Financial advisors turn to websites of product providers and distributors for information, tools and services to help them manage their practices. The options are seemingly limitless, but advisors overwhelming tend to rely on the websites of several key companies, according to a report from Practical Perspectives, a Boston-based wealth management industry consultant.
“We find that most advisors tend to limit their web use to a few trusted providers they are familiar with and which offer broad capabilities, are simple or intuitive to use, and are designed specifically for financial professionals,” says Howard Schneider, president of Practical Perspectives and author of the report, “Delivering Web Support to Financial Advisors—Insights and Opportunities 2016.”
According to the report, advisors favor websites and web support from large asset managers, custodians, and insurance carriers including American Funds, BlackRock/iShares, Vanguard, Fidelity, Morningstar, Charles Schwab and Jackson National.
The report incorporates more than 750 online surveys conducted in April 2016 with advisors and representatives across wirehouses, regional brokers, independent brokers, financial planners and RIAs. And while advisors generally said that websites from product providers and distributors are useful, they also said there’s always room for improvement.
Specifically, 51% of survey respondents want more access to research portfolios and analysis, while 50% want to see enhanced design and navigation. In addition, a large percentage of advisors (42%) said they want more ability to tailor information to their needs and interests, while 41% want more frequent content updates. Thirty-nine percent said they wanted greater integration with the platform and systems they use.
As would be expected, younger and more tech-savvy advisors engage more with product provider websites, are more likely to use a wider range of sources, and are more reliant on mobile devices for accessing support.