Technology use among financial advisors has exploded in recent years, as the industry seeks new opportunities to improve workflow, propel growth and deliver stronger financial plans for clients. At the same time, clients' lives are increasingly intertwined with technology, and they expect a technology-based experience with their advisors. In fact, a study by McKinsey and Company reveals that 127 new devices are connected to the internet every second.
The technology available to financial advisors offers many benefits, helping them cut costs, save significant amounts of time and energy and aid clients in reaching their goals more efficiently. It’s also a more comprehensive way for advisors to communicate important information and statistics with their clients as well as help them better visualize their options.
As vice president of technology at Merit Financial Advisors, a $5.6 billion hybrid financial planning firm, I am charged with overseeing the strategy of the role technology plays in our practice and the benefits that it offers. We strive to provide the absolute best to both our clients and advisors. That’s why as a firm, we are dedicating over $4 million over the next two years into our technology offerings and the training needed to increase adoption. Firms that want to continue to grow and innovate will need to provide advisors with the tools they need to grow and scale their practices. Here are a few areas in which we feel are critical to accomplish this.
Data Consolidation
One of the biggest financial commitments within our technology plan is to own our own data. Merit will serve as the consolidation point for various data streams, which will allow us to go above and beyond for clients to integrate a financial plan across relevant technology platforms. By doing this, we can efficiently automate workflows for advisors and their teams.
Taking responsibility for our clients’ data is a significant mark of our commitment to them and the trust they place in us as their financial partner. Perfecting our data consolidation platform and executing it without error has been our biggest commitment from a time, money and education standpoint. However, what we have realized is that once we have the data consolidated, the opportunities for our clients and advisors are endless.
Our consolidation process is still under development, but once fully implemented it will start in our own data warehouse and tie in directly with our custodians. The process combines data from multiple different sources to then feed our critical systems with consistent data from one source of truth, streamlining the data flow process and limiting the dependency of multiple systems. This provides Merit advisors the flexibility to customize plans, review comprehensive data and gain the clearest understanding of their clients’ financial picture. Furthermore, it solves advisors’ number one challenge, which is not having the essential data available at their fingertips.
Orion, the platform partner we are using for account consolidation, allows us to be multi-custodial, which opens significant possibilities for all advisors who align with us. Enabling advisors to enter this multi-custodial environment without the need to completely up-root their business and change their broker-dealer is a monumental step for Merit.
With this data consolidation technology, our goal is to raise the bar in the hybrid advisor space and become a leader for our ability to seamlessly transition advisors and clients.
The Human Behind The Tech
Our investment in technology will streamline operations and help build relationships among clients and advisors. Occasionally increased technology usage can result in the loss of a personal relationship, but this can be easily avoided if the team is proactive in ensuring that human connection isn’t lost. By implementing these new features, we are showing our clients and prospects that we value efficiency and growth, while still supporting their financial goals.
This goal is a significant driver behind the formation of our tech advisory board. The 12-person board meets regularly and includes staff from both the enterprise and advisor side so that there is no disconnect between the two. Those who are efficient in tech and have a comprehensive understanding of the software have a completely different perspective than the advisor, who is in the trenches. Having a strong team with multiple perspectives as we implement and update our technology investments in real time will ensure that no mistakes are made and no gaps are left unfilled as we enhance our offerings. A dedicated technology team is just as important as the platforms themselves.