News

By Tina Lichens, COO, Real Capital Markets

The most successful technology platforms facilitating commercial real estate investments know that there is more to selling a property than bells, whistles and speed. At Real Capital Markets (RCM), the need for speed is carefully balanced by the need for systems and protocols to ensure compliance, security and appropriate transparency.

When all those elements exist, there is an increased level of confidence and security in the overall process – this is critical when transacting a $10 million property online.

As CRE evolves, it is important to stay in front of the technology and the implications it may have on the marketing, communication and transaction processes.

Given RCM’s depth, reach and experience, we are constantly striving to stay ahead of the curve by providing top level service and solutions to our clients. One area we never lose sight of is compliance, security and transparency. 

The following are several different ways in which RCM remains focused on these issues:

• Qualified investor status – To be a part of the RCM database, an individual or entity needs to prove they meet the various criteria, whether they are an institutional investor, high net worth individual, fund manager or other type of investor. Our dedicated research team performs extensive due diligence to verify that the information submitted is accurate and kept up to date.

• Increased security – Bank-level security compliant with annual SSAE 18 SOC-1 audit and independent vulnerability assessments. Additional features, such as Watermarking (user’s name, company, date/time/IP stamp) can also help to prevent unauthorized sharing of information.
• Permission-based platforms in Virtual Deal Room allows user to provide individuals access to only those documents they need to access.  
• Audit Trails create transparency across the platform and our system provides date and time stamps that ensure our clients have a clear picture of who did what at any point in time.

Other critical areas of compliance are focused on email marketing and how collected data is used.

• Email – around the world anti-spam laws are in place to protect consumers; one of the world’s most stringent are in Canada (Canadian Anti-Spam Law). According to Canadian law, users must complete a double opt-in process to ensure they want to receive emails. In the U.S., however, emails must be originated from a company with a legitimate mailing address. Here at RCM, we devote considerable resources to help our clients comply with U.S. and foreign regulations.
• EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – these relatively new and onerous regulations, stipulating what data can and can’t be collected and how it can be used, are meant to protect data of people in the EU. Non-compliance already has resulted in millions of dollars awarded in lawsuits against companies ranging from Microsoft to mom and pop businesses. RCM helps our clients protect the personal data of EU citizens by storing, organizing, and processing data in a way that allows them to comply with data protection laws while ensuring EU citizens continue to exercise their rights over their own information.

One thing is clear – it is more important than ever to keep proprietary information secure. Here at RCM, we take the necessary steps to ensure we are always one step ahead, so we can quickly implement changes as soon as necessary to keep our clients, and their clients’, data safe and secure.