Managed IT and LPL-Compliant Workflows Built for a Multi-Office RIA
How Loza, Beck & Associates modernized endpoint security with SentinelOne and Duo MFA, mastered LPL Financial’s parallel compliance workflows, and absorbed a multi-office affiliate expansion — all under a single managed IT engagement with zero security incidents on record.
Managed by Soaring Towers
Hear it from Thomas Loza at Loza, Beck & Associates
Coming soon...
An independent RIA affiliated with LPL Financial — advising clients across California.
Loza, Beck & Associates is an independent Registered Investment Advisor providing financial planning, investment advisory, and wealth management services to individual and institutional clients. Led by Managing Partners Thomas Loza and Steven Beck, the firm operates as an LPL Financial–affiliated practice — subjecting every email, document, and electronic signature to FINRA broker-dealer compliance requirements including mandatory journaling, communication surveillance, and audit-ready e-Sign workflows.
As the firm grew — bringing affiliate practice Macher & Clark under its operational umbrella in early 2026 — Loza, Beck & Associates needed a managed IT partner that could speak LPL’s parallel compliance language, secure a high-target wealth management environment, and absorb growth without breaking continuity. They came to Soaring Towers in November 2022.
An RIA running on aging, unmanaged endpoints — exposed to BEC and credential attacks in a FINRA-regulated environment.
Unmanaged Windows endpoints, no MFA, ad-hoc LPL compliance workflows, and manual document/scanning processes — the same pattern we see across most independent advisors before they engage a managed IT partner that understands FINRA realities.
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Unmanaged endpoint fleetDevices on individual local accounts with no EDR, no RMM agent, and no remote visibility — aging hardware running out of warranty without proactive replacement planning.
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LPL compliance gaps in email & e-signatureLPL Financial’s parallel email system (lplmail.lpl.com), mandatory journaling to repimaging.email@lpl.com, and Adobe Sign–based LPL e-Sign workflows — all configured ad-hoc with no documented standard or institutional knowledge.
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No MFA or structured security postureNo multi-factor authentication on Windows login, no security awareness training, and no phishing simulation program — leaving a high-target FINRA-regulated firm exposed to BEC and credential theft.
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Manual document & scanning workflowsNo structured scan-to-cloud workflow, fragmented document storage decisions (SharePoint vs. ShareFile), and no per-user folder architecture — slowing down admin-heavy advisor work.
A managed IT foundation tuned to LPL compliance — endpoint security, MFA, SharePoint, and an institutional knowledge base.
Soaring Towers designed and operates an end-to-end managed environment built for the way an LPL-affiliated RIA actually works — FINRA journaling, parallel email systems, custom scan-to-SharePoint workflows, and multi-office expansion. The four pillars below replaced the ad-hoc model that was holding the firm back.
Today’s independent RIAs need more than helpdesk — they need an IT partner who speaks FINRA.
An LPL-affiliated wealth management firm operates inside a parallel compliance framework — mandatory email journaling, communication surveillance, e-signature audit trails, and a high-target threat profile that demands EDR, MFA, and active phishing defense from day one.
At Soaring Towers, we specialize in managed IT for RIAs, broker-dealers, and wealth advisors — bringing the security, compliance fluency, and institutional knowledge of a much larger firm without the corporate-IT overhead.
Four foundations of a compliant, secure wealth management IT environment.
Every layer below was selected and configured specifically for the realities of an LPL-affiliated RIA — parallel email systems, FINRA journaling, e-Sign audit trails, and a small-staff office that needs enterprise security without enterprise complexity.
Microsoft 365 + SharePoint + LPL Email
M365 Exchange Online as primary email, three purpose-built SharePoint sites (LBA, Office, Clients), OneDrive sync — running alongside LPL Financial’s parallel email system (lplmail.lpl.com) and mandatory journaling.
- Microsoft 365 + Exchange Online
- 3 structured SharePoint sites
- LPL parallel email + journaling
SentinelOne EDR + Duo MFA + usecure
SentinelOne EDR in full protect mode across all 14 endpoints (zero active threats), Duo Security MFA on Windows login with Enhanced Authentication Management active, and usecure phishing simulations engaging both managing partners.
- SentinelOne EDR (0 active threats)
- Duo MFA on Windows login
- usecure phishing simulations
LPL Financial + RedTail + Orion + Drake Tax
Full managed support and institutional documentation for the wealth-management stack — LPL Financial (ClientWorks, parallel email, journaling, e-Sign via Adobe), RedTail CRM, Orion portfolio management, and Drake Tax.
- LPL Financial integration & e-Sign
- RedTail CRM + Orion support
- Drake Tax & Tailwag sync
UniFi + Xerox MFP → Synology → SharePoint
Ubiquiti UniFi access point and PoE switch managed by Soaring Towers, plus a custom-built scan workflow — Xerox MFP into a Synology NAS, mapped to per-user SharePoint folders for audit-ready document capture.
- UniFi UAP-AC-Pro + USW-24-PoE
- Xerox MFP scan workflow
- Synology NAS → per-user SharePoint
Ready to put compliant, secure IT behind your advisory practice?
If your RIA or broker-dealer practice is wrestling with LPL compliance friction, unmanaged endpoints, no MFA, or fragmented document workflows — we can help.
Get practical guidance for evaluating your Microsoft 365, security stack, LPL configuration, and document infrastructure. No commitment, no sales pressure.
Measurable outcomes for Loza, Beck & Associates.
SentinelOne EDR in full protect mode across all 14 endpoints with zero active threats. Duo MFA on Windows login. An institutional knowledge base for LPL workflows. And an affiliate practice fully absorbed into the managed environment in early 2026.
An LPL-affiliated RIA running on compliant, secure, institutionally documented IT.
After partnering with Soaring Towers, Loza, Beck & Associates runs on the IT footprint of a much larger advisory firm — managed endpoints, full security stack, mastered LPL compliance workflows, and a documented knowledge base — with zero security incidents on record.
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LPL compliance friction eliminatedLPL email setup, journaling to repimaging.email@lpl.com, e-Sign via Adobe Sign, and the Outlook AutoDiscover registry fix — all documented as reproducible procedures Soaring Towers can execute in-house, no LPL helpdesk loop required.
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Zero-threat security recordSentinelOne EDR in full protect mode across all 14 endpoints, Duo MFA on Windows login, and an active phishing simulation program — no security incidents recorded across 3.5 years in a high-target FINRA-regulated environment.
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Macher & Clark affiliate expansion absorbedIn February 2026, seven additional Macher & Clark users and machines were onboarded into the managed environment — a significant operational event handled with only a handful of visible tickets, no disruption to the existing practice.
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Custom scan-to-SharePoint workflow builtXerox MFP → Synology NAS → per-user SharePoint folder — an end-to-end document capture workflow built and documented by Soaring Towers, replacing paper filing and ad-hoc email PDFs.
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Hardware lifecycle managed proactivelyNew Dell Latitudes and OptiPlex workstations provisioned for both managing partners with warranties through 2027 — replacing aging hardware before failure, not after.
Coming soon...
The Wealth Management Technology & Compliance Checklist
Before making your next technology decision, evaluate whether your endpoints, identity, LPL configuration, and document workflow can stand up to FINRA scrutiny. Our free checklist surfaces:
- Endpoint security & MFA gaps
- LPL email & journaling configuration
- e-Signature audit readiness
- Phishing & BEC exposure
- Document workflow & archiving
- Multi-office onboarding workflow
- 40+ RIA technology & compliance checkpoints
- SentinelOne EDR & Duo MFA recommendations
- LPL Financial integration best practices
- FINRA-aware email & e-Sign workflows
- SharePoint document management
- Multi-office onboarding playbook
A partner that speaks FINRA — and runs the IT behind the practice.
Independent advisors need more than reactive helpdesk. Our business-first approach combines managed endpoints, security, LPL compliance fluency, and institutional documentation — built around the way an RIA actually operates day to day.
Answers for RIA and advisory firm leaders.
Don’t see your question? Reach out for a discovery call.
It includes endpoint management (SentinelOne EDR + ConnectWise RMM), MFA via Duo on Windows login, Microsoft 365 + SharePoint with FINRA-aware document architecture, full LPL Financial workflow support (parallel email, journaling, e-Sign), security awareness training, and an institutional knowledge base capturing every client-specific configuration.
LPL’s email system (lplmail.lpl.com) runs alongside Microsoft 365 in Exchange 2013–style configuration, with mandatory journaling forwarded to repimaging.email@lpl.com. We maintain documented procedures for every step — including an Outlook registry fix that resolves the AutoDiscover conflict between LPL and M365 — so configuration changes happen in-house, not via LPL helpdesk loops.
Each new user gets onboarded through a standardized runbook in our knowledge base — CIPP provisioning in M365, group assignments (Duo, LPL Journal, SharePoint sites, Main Number), Duo MFA enrollment, and PC setup. The blueprint is repeatable, so absorbing affiliate practices or new advisors is operationally consistent regardless of growth pace.
Real FINRA / broker-dealer fluency (not just "we’ve heard of LPL"), proven security stack for high-target environments, working knowledge of the RIA software ecosystem (RedTail, Orion, Drake, e-Sign), documented procedures for every client-specific configuration, and a partner that can absorb growth — affiliate practices, new offices, new advisors — without breaking continuity.
The stack we deployed for Loza, Beck & Associates.
