While no industry has been left untouched by technological revolution, none has been affected more significantly, nor disrupted more thoroughly, than the financial advisory sector. Technology has changed every aspect of financial advising, and advisors who can merge an embrace of technological solutions with old-school expertise and knowledge have a significant advantage in the marketplace. Advisors who create new models that take advantage of commission and technology disruption can better respond to client needs, stay ahead of the curve, and ensure they remain competitive in a marketplace that is constantly changing.
How, though, can independent advisors hope to compete with the technological offerings of big firms? What offerings do advisors need to be aware of to stay one step ahead in a changing world? Learn more about technology solutions breakaway advisors can’t afford to live without.
1. Digital Client Acquisition Technology Solutions
According to Charles Schwab’s 2021 RIA Benchmarking Study, more than 70% of Registered Investment Advisor firms generated leads through digital client acquisition strategies including their websites, virtual prospecting events, and digital advertising.
Website
As an independent advisor, your website is your office lobby, marketing brochure, and billboard all rolled into one. Creating a professional, easy-to-use website is a key step in putting your brand’s best foot forward to a large audience. DIY templates are available from brands like WordPress and Squarespace, and independent web developers and SEO-focused digital marketing agencies can help develop a website presence that rivals even large firms. Services like MobileMonkey allow you to add a chatbot to your website’s landing page to automate responses to your visitors’ most common questions.
Email Marketing
We’ve all received an email forward from a friend with a message like “check out this article” or “interesting piece.” Creating that content can be a great source of referral business. Maintaining a robust email newsletter list is a great way to ensure that your existing clients and prospects don’t forget about you, and it gives existing clients a great and easy way to spread the word about your practice to potential referrals. Technology like Mailchimp, Sendgrid, or Drip provides easy-to-use, integrated marketing platforms that allow you to maximize your outreach to contacts.
2. Client Relationship Management (CRM) Tools
Client leads are only as good as the system you have in place to manage them. Client relationship management platforms give you the technological tools necessary to track leads, manage customer data and notes, manage and automate workflows, and create reports. Reducing the amount of time you spend searching different spreadsheets or handwritten notes for client information can streamline and standardize your client sales and management processes, making sure you’re offering a consistent, predictable experience to every client.
Redtail CRM is a client relationship management platform created specifically for financial advisors. Redtail is designed to integrate with other tools commonly used by financial advisors, reducing the need for duplicative data entry and management. Salesforce, the largest CRM provider, similarly offers a suite of tools specifically designed for financial advisors.
The most robust CRM solutions can tackle two (or more) needs at once. A full-featured CRM can not only address client management, but can help tackle email marketing tasks as well, occasionally saving the need to enlist the use of an additional tool or service.
3. End-To-End Portfolio Management Tools
Gone are the days when financial advisors were forced to use one platform for financial planning, another for trading, another for portfolio rebalancing, and still another for analytics and workflow. A huge number of providers have stepped into the space, integrating these tools into end-to-end portfolio management tools that can take the place of these different pieces. About half of breakaway advisors turn to these integrated tools.
End-to-end management technology can be critical for RIAs, ensuring that even smaller firms can scale complex planning services, giving them the same capacity as their much larger counterparts. Independent advisors should search for tools that offer account opening, model management, portfolio construction, portfolio accounting, portfolio rebalancing, trading reconciliation, and performance reporting functionality. Using an integrated platform can avoid duplicative work and data entry that takes time from the work of client acquisition and service. All-in-one solutions also mean a single vendor accountable for integrating different functions, avoiding situations where multiple vendors are pointing fingers at each other when something goes wrong.
Robust complete tools like Advisor 360, Orion Advisor Tech, FinFolio, and SEI Wealth Platform offer solutions for independent advisors that offer CRM functionality and/or integrate with commonly-used CRM platforms, cover the entire investment lifecycle, and integrate with other platforms advisors might prefer for certain functions.
4. Financial Planning Tools
This is not to say that specific best-of-breed tools aren’t still out there. Especially in the portfolio rebalancing space, tools like iRebal, AdvisorPeak, and Smartleaf provide robust, automated rebalancing tools that allow independent advisors to take advantage of services that match large firm offerings. For financial planning, tools such as Envestnet and eMoney Advisor offer scalable planning tools that grow with your business.
Breakaway advisors should also keep an eye on emerging artificial intelligence tools that can help automate processes and predict needs. Services like Salesforce’s Einstein tool, automatic trading platforms, and other deep learning AI platforms can ensure that even the smallest breakaway advisor can keep up with the offerings of the largest firms.
5. Other Technology Considerations for Breakaway Advisors
Financial planning and client management aren’t the only services that breakaway advisors need to consider. Voice over internet protocol (VOIP) phone services can provide all the functionality of traditional phone lines, and can integrate with most CRM softwares. An office suite like Microsoft’s Office might seem attractive, but free or lower-cost alternatives from companies like Google can provide robust functionality and integration without the need for expensive software. Programs such as Canva can create great looking marketing and social media images at a fraction of the cost (and complexity) of Adobe’s Photoshop. Understanding the integration and functionality of each of these options is key for breakaway advisors who are considering the bottom line while trying to maximize time spent on client acquisition and service.
Want to Keep the Conversation Going?
Going independent is more complicated than ever, and the right partner can make all the difference. At Terrana Group, our experienced and knowledgeable professionals welcome the opportunity to consult with you to determine the right platform for you going forward — one that satisfies your long term objectives and is also best for your clients!
Over the course of nearly 30 years, we have helped facilitate thousands of professional placements for Advisors, with client assets transferred exceeding $67 billion dollars. We have completed placements in most every major city throughout the United States, while building deep relationships with the advisory world’s most sophisticated and notable firms — including Wall Street brokerages as well as most Regionals, Boutiques, Banks, Independent Broker Dealers, and RIAs. We have a broad knowledge of the deals that are currently being offered and will ensure that you are being presented with the offer which will be best for you.
Confidentiality, professionalism, and respect are protocol to our practices and beliefs; we handle each and every step of the placement process with complete communication, keeping you informed while making the process smoother from beginning to end.
We are proud to always be considered as a great asset by our clients because of our proven expertise, many years of knowledge, and acute attention to detail. Financial Advisor Recruiting Services are not all created equal; we guarantee that the TG experience for clients and candidates is always world class.
We are based in Chicago, with a nationwide reach. Let us know you are interested by contacting us today. To get the conversation started, email info@terranagroup.com or give us a call at 312.655.8380 today.
