Managed IT Services for Houston Financial Advisors

Same rules as the giants, a fraction of the resources, and a threat aimed squarely at you.

Advisors face documented SEC/FINRA cybersecurity duties, unmanaged financial software, targeted wire-fraud attacks, remote-device exposure, and breach consequences that can permanently damage a practice.

• SEC and FINRA rules. Both require documented security policies, incident response plans, and regular risk assessments - obligations many small firms are not meeting.
• Unmanaged software. Financial planning tools, CRM, and custodian integrations need consistent updates and patches that go unmanaged in break-fix setups.
• Targeted wire fraud. Business email compromise attacks specifically target advisors and their clients with convincing spoofed emails to redirect transfers.
• Remote and mobile exposure. Advisors working off-site create security gaps if endpoints are not managed and encrypted.
• High-stakes breaches. A breach of client financial accounts carries regulatory, legal, and reputational consequences that can end a practice.

Six controls that both protect client data and hold up under regulatory scrutiny.

Every advisory firm should have six controls in place: email/BEC protection, MFA, managed financial software, network monitoring, tested backups, and documented SEC/FINRA-aligned policies.

• 1. Email and BEC protection. Stops wire-fraud and spoofing attempts before they reach staff or clients.
• 2. Multi-factor authentication. Required on advisor devices, client portals, and every third-party integration.
• 3. Managed financial software. Planning tools, CRM, and custodian integrations kept updated, patched, and backed up.
• 4. Around-the-clock monitoring. Network monitoring that flags unusual access to client account data before it becomes a breach.
• 5. Tested backups and recovery. So no client file is ever permanently lost and the firm can keep operating after a disruption.
• 6. Documented policies and IR plan. Cybersecurity documentation and an incident response plan aligned with SEC and FINRA requirements.

Business email compromise is not a generic threat - attackers research your firm first.

Business email compromise targets advisory firms specifically, using researched, convincing spoofed emails to redirect client transfers - and the fraud is usually caught only after the money has moved.

BEC attacks against small advisory practices have caused six-figure wire-transfer losses, and in most cases the fraud was not caught until after the money left the account. Attackers study your firm, your clients, and your custodians before sending a single email, then impersonate a client or a partner at exactly the right moment. A break-fix IT approach - where someone only shows up when something breaks - does nothing to stop that. Email authentication, second-channel payment verification, and staff training are what actually close the gap.