AdviserSoftware.com, part of market-leading advice tech consultancy Financial Technology Research Centre (FTRC), has launched its inaugural “Adviser Technology Index” (ATI), taking a fresh approach to understanding advisers’ use of technology.
The index is the first data source of its kind. It analyses the views of over 200 advice firms and delivers a comprehensive understanding of the technology systems advisers use, how they use them, rate them and provides meaningful insight into how sticky customer relationships are.
It provides factual data on system usage, adviser opinions and real-world experiences as well as insight into current and planned use of technology across 19 areas, including Practice Management, Cashflow Planning, Workflows, Client Portals, Suitability Reports, Attitude to Risk, Communications, Compliance, Hybrid Models, to name a few. The index explores how different systems perform against each other, comparing user sentiment across seven leading AdviceTech vendors (Benchmark, Dynamic Planner intelliflo Iress MorningstarPlannr Technologies Limited and Salesforce), and benchmarking them against market averages. For each software provider the report also includes detailed analysis of where existing users see room for improvement within their current Practice Management System supplier.
The analysis shows that when looking across all seven AdviceTech vendors the areas clients would like to see most improved in Practice Management System functionality are data management & validation, the client portal and third-party integration.
In addition, it revealed that while on average 26% of advisers are thinking of reviewing or changing their Practice Management System in the next 12 to 24 months, only 17% of Benchmark users and 14% of Salesforce users have such plans. Cashflow planning systems are more exposed with 36% of advisers looking to review their systems over the same period.
Ian McKenna, founder of FTRC and AdviserSoftware.com, commented: “Technology is now crucial to how every adviser firm operates. This does not just impact the firms themselves but platforms and insurers looking to do business with them. No previous research has provided this level of granular analysis of systems side by side based in the views, experiences and priorities of their users.
“This study should be an essential guide for investment platforms, life insurers, asset managers, and discretionary fund managers looking to build a business case to prioritise different requests for integration and other support. The objective is to provide real evidence on who are the leaders and laggards in different areas.
“The index also enables tech providers to understand how their users feel about the systems they work with, identifying key opportunities to do better.
“AdviserSoftware.com has been created to help advisers make more informed decisions when choosing technology. Our team is almost entirely composed of people who have worked in advice businesses in a wide range of roles so have first-hand experience of the day-to-day challenges advisers face. Our analysis is not just a collection of logos on a page, but each review has involved our experienced team putting the systems through their paces and asking difficult questions about what they can or cannot do.
“We are finding more and more advisers using our analysis as the first stage of building their short list of suppliers for any new system requirement or supplier review.
“Some areas of the market are clearly overpopulated, for example advisers identified 23 different system being use for Attitude to Risk work, although five systems account for 63% of the market.
“On average 36% of advisers are looking to review their Cashflow planning system in the next 12-24 months but only 14% of Salesforce users have such intentions. This could be influenced by the quality of the integration between different systems, not just their functionality.
“Overall, 60% of advisers now use technology to support their client review process, this rises to 64% for intelliflo users, 68% for Dynamic Planner users, 71% for Plannr and Salesforce users, 73% for Morningstar users and 83% for Benchmark users. The study identifies significant variations between different systems for different purposes.”
For further information and pricing enquires, please go to Adviser Technology Index.
