In today’s fast-paced, digital world, state-of-the-art technology is not just a nice perk for advisors to have anymore, it is a necessity.

Most advisors turn to a parent company, a partner or an advisory platform to provide the needed technology. Making the decision about which firm or turnkey asset management platform to join can hinge on the quality of technology provided.

But how important is that decision to the firm’s operation?

“Technology is a key factor in selecting a platform. It is important to have the right system,” says Eric Brotman, president and managing principal of Brotman Financial Group in Baltimore, who recently joined Kestra Financial, based in Austin, Texas.

“Without the right technology platform you are at the mercy of every vendor. One technology vendor you are using will update and another won’t and they no longer integrate,” he says.

Brotman advises firms to look for a company that upgrades every couple of years so that the firm’s staff has the best system to work with.

Technology is synonymous with time in today’s world.

“To be efficient we have to have the tools available to get as much done in the time available as possible,” says Michael Slaymaker, vice president, wealth management and satellite branch manager in Janney Montgomery Scott’s Alexandria, Va., office. “When I made a change from a large wirehouse to Janney, a lot of my questions were around technology.”

He suggests advisors become familiar with a new technology system ahead of time so they are comfortable with the system from day one of working with clients.

“No off-the-shelf technology system is good for every firm. Each one makes changes to the system to fit its operations. The systems have to be accessible and flexible for the clients as well as useful for the advisors,” he adds.

The information the clients are looking at has to give them confidence in their investments. If they can see the results online, rather than looking at a 50-page report that few people understand, the information is more useful and more reassuring, says Paul Markowich, executive vice president of Firstrust Financial Resources in Philadelphia, which is now a part of AXA Advisors LLC.

“We also had to have a platform sophisticated enough to deal with planning corporate benefits,” adds David Fleisher, vice chairman and co-branch manager of Karr Barth Associates, the other half of the AXA Philadelphia office.

Advisors look to a platform-provider’s history to find an appropriate partner, notes James Warren, founder of Compass Wealth Management, which is part of the SEI Advisor Network. “We need technology to bring all of our services together.

“I don’t think we could gain the respect of high-net-worth clients today without good technology,” Warren says.

The question of proper technology is brought back to the issue of time by Rosemary Caligiuri, managing director of Harvest Group Financial in Langhorne, Pa., a division of United Capital.

“If I can give my clients the gift to time, I am doing them a real service,” Caligiuri says. “The client-facing platform is the most important because it is going to be hard to keep a client engaged unless you can show them evidence that they are on track for their goals.”

It took Caligiuri 18 months of due diligence to find the right company to partner with, but finding someone to provide the technology needed for her staff and clients was paramount because it was cost prohibitive for her to do it on her own. And the importance of having the best technology for clients is immeasurable. 

“It is more than showing them their portfolio. With technology you can easily show them they are on track for retirement or their children’s education, or whatever their goal is,” she explains. “It also helps them feel confident when times are tough. They may see that the news stinks, but they can see they are okay.”