"It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?” - Henry David Thoreau
As an adviser, you work over 40 hours a week but you spend more than 40%* of your time doing administrative and compliance-related tasks, which eats into time spent engaging with clients or working towards growing your client base. Wouldn’t it be great if someone could take some of this workload off you so you could concentrate on the things that matter to your practice? Thankfully, some little elves are hard at work building technology solutions that help you do just that. Let us find out more about them.
Why should you invest in technology?
In a recent survey conducted by Morningstar, over 80%** of advisers said they need or plan to do more to embrace technology within their practice. There are several ways in which you can take back control of your practice with technology today:
1. Using digital tools to capture and consolidate client information and quickly creating an engaging statement of advice
2. Setting up an automated workflow system that helps you stay on top of your business
3. Improving your client experience and engagement
4. Help with meeting compliance requirements such as FoFA
5. Using systems that put best-in-class data and research at your fingertips
6. Reduce manual effort spent on collecting client data from investment, banking, and SMSF platforms
Software is no longer an optional extra and, when implemented properly, can improve how advice is delivered, how you manage client communications, risk and compliance, and help you regain control over your business and your time.
With a focus on improving client outcomes and creating a more efficient advice process, you now need to ensure that you choose the right technology partner that can support your business with a focus on the long-term.
How to select the right technology partner?
A question that you should be asking is “Will my technology partners help me run a more efficient business and how are they investing to support me into the future?”
A lot depends on how well a technology solution will accommodate shifting client expectations, changing regulatory environments, integrate with your existing systems, and importantly help you get your practice to where you want it to be. When choosing the right solutions for your business, taking the time to research different options and developing a plan for incorporating new technology into your business can lessen the impact of the change for your staff and clients.
Investing in the future
Morningstar has a 35-year history of putting investors first with differentiated investment research and comprehensive investment data. We have been working with advisers in Australia for the last two decades to improve client outcomes with our data and research products. With AdviserLogic and FinaMetrica now part of the Morningstar family, our core data & research is coupled with business management, advice generation and client engagement capabilities, empowering advisers to capture client needs & objectives and deliver advice at scale. Our end-to-end solutions connect with our head office tools for licensees, allowing the entire process to be documented to help meet compliance obligations.
To find out more about Morningstar’s solutions for you and your advice practice, visit go.morningstar.com/fpa
References
*Advisers spend about 42% of their time doing administrative and compliance-related tasks. Source: Investment Trends 2018 Managed Accounts Report, based on a survey of 841 financial planners.
**Based on survey conducted by Morningstar among 245 advisers in March 2020
(Answer to Q. Do you feel you’ve fully embraced technology within your business?)
