As a part of our white glove service, we offer connections to all the recordkeepers and custodians which you are partnered with. We will import your plan and investment data automatically as part of your onboarding. This involves updating existing plans and creating new plans as they come in.
To see all that we are partnered with, please click here.
Within that spreadsheet, you will find:
The feeds we have with mutual partners
Recordkeepers supported by that feed
The datapoints that come from that feed (as sent by the recordkeepers)
The data sharing agreement is necessary to begin integrations
Any special considerations of the feed
Once you have identified the recordkeepers you want to connect with, please send an email to [email protected] containing:
The recordkeepers you want to partner with
The accompanying data sharing agreements
Your firm CRD and accompanying plan lists (if applicable)
From there, we will reach out to all our mutual partners (with you cc'ed) to get these integrations ready.
With that in mind, here are some frequently asked questions about the integrations.
How long does it take to connect an integration?
Typically, if it is an established integration above, we can get it complete within the same month or the next that the agreement is signed and the Recordkeeper responds. At that point, it will depend on the speed of the Recordkeeper/custodian to include, but we've worked with each team to make the process more efficient. If you onboard a new Recordkeeper in the future, this same process will occur.
I have a Recordkeeper that isn't on your list. What do we do now?
Please send them to [email protected], still in your initial email. Either they do not support a direct feed transmission, an integration is pending, or we will work with their team to meet them at their technical capabilities. If we do not have contact with the firm, we will ask you for one to begin conversations.
How often do the updates come, and what do they entail?
Typically the data comes monthly at different dates depending on the feed. For data that is sent to you first, we'll upload within the week that you upload to our portal.
Monthly, we create new plans. Quarterly, we update all active plans within your account.
To learn about how we identify what is "new" or "active", click here.
I saw where some feeds require an "Advisor Upload". What does that mean?
Some recordkeepers/custodians either do not have the technical capacity to support an integration, or due to internal compliance, do not send data directly to third parties. Because of this, we allow you to upload the data to us. This gets entered directly into our parsing stream to be cleaned and prepared to be uploaded. You can learn more here.
Other than us uploading data to you, how does the data come?
We have a custom ETL process with each feed that parses, cleans, and filters the data so that it can be properly used within PlanTools. Typically, the data comes by way of TXT/CSV/XLSX via SFTP, or API. This is done automatically and the process varies by feed.
How do you differentiate between existing and new plans? What if I don't want a plan that was imported?
You can read more on that here.
Specifically, what investment data is sent over? Am I getting my full plan lineup?
We strive to receive your full plan lineup, which includes all active funds, regardless of activity or balance. If you find that this is not the case with any of your plans, please reach out to us! With that, we'll receive the appropriate identifiers and balances to correctly map to your plan.
What datapoints do you receive from each feed?
Take a look at the above link to find the data reference guides as provided from each feed. They should give you a general sense of what is or isn't included.
How is data kept confidential?
Data is kept confidential in a few different ways:
Plan Identification: We work with recordkeepers/custodians to identify and eliminate any gaps in plan identification to ensure your plans are properly handled.
At Rest: We support encryption methods such as PGP that come from each feed. Additionally, data is stored on an RBAC with 2FA and IP Whitelisting.
In Transit: We utilize SFTP transmission and/or API Bearer/Auth0 authentication to securely receive or transmit your data.
All in all, your data stays your data.
I looked at the datapoints for each, and there are some datapoints I want to use in PlanTools that aren't there. What can we do?
Let us know and we will reach out to the appropriate contacts to see what can be done. Each Recordkeeper/custodian has different approaches and timelines to feed additions, so we are beholden to their internal development roadmap. However, if it is a pressing need, please reinforce that. The teams we work with are receptive and want to hear what data is most important to you!
I want to limit some of the data that comes over to PlanTools. What is possible?
That will have to be a customization that happens at the feed level from the corresponding Recordkeeper/custodian. As of now, we parse and clean all data that is not PII participant data.