Page 3 - Investment Advisor March 2021

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3 Tools to Help Advisors Do More With Less

As the COVID-19 pandemic has severely 138,000 new plans per month — and had cerns. When an anxious client calls about
affected businesses and families across updated more than 1.02 million existing market activity, an advisor can act as a
the country, financial planners have had plans, or 170,000 per month, year-to-date. calming influence by modeling the client’s
This higher demand for current financial situation next to the advi-
advisor time and expertise, sor’s recommended plan of action — with-
while also continuing to in the client portal. If the advisor’s finan-
operate their practices effi- cial planning technology provider enables
ciently and generate new the modeling of unlimited scenarios, then
business, means the pan- the advisor can address any hypothetical
demic has accelerated trends question and demonstrate the impact of
in the industry. The good any recommendation in real time.
news is there is technology
that already was available 3. Self-Guided Retirement Needs Analysis
before COVID-19 that can At a time when many people have been
help advisors manage the laid off or furloughed, and haven’t been
to contend with more than the usual uptick in inquiries from clients and pros- able to save money for retirement due
financial stress and worry from clients pects, while enhancing their value propo- to a decrease or loss of income, advi-
since last year. sition and growing their businesses. sors can showcase their value by helping
A survey conducted by the CFP Board Here are three digital tools that advi- prospects estimate how much money
in April 2020 found that 64% of certified sors can harness to do more for clients they need to cover expenses and meet
financial planners said their clients were and prospects, in less time. goals in retirement.
experiencing high or very high levels of Some solutions enable advisors to
stress. According to the survey, the top 1. Client Portals email a link to prospects that can take
three financial concerns expressed by cli- Advisors can strengthen their engage- them to a portal where — on their own
ents were managing volatility, protecting ment with clients through interactive time, and at their own pace — they can
assets and liquidity. portals, where clients can access their fill in details such as age, family makeup
Since social distancing and Zoom financial plans remotely at any time from and current annual income. The plat-
etiquette became part of the national any location. The portals offered by some form’s calculation engine can then use
discourse, advisors have been bombarded technology providers enable clients — on these details to estimate how much sav-
with questions and requests for advice their own — to adjust contributions and ings the prospect would need to meet
from clients. The CFP Board reported that time spans, and see how those changes likely expenses and meet their goals.
78% of CFP professionals experienced an would affect their goals. Smart assumptions, and integrations
increase in client inquiries during the pan- However, advisors also can monitor cli- with third-party providers of health care
demic, and 34% of CFP professionals have ents’ activity within the client portal, and data, can also help prospects estimate
seen a rise in inquiries from prospects. begin financial planning conversations how much they would need to save in
We have observed this trend among the with clients based on the information they order to cover all likely medical expenses
Bloomicon/Shutterstock planning platform. In June 2020 alone, 2. Side-by-Side Scenarios ment projections also can help advisors
advisors utilizing our NaviPlan financial
entered and the scenarios they viewed.
in each phase of retirement.
These smarter, more accurate retire-
there was a 64% increase in updates to
better understand each prospect’s con-
financial plans completed in NaviPlan,
Some modern financial planning solu-
cerns, financial situation, and goals before
compared with June 2019. Also, as of Oct.
tions include presentation tools allowing
beginning more in-depth conversations.
5, 2020, advisors had created 828,000
advisors to create side-by-side scenarios
new financial plans year-to-date, or
—Angela Pecoraro, CEO, Advicent
to address clients’ questions and con-
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MARCH 2021 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 1