We’re at a tipping point, where firms which positively embrace technology into their processes will be in the driving seat. Yasmina Siadatan, Chief Revenue Officer, Dynamic Planner, draws on her experiences of driving a Tesla to reflect on the future for the advice profession, empowered by technology.
Five years ago, I used the benefit in kind scheme to get a Tesla. It arrived direct from the company, dropped off on my driveway with zero miles on the clock. I waited for the guy to hand me a key, but instead he asked if I had my phone. I handed it over and he download an app. He had my temporary password ready to go, and once I’d logged in, he said ‘There you go, that’s your key.’
He asked if I was happy and got ready to leave. ‘Wait,’ I said. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me how to look after it? What do I do in terms of maintenance?’ ‘Oh, you don’t need to do anything,’ he said. ‘No annual service?’ ‘Nope.’ ‘No… oil check?’ Of course not. He left me to it.
What he said has proved correct. Compared to all my others car ownership experiences, there’s very little to think about, no time-consuming service appointments, no contact centre calls. If anything’s slightly off, you get a push notification on your phone. ‘Your rear right tyre needs air,’ or, ‘Left back security camera covered with leaf.’
If you notice an issue yourself, you go to the in-app messaging system and explain what’s happening. Within a few hours, someone has messaged you back. They have all your details, they’re looking at what’s going on with your car and they tell you what you need to do: ‘Try this, try that.’ To this date, I’ve never had to take the car in – they’ve always been able to resolve any problem in this way.
On top of that, they send remote updates to your car overnight – so, one morning, you might get in, shut the door and notice a new haptic to let you know it’s properly closed. Another day, you go to touch a screen and find that the user experience has been subtly improved.
Is financial advice different?
And reflecting on this, I couldn’t help drawing the analogy to my work life.
We are living through a huge change in the way technology is used by advice firms – one that will take us from a process built around the annual review to always-on planning in the palm of the client’s hand.
If they have a concern, the client will be able to ask for help at the touch of a button. If something drifts, you’ll both get a push notification. If you need the client to look at something, you’ll be able to prompt them. The plan will constantly be updated by technology while everyone sleeps.
A new way of doing things
Human thinking and ingenuity are still required to design and build cars and to manage the problems with them. Your human thinking and ingenuity will still be at the heart of your client relationships. The difference is that technology will take more of the load, and will let you engage your clients with their goals in new ways.
Join the race
How can you get ahead of the game? First, see technology as a core area of advice delivery, not an add-on. The right technology can be the difference between servicing 50 clients and servicing 250 clients, so it makes sense to get onboard and embed it deeply in your business[s2] .
Second, be open-minded about the pace of change. As I wrote in my last column, the advice industry can sometimes move slowly, but in this area there are potentially rich rewards for early adopters. Sure, technology often has a hype curve, but if you see something that can genuinely help your business, don’t wait.
Third, pay attention to regulation – not just what needs to be implemented now, but what might be coming down the line – to enable you to build propositions fit for the future. For example, the current advice guidance boundary review contains proposals that could pave the way for us to move from expensive, rigid, holistic planning to a menu of services that can meet varied client needs at lower cost. That’s an opportunity to be seized, and the right technology can help you do it.
From RDR through Consumer Duty and on into the future, financial advice has undergone a huge shift from a product focus to a customer focus. Engaging client experiences, empowered by technology, are the next step.
The right technology is not just a tick box exercise, it’s actually going to drive the future of the industry. Make sure you’re along for the ride.
