Before I came to BPV, I ran a marketing agency. I've always required any new implementation to be adaptive to the personality and the behavior of the person using the technology, rather than forcing the person to adapt their behavior to the tools. A big part of this involves trying to automate systems as much as possible. It doesn't require a major shift in behavior, orusing communication to that person in a more passive way, to automate their life. What do I mean by that? It sounds crazy. Rather than forcing someone to check a report everyday to see who's been on their website, just automatically email them a report in the morning, saying you need to do these things today. You need to call this person or email this person based on their activity or whatever the system determined.
In using technology, for us, it's about usability, not capability. Why is it different for us? Because we are not a FinTechcompany that's actively trying to build capabilities. We're trying to form usability solutions for advisors in their offices so they can more effectively build relationships. That becomes the central focus: how are we helping advisors to understand their clients better. It's the human side of technology.
Hortz: What do you see as the future of technology for advisors and how are you trying to harness this for them?
Floyd: With so many developments in artificial intelligence and cognitive, it's going to go much further. There are levels of automation that we're going to see coming down the pike in the next five years that are going to be mind-blowing. FinTech is moving at a massive rate, moving quickly, and there are brilliant developers in this space. But, technology is going to take you only to a certain extent.
My vision around this is that we are not a technology company. We are a relationship company. That is part of what makes us different. What we want to do is let our team at BPV utilize their highest and best use: make the things we are good at and form strategic partnerships to fill in the gaps. So, if a developer is continuously thinking about improvements in the experience of their software, then I want them to do that and I want to work out a partnership with them to bring that out to advisors. I want to have a team of developers here that we are bringing in to leverage the power of what's going on in FinTech and develop in-house only that software that is absolutely necessary for us to serve as the proprietary glue between some of these amazing technologies that we’ve partnered with.
When I say improve outcomes and experience for the investor, I start with the framework that the whole financial services experience can be dramatically improved from a usabilitystandpoint. We use computers, but mainly our mobile phones, to manage our financial lives. Somehow, the advisor is not always directly in that relationship. The advisor needs to be a part of that conversation and be involved in that connection, where people are managing their financial lives and playing a role in it. That's really the focus for us, is to be that integration point that allows that great, fantastic, or Steve Jobs-like, beautiful experience to happen between the advisor and their client. That's why we think there's such a significant upside and advantage, in putting that advisor in a place where they would never have the time or the resources to build out an experience that is engaging and interesting to the end user. How can we help the investor have this enjoyable, pleasurable experience with their advisor, with their finances, with their investments?
Hortz: How important do you think business model innovation is for advisors in the future?
Floyd: I don't believe it's a complete adapt-or-die. What I do believe is that there is an underestimation of the use of technology and the use of digital tools. The advantage I think for the practice that uses technology is their ability to connect with their clients on their terms. A lot of advisors will consider their website, the static website that hasn't been updated in years, to be all the digital information that they need. Many professionals have this notion that the advisor is the professional, so clients should deal with them on the advisor’s terms.
I'm saying all this to illustrate that the paradigm of the client doing business with me on my terms has changed into me, the advisor, doing business with the client on their terms. It's going to be critically important for future success to understand who's in charge of the conversation because clients have a world of unlimited options and choices that customize to their needs. Consumers now are looking for that customized experience in every part of their life.
Hortz: What specific advice can you offer advisors that realize they need to start charting this new course for their firm, to be more digital? What's the best advice you can give them on how to really start?
Floyd: I think, and this is my experience with most advisors, the thought of becoming digital feels like eating an elephant. It's overwhelming. You don't know where to start. We are big believers in the “crawl, walk, run” mentality. Understand how to engage in a way that they can actually accomplish some goals, get some wins, and feel good about it. I think it goes back to the implementation problem and being sold on benefits rather than how it actually fits into the practice. All of these things are just tools. The fit question and the use question are really important. Is this solving the problem that I want it to solve, and can I implement it?
The second part is, just as advisors have insight and expertise over a fairly complex universe of knowledge, I would suggest that they seek the consultation of someone with expertise in this area. Enlisting the counsel of someone that knows the territory well can be very important in their evolution and development of the advisor’s digital presence. Many start without a plan, dive in, and eventually give up, and move on before they actually see the fruit of their labor.
Hortz: Thank you Jeremy, for an advance look at what you are building for advisors!
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