As the financial advice landscape devolves away from large institutions to smaller, self-licensed entities, advisers and practice principals are increasingly being faced with the need to be far more active in choosing technology solutions for their business. Far from being a burden, this should be viewed as an exciting opportunity, as a growing array of advice software solutions make possible substantial improvements in compliance, efficiency, and customer experience.
In this article we will take a snapshot of adviser technology solutions currently available and examine how they can be incorporated across the advice value chain. We will take an especially close look at developments in regulatory technology (Regtech), collaboration tools, and basic advice process software. And, at a time when more and more client interaction is done away from an office environment, we will also explore best practice in virtual meetings.
Technology as an enabler of better advice
Advisers are increasingly recognising the crucial role of technology in improving business efficiencies and improving the client experience. To the extent that both of these outcomes help make advice more accessible and sustainable, it’s no exaggeration to say technology will shape the entire future of advice.
Across the financial advice landscape, we are seeing a proliferation of technology solutions (many of them advice specific) that are cloud based, easily tailored, and easily integrated, giving the modern advice business far more flexibility to build a ‘tech stack’ to support its own unique business model and client needs.
Technology is being applied to most aspects of the advice value chain, including:
- document production and storage
- workflow management
- compliance and risk management
- onboarding and ongoing client management
- financial and investment reporting
- marketing
- client engagement and communication
- customer satisfaction tracking
- cybersecurity; and
- HR.
Solutions that are becoming increasingly popular with more innovative advice businesses include:
Information gathering and scoping tools
Providers like Astute Wheel, My Prosperity and Finametrica are revolutionising the initial client engagement process, making steps like fact finding and risk profiling quicker, more accurate, and more convenient for clients. By cutting out the reliance on hardcopy forms, and instead allowing clients to self-complete a variety of documents in real-time, meaningful time savings are possible, and a digital audit trail allows more robust and consistent compliance.
Workflow
A growing number of platforms are being built specifically for Australian financial planners, helping them to drive efficiencies in record keeping and client communication. Such platforms can be particularly valuable in automating processes such as document management, Fee Disclosure Statements (FDS) and opt-in. One platform growing in popularity is Worksorted, which recently announced an integration with digital fact-finding software Advice Revolution.
Worksorted also acts as a revenue management solution, and as a CRM, competing with established providers in this space such as AdviserLogic, Midwinter and Xplan.
Cash flow modelling
According to research, almost a third[1] of advice practices use cashflow, budgeting and account aggregation tools for client advice. Cash flow modelling software has multiple applications and is used by advisers offering cash flow and budget management as part of their advice offering, as well as by those offering life insurance advice who need to do long term budget projections to verify the future affordability of cover. Popular options here include MyProsperity (which offers free and paid options), MoneySoft, Xero, and MoneyBrilliant.
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