Wall Street firms are beginning to wade into the somewhat choppy waters of social media. In order to comply with securities regulations, most of these firms block their employees from using their personal accounts on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook while at work and from accessing their personal email accounts. However, in order to access the marketing opportunity these sites present, some companies are turning to outside firms to help them utilize these tools while also complying with applicable securities regulations. Companies like Socialware provide software that allows companies within the financial industry to store pre-written content, archive posted messages, and enable compliance departments to review postings. Socialware counts among its clients the insurance company Guardian Life, asset manager AllianceBernstein and the financial advisor Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. It has not been easy for companies to monitor postings on sites designed to distribute information at such a fast pace. Regulators have already brought charges against individuals in the securities industry based on their Twitter and LinkedIn postings. Still, companies are moving forward with using social media as a tool. Banks like Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo have begun to allow limited groups of employees to communicate through social media outlets.

New York Times: On Wall St., Keeping a Tight Rein on Twitter (21 March 2012)
(Source: New York Times)