Technology continues to mold and shape our world at an ever-increasing speed. Smartphones, tablets and iPads are now common household items, and more and more goods and services are becoming accessible worldwide via cloud-based platforms.
The digital revolution is rapidly transforming the way that financial advisers are able to run their practices and service their clients. Some of the latest tech trends that advisers need to stay on top of in order to remain competitive include:
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Mobility: A growing number of clients want to be able to view and access their money from anywhere. Cloud-based account platforms can facilitate this and allow clients to manage their assets via computer, tablet or smartphone. Skype and video chat programs also allow advisers to have face-to-face discussions remotely and conveniently. These services will greatly appeal to younger clients who are comfortable with technology. They will also make life easier for advisers, who will be able to enter client data directly into their digital portal from their clients’ homes or other meeting areas.
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Integration: Advisers today need to have platforms that allow them to effectively combine all facets of their jobs into a single integrated workstation, as well as total connectivity between email, social media, client records and other databases so that information that is entered in any one place is automatically carried over throughout the entire system. This type of integration can allow advisers to produce customized portfolio analysis and link it to relevant news and other data with minimal time and effort. The individualized service that it provides can also help to bolster client satisfaction and loyalty.
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Social Media: Advisers today almost have no choice but to develop and maintain a strong social media presence. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other similar sites can provide advisers with an excellent avenue for marketing and cultivating an online following as well as learn key details about their clients’ personal and professional lives. Of course, advisers need to make sure that everything that they post is cleared with their compliance departments and adheres to all regulatory guidelines.
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Outsourcing: Many advisers are increasingly becoming forced to concentrate their practices in specialized areas such as ASX stock options or estate planning in order to keep their competitive edge. But in order to do this effectively, many tasks, such as marketing, advertising or office administration may need to be delegated to others who are more talented in these areas.
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Cybersecurity: This trend lines up with both mobility and outsourcing as a key component of a successful modern advisory practice. It is vitally important to maintain adequate protection of client data in an age of hacking and identity theft, and failure to do so can result in astronomical liability and nightmarish consequences for both advisers and their clients. Advisers who are not highly proficient with technology are wise to hire an expert in this area in particular.
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Robo-Advisers: We have now designed sophisticated computer program that can manage client assets and perform such services as automatic portfolio re-balancing for retirement however we firmly believe that RoBO Advice is just another tool and will enhance the Advice position but never replace the Adviser. Although these programs are not capable of completely replacing human advisers, they can help to free advisers from having to manually perform many mundane tasks related to money management on a daily basis.
The Bottom line
We have sought to create what we know as one of the most versatile solutions in the market place and we achieved this by combining Government desires and compliance, Client desires and we focused on Financial advisers as they are at the centre of an evolving landscape. These skilled professionals wear a variety of hats, sport various levels of training, and offer a wide range of services. This legacy profession now faces a changing working environment which is squeezing financial advisers and our software meets that challenge like no other .
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