Frequently Asked Questions

What do you do?

Forum 360 helps management teams showcase your value proposition and communicate in a timely and effective manner to stakeholders via group virtual meetings. Forum 360 focuses on feedback and analytics while delivering a
scalable, time saving, cost effective solution with a carbon footprint no more than 7% (UNSW) of physical meetings.

Who uses Forum 360?

Forum 360 is used by a variety of active asset managers and their distribution channels (financials service providers). Such people as:

  • The CEO of a small private company engaging in regular fire-side chats with his stakeholders (investors, staff, customers);
  • The CFO of a listed company upgrading the market release to include an offer of an inclusive group virtual meeting;
  • The portfolio manager of a fund with an institutional mandate who wants to meet her investors (and their stakeholders) around the world far more frequently than she can travel to see them;
  • The financial advisor who wants to reduce the relay of a fund manager’s investment letter and offer her clients a meeting with the fund manager through her own brand while keeping their identity private;
  • The IR and Media consultant who wants to help his clients evolve from market releases and investment letters to more inclusive experiences that provide superior feedback and analysis;
  • The portfolio manager who appreciates more frequent meetings with the CEO of a company they are invested in without the need to travel;
  • The farmer who can now access meetings with the manager of his retirement savings from the convenience of his tractor cabin.

How simple is it to use Forum 360?

For meeting attendees, there are no downloads and no web plug ins. Its an own branded experience throughout, from email messaging through a browser based platform that looks like an extension of the host’s website.

For meeting hosts, it takes less than 3min to setup your meeting for distribution. Your product details are preloaded (including pds, performance, pathways to investment) as are your presenters. Set your security gates (industry standard, enforceable with audit trail) then publish your event.

For distribution partners, login to your distribution portal then copy your co-branded event and forward to your distribution team and clients. Their identity stays with you and their experience throughout is with your brand, featuring your partner’s event.

What makes you different to a communication tool?

Forum 360 is a stakeholder engagement platform with key differentiators:

Secure, controlled, compliant;

  • Only access via registration and no chance to mingle. No webplugs nor downloads required;
  • Gates are financial service standard terms, enforced with audit trails;
  • Strong governance. Client identity is private, encrypted and hosted locally in Azure.

Superior measurement;

  • Google Analytics is standard across most tools. We also offer sales-driven analytics, channel analysis and feedback from each meeting;
  • Only Forum 360 offers network behaviour and peer group benchmarking.

Multi-partner distribution;

  • Unique to Forum 360 and respects the wholesale distribution model of financial services;
  • Bring stakeholders to a meeting through a variety of co-branded channels where client identity stays with the channel owner and at no cost or no IT impact to them.

New-world market place for ESG advocates;

  • A world first from Forum 360.

What is the difference between video conferencing, webinars and a group virtual meeting?

Check out the answer here: https://vimeo.com/429890772

What production facilities do we need to use Forum 360?

We would encourage you to think about production based on location:

  • From home: The solution works from your camera/mic on your laptop or external device. The most common limiting factor is your audio device (particularly the use of laptops). Its also more frustrating for your meeting attendees if they cannot hear you than if they cannot see you;
  • Mobile studio for the office or home: To show an experience like you were sitting across the table from each other, we would recommend a mobile studio. Forum 360 can guide you on a kit. Expect to pay US$3k-$7k and it packs away in to a 20kg bag; or
  • From the studio: Forum 360 supplies our engagement platform to studio operators. Contact your Forum 360 representative and we will put you in contact with a production specialist.

 You can also pre-record your meeting then run it through our platform.

Are my details secure?

Forum 360 is a wholly owned subsidiary of Forum Care Ltd (ABN: 619 578 951). The Care in our name showcases to our team and members our commitment, since the inception of our company, to keep our members information secure as best we can. Data security is in our DNA. We have partnered with Microsoft to provide the latest in encryption and cloud infrastructure while ensuring our infrastructure is ready for the next leap forward in security.

Do you provide investment advice?

No we do not. Forum 360 is a communications company. We make it easy to transition from a meeting to seek advice from your existing advisor or to search for an advisor from those advertising their services at our meeting place. Similarly, we do not handle or represent any member assets, funds or capital. We make it easy to transition from a meeting to your execution agent (broker, financial adviser or investment platform) to place your order or to deal directly with a fund manager.