As the digital tools powering wealth management services evolve, so too is the approach that many firms are adopting when integrating recently released technologies into their office-wide workflows.
Within the financial advisory space, many are finding that the well-worn route of incorporating the latest software and platforms to hit the market has not always translated to improved results for clients, nor has it reliably yielded more efficient procedures for advisors.
Although these products tout gains in capacity, size and speed, the rush by advisory firms to dispense with the old in favor of the new has regularly required time and resources to be allocated toward integrating unfamiliar services into existing practices, complete with the disrupted workflows and steep learning curves this entails.
The same technological advancements that fuel modern advisory software have also allowed firms to move beyond relying on a single, multi-purpose platform to power office operations. While a one-size-fits-all approach has been historically popular and promised immediacy, in practice, relying on a single platform to fulfill all firmwide functions has often proved to be cumbersome. Now, with services offering more customizability and personalization, the financial planning sector is undergoing a significant shift toward integrated technology ecosystems that use different programs and software.
The growing popularity of targeted wealth management solutions has coincided with the increasing complexity of advisory practices. Technology has empowered firms and advisors to cover more ground when servicing a larger number of clients. However, just because the capabilities are there does not mean that the tools being used are always the best fit for an advisor’s workflow or a client’s respective needs and concerns. In an effort to address this, firms have been building curated tech stacks seeking to streamline the overall process for wealth managers.
These initiatives are aimed at not only making it easier for wealth managers to oversee client assets effectively and navigate data points effortlessly, but also at aligning these digital procedures with the company culture and established ways of doing things. Just as every client has different benchmarks for success based on their individual priorities and histories, solutions that may drive one firm’s success could drag another down if they’re a poor match for the office’s existing workflow or internal philosophy.
While this risk is the fatal flaw of platforms that promise to do it all, it’s the core strength of building out a curated, unified tech ecosystem. When implemented well, firms can shape their digital toolkit to reflect their values, leading to improved workflows that generate better results for clients, not to mention freeing up time and resources better spent on business development.
Advisors and firms should keep several considerations in mind when modifying their digital toolkit. The primary goal of these endeavors ought to be streamlining the day-to-day capabilities of advisors in a way that renders tasks easily accessible. Firms and advisors need to actively communicate to ensure agreement on what works well and what’s falling short. Without setting proper expectations through ongoing discussions, there is the risk of recreating the all-in-one platform problems that these specialization efforts are trying to solve.
Likewise, the data used and referenced by wealth managers must be consistent across programs. When making a change in a client’s profile or circumstances, the flow of data should be bi-directional, with an adjustment in one location being reflected throughout the larger ecosystem.
The objective of thoughtful tech curation ought to be reducing the time that advisors spend on administrative tasks detached from client needs. Firms can accomplish this by minimizing complexity wherever practical and tailoring the tech stack’s applications to be thoroughly integrated and in conversation with one another. Automating data entry gives advisors a considerable chunk of their time and resources back.
A firm’s business model and the way it conducts itself internally determine its direction. Beyond the immediate benefits that a specialized digital infrastructure can provide for advisors and their offices, the shift away from one-size-fits-all platforms is empowering firms to dictate the direction of their own growth.
By designing a workflow that reflects the firm’s existing capabilities and forward-looking ambitions, and, above all else, the specific needs of its client base, wealth management firms can map out a trajectory that’s entirely theirs rather than being beholden to the latest digital solutions that will inevitably become obsolete with time.
Mohan Gurupackiam is chief information officer at Steward Partners, an employee-owned, full-service independent partnership catering to family, institutional and multigenerational investors.
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