Securing Adviser Communications at Stonebridge Financial

When in-person meetings stopped during COVID-19, Stonebridge Financial needed a secure way to send fact-finding documents and other confidential client paperwork by email.

Research from eMarketer shows that 33% of consumers have been affected by data breaches at companies tasked with keeping their data safe. For a small advice firm, that makes the security of everyday client communication a practical priority.

Protecting sensitive data and honouring clients' privacy matters for the firm's reputation and for client safety. That was certainly a priority for Stonebridge Financial.

Who Are They?

Stonebridge Financial is a small, three-person firm based in Chester.

Andy Davies, the current owner, bought the business in 2018 after a successful career at a large insurance company.

financial adviser shaking clients hand

Coming from a corporate background, Andy was already aware of the importance of email security.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the need for an immediate encryption solution increased significantly.

Securing Communications During COVID-19 And Beyond

Remote advice soon became the default, and digital communications replaced many in-person meetings.

Unlike a closed office door, email did not give Andy and his team an obvious way to achieve full privacy when sending confidential documents.

To protect their clients' confidential documents, they needed an email encryption tool that could:

Give their clients peace of mind
Keep them compliant with data regulations
Work alongside their toolset
Send sensitive documents reliably

"When the COVID-19 pandemic happened, we weren't able to see clients in person. That meant we had to deal with people by email as a default."

Andy Davies, Financial Adviser

In 2020, a friend introduced Andy to Mailock by Beyond Encryption.

After seeing how the tool worked, he signed up on the spot.

Now, the Stonebridge Financial team use Mailock whenever they need to send anything of a sensitive nature, such as fact-finding documents.

professional desk work with laptop on

That gives their clients a choice between in-person and remote service.

Clients can complete services in person or, if they prefer the safety and convenience of remote advice, complete them over secure email. It is entirely up to the individual.

An Intuitive And Reliable Solution

As well as offering clients that choice, Stonebridge Financial gains several practical security benefits from Mailock.

These include:

Protection from security threats
Identity authentication of email recipients
Data regulation compliance
AES-256 encryption for their clients' personal data

They also use Mailock's cost-effective licensing plan, as well as its ease of integration.

Could This Work In Your Organisation?

Book a Mailock demo to talk through your current email process, the data you send, and where extra controls could help.

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In just a few clicks, they can set up protected email that adds stronger safeguards to sensitive messages.

"Integrating Mailock into our business was one of the simplest things I've ever done. It works with Unipass and Outlook in such an intuitive way."

Andy Davies, Financial Adviser