Financial Advisors Must Embrace Technology, Here’s Why!
Research shows that technology adoption can significantly boost the total assets under investment (AUM).
The financial planning industry is known to be slow at adopting new technologies. Research shows that technology adoption can significantly boost the total assets under investment (AUM). But just because the industry is slow, doesn’t mean you have to be.
In this day and age, economic, demographic and technological trends will meet and transform the financial industry, and unlock a huge amount of potential investors. But these investors will also have higher expectations, and the willingness to switch providers if their demands are unmet. In such a fast-changing industry, Advisors need to fully understand their customers’ needs, wants and behaviours, so they can leverage technology to meet their changing needs.
Although technology is taking over, in this industry we feel it merely serves to support the Advisor. We do not foresee a future of Robo-Advisors. A recent Moneyweb article stated, “Technology exists to support, simplify and create efficiency as opposed to threatening our industry. It is abundantly clear that the human touch and skill can never be completely replaced by technology. However in this day and age, and years to come, both human and technology are vital to serve clients better and modernise our financial planning profession.”
Your ability to leverage technology may be the decisive strategic edge to attract clients. Plus, investing in technology can create efficiencies, drive profitability, and enable you to continue to thrive. “The future is most certainly human and embracing technology to streamline menial tasks will ensure that an Advisor is able to provide their clients with the human interaction that they not only want but deserve,” says Wealthbit’s Business Development Lead, Dylan Vereeynne.
There are so many benefits for a Financial Advisor to embrace technology, here are just a few:
1. Round-The-Clock Access
10 years ago reporting was vital for any Advisor and their client. It would provide an overview of the past month or quarter. Nowadays, people now have the ability, if not always the desire, to monitor their investments in real-time. They demand clear pictures of their portfolios and updated financial plans on a daily basis.
2. Flexibility
You can conduct a quarterly meeting with your client via various online meeting platforms. There is no need to schedule a meeting with a client at a coffee shop, or their offices; lug a briefcase with spreadsheets and brochures, and spend a good amount of time travelling. Today, clients prefer to just hop on a video call, the Financial Advisor shares their screen to view reports, stats, and various other information - all digitally.
3. Improved Touchpoints
Technology provides more touchpoints between the Advisor and the client. Instead of having that quarterly meeting, you can now touch base with your client - as often as they would reasonably like, and you could probably cut the meeting each time down from 45 minutes to 15 minutes. This will build trust with your client as they know you are just a click away with all the information they need.
4. Accuracy
Technology allows for adoption and will save the Advisor time and money, as you are able to be of assistance to your client in a more timely and consistent manner. Technology allows for faster onboarding, improved customer satisfaction and client retention. But the biggest thing here is the accuracy! Technology removes the risk of human error.
This is part of the reason Wealthbit was created. Wealthbit is the world’s first wealth-cashflow planning tool that gives you your very own personal, engaging, logical, real-time scenario-planning experience, right at your fingertips. Wrapped in a robust compliance framework to mitigate risk and maximise efficiencies for your practice, Wealthbit allows you to upload a new client’s data, calculate their financial status and improve their plan within 5 minutes.
5. Scalability
No matter what shape your future takes, you’re competing for customers and the services they need. To stay in this game, you must grow. Utilizing technology and optimizing your technology workflows are some of the best tips for scaling your business because of time that can be repurposed for new client acquisition. Additionally, creating a consistently valuable client experience with processes that are repeatable and scalable for both existing and future clients, will make the process of growing your business much easier.
