SEC-Ready Website Archiving
Built for Small RIAs
Everything you need to meet SEC Rule 204-2 archiving requirements. No enterprise complexity, no $5,000/year contracts—just simple, proven compliance.
This solution was proven in a real SEC examination where a financial advisory firm successfully submitted our timestamped PDFs to examiners. It worked because SEC examiners don't want complex replay systems—they want clean, reviewable documentation.
Born from a Real SEC Audit
A financial advisory firm faced an SEC examination. Their compliance requirement was straightforward: produce archived copies of their website and social media content to demonstrate advertising record-keeping under Rule 204-2.
Their existing archiving service—one of the well-known enterprise solutions—couldn't provide documentation in a format the examiners could actually use. The firm needed simple, timestamped PDFs that could be reviewed immediately and submitted as evidence.
We built this solution specifically for that audit. Clean screenshots converted to timestamped PDFs, organized in ZIP files. The examiners accepted it without question. No complex WARC files. No proprietary replay systems. Just proof of content at a specific point in time.
SEC examiners don't want technical complexity. They want timestamped proof they can review and submit. That's exactly what small RIAs need.
Built for Advisors, Not IT Departments
| What Small RIAs Need | What Enterprise Solutions Offer |
|---|---|
| Simple timestamped PDFs | Complex WARC replay files |
| $79/month | $5,000+ per year contracts |
| Works instantly—no setup | Requires IT integration |
| 5-minute learning curve | Training programs required |
| Built for SEC Rule 204-2 | Built for banks and institutions |
Enterprise archiving solutions were designed for large financial institutions with compliance teams and IT departments. We built this specifically for small RIAs who need straightforward compliance without the complexity or cost.
SEC Rule 204-2 Requirements Met
SEC Rule 204-2 requires investment advisers to maintain copies of all advertisements, notices, and communications. Here's how this solution meets the requirements that small RIAs face in actual SEC examinations:
5-Year Retention
Requirement: Records must be retained for at least 5 years, with the first 2 years in an easily accessible place.
How we meet it: Premium subscribers get unlimited retention while subscribed. All archives are stored on disk with instant ZIP downloads—immediately accessible during examinations.
Tamper-Evident Format
Requirement: Records must be preserved in a non-rewriteable, non-erasable format.
How we meet it: Every PDF page includes a visible timestamp: "ARCHIVED: [Date/Time] UTC | Web Archive". The timestamp is baked into the PDF, making any alterations immediately obvious.
Complete Metadata
Requirement: Preserve sufficient information to understand the context—dates, authors, distribution details.
How we meet it: Archives capture archive timestamps, original post dates (for social media), source URLs, author information, and engagement metrics. All metadata is preserved in organized PDFs.
Immediate Availability
Requirement: Records must be produced promptly upon request during SEC examinations.
How we meet it: Click download, get your ZIP file instantly. No processing delays, no waiting for restoration from tape backups. PDFs are universally viewable—no special software required.
Searchability
Requirement: While not explicitly required by Rule 204-2, SEC examiners expect electronic records to be reasonably searchable.
How we meet it: Full-text search across all your archives. Find any content by keyword, URL, author name, or date—results in seconds.
Bottom line: This solution meets all SEC Rule 204-2 requirements that small RIAs face in actual audits. No enterprise features you'll never use—just proven, straightforward compliance.
What You Get
Website Archiving
Automatic sitemap discovery captures all pages. Timestamped screenshots converted to PDFs.
LinkedIn Archiving
Company pages and profiles with posts, engagement metrics, and full metadata preservation.
Timestamped PDFs
Every page includes visible timestamps. Examiners can see exactly when content was captured.
Full-Text Search
Find any archive instantly by content, URL, author, or date. No digging through folders.
Frequently Asked Questions
This solution meets all SEC Rule 204-2 requirements that small RIAs face in actual audits. It was proven successful in a real SEC examination where a financial advisor submitted our timestamped PDFs to examiners.
The system provides: 5-year retention capability, tamper-evident PDFs with visible timestamps, complete metadata preservation, immediate availability for examiner review, and full searchability. These are the requirements that SEC examiners verify during small RIA examinations.
Enterprise archiving solutions were built for large banks and financial institutions with IT departments and compliance teams. They offer features designed for those environments—advanced audit trails, cryptographic verification, institutional-grade access controls.
We built this specifically for small RIAs: simple to use (no IT setup required), affordable ($79/month vs. $5,000+/year), and focused on what SEC examiners actually want to see in small RIA examinations—clean, timestamped PDFs they can review immediately. You get exactly what you need without paying for enterprise features you'll never use.
Many small RIAs use Web Archive as a "safety net" alongside their enterprise solution. Here's why:
Enterprise email archiving vendors excel at email—that's their core strength. Their website archiving solution is often a secondary feature that may not produce examiner-ready documentation when you need it most.
Consider our origin story: The RIA had a well-known enterprise archiving solution, but when the SEC examination happened, they couldn't produce usable website archives from it. They needed clean, timestamped PDFs that examiners could immediately review.
For $79/month, you get:
- Audit insurance: A proven backup if your primary system fails during examination
- Peace of mind: Clean PDFs ready to submit, no scrambling during audit season
- No conflict: Keep your email archiving where it is—our service just ensures your website archiving actually works when you need it
One RIA told us: "Our enterprise system is great for email, but we keep Web Archive as our website backup." Think of it like having backup generators—you hope you never need it, but when the SEC examiner asks for website archives, you'll be glad you have it.
In our experience working with RIAs, SEC examiners want to see three things during advertising record reviews:
- Timestamped proof that content was captured at a specific date and time
- Documentation showing retention policies are followed
- Ability to search and retrieve specific archives when requested
That's exactly what this provides. The advanced features in enterprise systems (detailed access logs, cryptographic signatures, etc.) are rarely requested in small RIA examinations. If your firm has unique regulatory requirements beyond standard Rule 204-2 compliance, we recommend consulting with your compliance consultant.
Premium subscribers: Unlimited retention while subscribed, meeting the SEC's 5-year requirement. Archives remain accessible as long as you maintain your subscription.
Free users: 7-day retention for testing purposes only—this is intentionally not compliant for actual SEC requirements. Free tier is designed to let you evaluate the system before committing to Premium for compliance needs.
Yes. Every archive creates an instant ZIP download containing organized PDFs with all timestamps and metadata. You can download these ZIP files anytime and store them in your own compliance files, submit them to examiners, or back them up to your own systems. The PDFs are standard format—viewable on any computer without special software.
You retain access to all your archives until your current billing period ends. We recommend exporting (downloading) critical archives to your own storage before cancellation if you won't be renewing.
For compliance purposes, Premium users should maintain continuous service to meet SEC's 5-year retention requirements. If you need to cancel but want to preserve specific archives for compliance, download them as ZIP files before your subscription ends.
Premium: SEC-Compliant Retention
- 500 pages per month
- Unlimited retention (5+ years)
- Full website + LinkedIn archiving
- Timestamped PDFs with metadata
- Instant search and downloads
- Priority support
$79/month
Get Started FreeReady to Meet SEC Requirements the Simple Way?
Join small RIAs using proven, audit-ready archiving—without enterprise complexity or cost.