Creating a video for your Web site might sound like a daunting task, but it needn’t be. As with everything else in life, you can take a simple route – generally known as the “talking head” -- or pour a great deal of time, energy and creativity into video that might be nominated for an Oscar – or anything in between. Of course, more formal production takes time and money and any information you want to share that’s newsworthy is not going to hold very long. Here’s a brief look at your options that can be done on your own or with help from SunStar Strategic. First, we’ll talk about creating the video itself and then address the issues of what to say and how to ensure you meet compliance requirements:
Simple – do it yourself
Find a room with good lighting that is free of clutter. Set up a tripod and a digital camera (typically less than $500). Get ready, have someone turn it on, and go. Send the file to the people who host your Web site. This type of video is perfect for quarterly comments, or monthly, or even weekly, as well as for your thoughts on major market events.
Middle of the road
Check your community for videographers and/or studios. Make a date for the recording and set it up in your own offices or at the local studio. The quality of the lighting will be better, how you’re seated or standing will be coached and you’ll have the opportunity to do a section over if needed. To make the final product more interesting, the videographer may use two camera angles and add some simple word graphics to keep the viewers attention. A professional editor can also make the required footnotes a part of the video. This kind of video is good for introducing yourself, and may be updated every year or two.
Fancy
A high energy video may still contain you speaking, but it is embellished with other video segments. These may be of your office, the stock exchange, the companies you invest in and more. Music will be added and the video editor will add a number of special effects. A professional graphic designer or the video staff can help create visual graphics. This kind of video is a good way to set the stage about who you are, what you believe in and your investment process. It should be scripted to have a long shelf-life.
Working efficiently and effectively with compliance
The simplest way to ensure your in sync with compliance is to write your script first and have it approved. They’ll need to see the final video as well, but assuming no adlibbing, that should then be a rubber stamp. Depending on your compliance personnel, you may be able to embed the video on a page on your Web site that has all the necessary disclosure language directly on that page, or as a quick pop-up before someone views the video.
Alternatively, you can create bullet points and rely on the manager on camera to keep all the rules in mind as he/she extemporaneously speaks. This can create a headache and expense in editing, but results in a fresher feel. You can choose to have the bullets preapproved or not.
What can you say?
It’s best to discuss this with your own compliance resources, but in our experience, if you talk about the fund, put any information on your fund Web site or send it out via email as a fund marketing piece, you must get compliance approved and FINRA filed. (If you send it to a restricted list of Registered Investment Professionals or Broker/Dealers, compliance still needs to review and approve, but it will not be FINRA filed.)
Managers with separate advisor sites who do not promote their fund on that site can talk about anything not related to and not mentioning any fund names without need for approval. These topics may include your views on market events.
