Glossary
Advisor prospecting and compliance glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms that come up in advisor prospecting, outreach, and compliance.
Money in motion
Money in motion refers to life events that move a person's assets and create a moment to reach out, such as a job change, promotion, business sale, inheritance, divorce, or retirement. Advisors watch for these signals because the timing of an outreach often matters as much as the message.
Cadence (sequence)
A cadence, also called a sequence, is a planned series of outreach steps across channels and time, for example an email on day one, a LinkedIn touch on day three, and a call on day five. A multi-channel cadence runs these steps in order so follow-up is consistent instead of ad hoc.
Multi-channel outreach
Multi-channel outreach is prospecting that combines more than one channel, typically email, LinkedIn, and phone, in a coordinated way. The aim is to reach a prospect where they respond rather than relying on a single channel.
Lead scoring
Lead scoring is ranking prospects by how well they fit your ideal client and how likely they are to convert, so you work the best leads first. Scores can be based on fit attributes, timing signals, and, in Finterest, your own book of business as the model.
Qualification
Qualification is the step of determining whether a prospect who responded is a real opportunity worth advancing. A qualification view collects everyone who replied across channels so you can sort genuine interest from noise.
ICP (ideal client profile)
An ICP, or ideal client profile, is a description of the clients you most want to reach, defined by attributes like assets, life stage, profession, or location. A clear ICP makes sourcing and scoring more accurate.
FINRA Rule 2210
FINRA Rule 2210 is the FINRA rule that governs the content and supervision of a firm's communications, sorting them into correspondence, retail communication, and institutional communication, each with different approval requirements. For outreach, reaching more than 25 retail investors within 30 days generally makes a message retail communication, which usually needs principal approval. This is general information, not legal advice.
SEC marketing rule (Rule 206(4)-1)
The SEC marketing rule, Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act, governs how registered investment advisers advertise, prohibiting untrue or misleading statements and setting conditions for testimonials, endorsements, and performance claims. In outreach, the core duty is to be accurate and able to substantiate what you say. This is general information, not legal advice.
Recordkeeping (SEC Rule 204-2)
Recordkeeping rules require advisers to retain business records, including business-related electronic communications like email and LinkedIn messages, generally for five years under SEC Rule 204-2. Broker-dealers have parallel FINRA obligations. This is general information, not legal advice.
Correspondence vs retail communication
Under FINRA Rule 2210, correspondence is a communication sent to 25 or fewer retail investors in a 30-day period, with lighter supervision, while retail communication reaches more than 25 retail investors in that window and generally requires principal approval before use. The 25-investor line is the practical trigger for heavier review.
Warm lead
A warm lead is a prospect who has shown interest, usually by replying to outreach, as opposed to a cold contact who has not engaged. Finterest pushes warm leads to your CRM so reps focus on people already showing interest.
Deliverability
Deliverability is the set of practices that keep outreach email landing in inboxes rather than spam, including domain warm-up, send caps, bounce suppression, and honoring unsubscribes. Good deliverability protects your sending reputation over time.
CAN-SPAM
CAN-SPAM is the U.S. federal law governing commercial email. It requires an honest “from” and subject line, a valid physical postal address, and a working opt-out that is honored promptly. It applies to every commercial email regardless of how many people you reach. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do Not Call Registry (FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule)
The National Do Not Call Registry, administered under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, is a list of phone numbers that telemarketers generally may not call, with limited exceptions such as an established business relationship or prior express invitation. Callers are expected to scrub their lists against it. This is general information, not legal advice.
TCPA
The TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act), enforced by the FCC, restricts autodialed and prerecorded or artificial-voice calls and texts without the required prior consent. It carries a private right of action, which makes automated dialing and texting the highest-risk way to prospect. This is general information, not legal advice.
FINRA Rule 3230 (telemarketing)
FINRA Rule 3230 governs telemarketing, including cold calling, for FINRA member firms. It sets calling-hour limits (no residential calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time), requires a firm do-not-call list honored within a reasonable time, and requires caller identification and training. It binds broker-dealers; RIAs fall under the FTC and FCC rules instead. This is general information, not legal advice.
Static vs interactive content (FINRA Regulatory Notice 17-18)
On social media, static content (a profile, a post that stays up) is generally treated as a retail communication or advertisement that needs principal approval before use, while interactive content (a live, real-time exchange such as a direct-message conversation) is generally supervised like correspondence, with no prior approval but still retained and supervised. This is general information, not legal advice.
Adoption and entanglement
Adoption and entanglement are the two ways an advisor can become responsible for someone else's social-media content. Adoption is endorsing or approving third-party content (for example, sharing it in a way that signals approval); entanglement is being involved in preparing it. Either can pull third-party claims into your own compliance perimeter. This is general information, not legal advice.
Call-recording consent (one-party vs all-party)
Call-recording consent laws vary by state. One-party-consent states require only one participant (which can be you) to consent to recording; all-party-consent states require everyone on the call to consent. Because the rules differ by state, recording-disclosure controls should be deliberate rather than on by default. This is general information, not legal advice.
Pre-send review (principal approval)
Pre-send review is the step of having a communication reviewed and, where required, approved before it goes out. For FINRA-registered firms, retail communications generally require approval by a registered principal before use; pre-send review is the workflow that makes that approval part of sending rather than an afterthought. This is general information, not legal advice.
Data enrichment
Data enrichment is adding missing information to a contact record, such as verified email, direct phone numbers, title, or firm details, so a sparse lead becomes workable. Enrichment draws on licensed data sources rather than scraping.