Management, does not push broker lock-in restrictions. You’ll benefit from flexible service models and easy integration with other applications. And if you decide to change your preferred broker at any point down the road, you can do so without changing your equity management platform.

Here are four reasons you’ll want to choose broker agnostic equity management platform.

Low Total Cost of Ownership

When you opt for an equity management solution from one of the big brokerage houses, it is in the best interest of the broker to lock you into their platform. But these interests may not align with your long-term equity management success.

It is important to view your decision in terms of total cost of ownership – the cost to buy something plus the cost to operate it over its useful life. Consider the cost of implementation, or in this case, the cost of re-implementing new software every time you want to switch to a new broker. Not factoring this into your platform buying process and relying on the empty promises of lock-in platforms could cost you significantly in the long-term.

Certent offers you the flexibility to change brokers with minimal cost or disruption. That means the price you pay is the only price you pay. Not cost burdens down the road.

Seamless Transition

If you need to switch between brokers to better meet your business needs, you’ll want to make the move as easy as possible. Certent works alongside your current broker and other broker partners. Its flexible options make it easy to customize your services to suit your business needs.

If you change brokers, you won’t have to reinvent the wheel, taking on complex data exports or learning new software. Instead, you’ll have equity professionals who are always on hand to answer your questions as they partner with you to deliver your equity plan. Additionally, your users will enjoy a consistent experience, blissfully unaware of any business changes. They can hit the ground running and won’t need to waste time redeveloping reports or familiarizing themselves with a new platform.

Going Public

Certent is the only major platform on the market built for scale and suited to handle both private and public companies. It provides flexibility if you stay private, and the ability to quickly pair with a broker if you decide to go public. This is done without disrupting your data and reporting, and insightsoftware’s industry leading professional services consulting team can provide IPO readiness and data services support.

Using Certent also reduces risk and helps facilitate compliance with a transparent and documented stock plan procedure manual, robust controls, and optimized processesyou don’t have to think twice about stock grant refreshes and financial reporting for ASC 718 or your other day-to-day administrative responsibilities.

Industry Specific Hurdles

For companies like financial institutions or banks, there are often conflicts of interest with certain brokerage firms. This is only problematic if you’re using lock-in equity management software.

For example, with the US cannabis industry, the current patchwork of state and federal laws that govern the industry create compliance issues for broker-dealers. If a similar event occurs within your industry, you’ll struggle to find a broker that will work with you. This means you’ll need a flexible tool to meet your industry specific needs. With Certent, you are not constrained by one broker, so you have more flexibility to avoid industry specific hurdles.

Certent Equity Management offers flexibility as your equity management broker platform. If you are looking for a broker agnostic equity management platform, contact insightsoftware to arrange a free demo.