For financial advisors, technology takes many forms and can be useful throughout the entire client lifecycle from new account acquisition and profiling to planning and portfolio construction, from data aggregation and reporting to marketing automation.
The FinTech space is booming with new applications being created for all facets of the financial services industry, and in the financial advisory world there are many tools available now with more on the way.
The quality of the technology tools and platforms employed by financial advisors can be decisive in their ability to address the needs, wants and preferences of the high-net-worth market, and make a difference in their ability to attract and retain the most coveted client segment.
In a survey of more than 803 advisors, about three quarters of all respondents recognize the importance of state-of-the-art technology.
And notably, those financial advisors with the highest annual incomes are more likely to see the value in technology and be thinking strategically and proactively about how it can be deployed within their practices to solve issues and effect specific outcomes than advisors who are earning less.
“It’s not surprising that successful advisors tend to have a favorable view of technology,” said Lawrence Calcano, Chief Executive Officer of iCapital Network.
“A powerful, automated technology platform can transform an advisory practice in a variety of ways – new capabilities, greater efficiency, freedom to scale – and forward-thinking advisors are using technology to increase their appeal with a wider universe of prospects and accelerate new client acquisition.”
The rational for being technologically up-to-date is straightforward according to the 612 advisors who see it as essential to business success. Nearly all of them say technology will allow them to deliver better service to their clients. More than nine out of 10 believe it will make them more competitive across a variety of dimensions and more than four out of five say technology will make their practices more efficient and, thereby, more profitable.
According to John Bowen, founder of CEG Advantage, “Today, the more successful financial advisors make the most of financial technology. Looking forward, technology is likely to play an ever-greater role in the success of advisory practices.”
Calcano agrees, especially as wealth continues to transfer between generations and is controlled by a more digitally savvy population, “Technology within an advisory practice will continue to increase in importance as Digital Natives amass more personal wealth and become financial decision-makers.”
