AI and the Role of Technology in Improving Advisor Productivity
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Technology plays a vital role in overall advisor productivity and the efficiencies in their day-to-day professional lives. In our 2024 Connected Wealth Report, 92% of the advisors surveyed said they were willing to switch firms over bad tech. This is a staggering amount.?
When we asked our contributors about advisor productivity, their answers shed no doubt that this is an incredibly important topic in the FinTech sphere and one that merits discussion. Our contributors today lead an imperative conversation on the impact technology has on advisor productivity and how it ultimately affects advisors’ clients. ?
This month’s contributors Christine Simone, Michael Young, Hakan Yilmaz, and Eric Esfahanian share their insights on technology’s role in advisor productivity, the impacts on end-clients, AI, and the challenges firms and advisors face when it comes to advisor productivity.??
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The Productivity Impact?
We asked our contributors about the impact a firm’s tech stack has on advisor productivity. The short answer is there is a substantial impact, but let’s get into the details with our contributors.??
“A firm's tech stack is pivotal in boosting advisor productivity,” states Hakan Yilmaz, Director of Product Management at Advisor360°.?
Eric Esfahanian, VP of Enterprise Sales at Advisor360°, explains, “it comes down to core competency. As the assets and advisors grow, time and energy must be diverted from core competency (wealth) to technology initiatives, simply to maintain a base level of service—not to mention driving real tech innovation. Practically speaking, the most important module in a wealth tech stack for advisors is the advisor desktop. ?If an advisor desktop pulls in data from CRM, markets, custodians, insurance, and investments with the ability to organize that data into a structure resembling a household in a single ‘pane of glass,’ the productivity gains for advisors will be profound by not having to jump in and out of several different apps and interfaces to cobble together data from multiple sources, and spend hours making it look unified for client consumption.”?
Adding on to Esfahanian’s thoughts, Michael Young, President and Managing Partner of Integrated Advisors Network believes that “having portable and accessible tools available for an advisor to work from anywhere is essential. These tools not only streamline the data collection process but also ensure data accuracy and security. Also, a robust client portal is a must. It allows clients to access their financial information and communicate with their advisors easily, enhancing the client-advisor relationship. Most importantly, with any of these tools, an advisor should know the information that is important to a client and customize their experience so that the client can find it quickly.”?
“A firm's tech stack is pivotal in boosting advisor productivity.”—Hakan Yilmaz?
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Advisors’ Clients?
We’ve talked about the impact a firm’s tech stack has on advisor productivity but how does it impact the end client??
“Advisor productivity is paramount to the end client as it directly impacts the quality and timeliness of the services they receive. Efficient advisors can dedicate more time and attention to understanding their clients' unique financial goals, crafting personalized strategies, and providing ongoing support. This results in more informed decision-making, more comprehensive financial plans, and proactive risk management, ultimately leading to better financial outcomes for clients,” says Christine Simone, CEO and Co-Founder of Caribou. ?
Continuing the conversation, Yilmaz shares, “advisor productivity directly influences client satisfaction and retention by enabling more focused, personalized client interactions, and more efficient service delivery, including the use of mobile applications for communications, task, and workflow management. Productive advisors can respond quicker to client inquiries, offer tailored advice based on comprehensive, real-time data analysis, and proactively manage client portfolios to align with changing market conditions. Research further indicates that enhanced advisor productivity leads to higher client trust.”?
Hitting these sentiments home, Esfahanian expresses that “the end client is the true barometer for a firm’s value and advisor’s loyalty. An informed advisor equals and empowered client and a successful long-term partnership. At the end of the day, it comes down to performance and service. There is nothing more important to clients than advisors who help them reach their goals and dreams. Productive advisors maximize their time focusing on what’s important to clients by leveraging tech as often as possible.”?
“Advisor productivity is paramount to the end client as it directly impacts the quality and timeliness of the services they receive.”—Christine Simone?
AI Takes Over?
AI is taking the industry by storm. How can advisors and firms leverage AI and what is the impact AI has on advisor productivity???
“AI already plays a role in helping advisors with content creation for communications,” states Young. “Tools like a virtual marketing assistant can help an advisor draft content for an email or a social media post, enhancing an advisor's productivity by kick-starting content creation or helping with writer's block. This type of tool only scratches the surface of what AI can do. AI will continue to develop as a virtual assistant to an advisor and their teams, supporting workflows and data analysis.” ?
Moreover, Yilmaz expresses that “AI can accelerate routine tasks, such as report drafting and market research, potentially enhancing productivity for asset managers. For wealth managers, AI can process large volumes of complex data to identify trends and generate actionable insights, reducing the workload on human advisors. AI and machine learning not only frees up advisor time, but it also enables nuanced client insights for a more informed and proactive advisory approach. We see the future of wealth management with AI and machine learning becoming a core component of the tech stack for both firm efficiency and client satisfaction, with models for use cases like household and advisor retention and AUM attribution.”?
However, Esfahanian warns that although “there is no doubt that AI is the next big wave in wealth tech, smart advisory firms need to focus on quick wins, rather than vast and lofty goals for AI, which can quickly turn into a money pit of sunk cost and little value.”?
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Not Without Challenges?
Unfortunately, the best things in life don’t always come easy.?
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According to Simone, “advisors and firms often grapple with challenges related to advisor productivity, notably in the realm of client communication. Traditional methods of client outreach, such as mass emails or generic market updates, consume valuable time and often yield minimal engagement. The demand for personalized, relevant touchpoints has escalated, requiring advisors to adopt tools and offerings that facilitate targeted, engaging interactions. Streamlining communication processes and leveraging technology to deliver tailored insights and recommendations can significantly enhance advisor productivity while fostering deeper client relationships.”?
“Productivity is such a loaded word—overused and vague,” says Esfahanian. “Advisors are looking for new ways to engage their clients. This takes time. You’re never going to completely eliminate administrative tasks from an advisor’s day, but there is no longer any reason why time-consuming tasks should pull advisors away from prospecting, learning, and working with their clients. A well-thought-out technology approach can significantly reduce the ‘time vampires’ sucking time away from producers and their clients. Also, though technology can simplify processes, the advisor can decide how they use that time—whether a day of golf or client outreach?”?
“You’re never going to completely eliminate administrative tasks from an advisor’s day, but there is no longer any reason why time-consuming tasks should pull advisors away from prospecting, learning, and working with their clients.”—Eric Esfahanian?
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Please leave a comment and let us know how you enjoyed this conversation around advisor productivity. To see what advisors are saying about their firms’ tech stacks, read our 2024 Connected Wealth Report here. ?
Interested in being a newsletter contributor? Send an email to [email protected]?
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About our contributors:?
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Christine is the CEO and co-founder of Caribou, a healthcare planning software solution for the finance industry. She is driven by her passion to slash hidden incentives in healthcare to support smarter financial decision-making, and she is within the fraction of women founders who have raised venture capital.?
Michael is the President & Managing Partner of Integrated Advisors Network, a partner to independent advisors, alleviating the worry of day-to-day business operations and giving advisors the freedom to focus on growing their business and servicing their clients as they see fit.??
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Hakan Yilmaz is currently a Director of Product Management at Advisor360°. A graduate of Imperial College in London, he is now based in the Boston area and has developed his career in FinTech-focused product management, solving customer and organizational problems by bringing acclaimed technology solutions to market.?
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Eric Esfahanian is responsible for Advisor360°’s Enterprise Sales org, tasked with building and leading a high-performance team to drive strategic sales efforts with enterprise wealth firms. He brings a broad range of leadership experience in the SaaS space spanning high growth early-stage firms along with Fortune 500 enterprises.??
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