Pokemon Go demonstrates a growing trend, even for financial advisers

When it comes to clients and their assets, financial advisers just want to “catch them all.”

Though Pokemon Go, the new smartphone app game where users walk around finding cartoon characters from a popular 90’s franchise seems far removed from the financial services industry, it actually exemplifies a growing trend for adviser technology: gamification.

Financial firms and technology vendors, including MassMutual and financial planning software provider Finance Logix, are developing ways to bring a game-like experience to clients who then use these apps and websites to track their money and become familiar with investing strategies. Like Pokemon Go, users embark on a journey to reach their goals. Along the way, they are faced with opportunities for quick decision making and rewarded with points.

The financial services industry is ripe for this sort of innovation, experts say.

Games employ tactics to “positively shape clients’ behaviors, such as improving savings patterns and better investment decisions,” said Corey Limmer, senior research associate at Corporate Insight and lead author of the research firm’s Innovation Advantage report, which notes the potential gamification has on the financial services industry.

Finance Logix, which Envestnet acquired last year, created Finance.Fit, a goals-based mobile app for advisers’ clients that computes trade-offs for various financial decisions, such as how a trip may affect buying a car. In the fall, the company is coming out with Retire.Fit, a self-service app for retirement plan participants.

“This is a way to get people to do things they should be doing,” said Oleg Tishkevich, founder of Finance Logix and chief technology officer of financial planning at Envestnet. “Finance is very boring for most people.”

Although gamification is a concept only beginning to gain traction, experts say it is a natural method for advisers to interact with their clients and guide them to a stronger state of financial well-being. Such apps can keep clients focused on their finances, such as watching how much they save or invest, by using a rewards system or jumping off of peers’ posts on products and questions. Gamification turns serious and tough money situations into a playful experience.

“People are attracted to the mental model of games,” said John Rourke, chief executive of Starburst Labs, the creator of Wealthbox CRM and a new investments questions-and-answers website coming out later this year. “We as humans are naturally drawn to solving problems, particularly if it can be done in an entertaining experience.”

For example, MassMutual created a mobile video game called FUTUREJET to get people thinking about asset accumulation in broader terms. In the game, users control spacemen who need to save a city. The app does not focus on 401(k) plans, but alludes to the approach of saving for the future.

Firms and vendors need to strategically craft an experience for users, Mr. Limmer said. One example would be to have clients earn points for consuming educational content, increasing their savings and rebalancing their portfolios on a timely basis, he suggested.

“If they get rewarded for these things instead of simply transacting in these ways, they will be more willing to make healthy financial decisions,” he said.

Of course, gamified applications and websites aren’t for everyone, and advisers will find clients who are not interested in these tools. Having them as an option can tighten the bond between millennials and the financial services industry, but other consumers may not be willing to share their information or participate, Mr. Limmer said. Vendors may also miss the mark with the design of the game completely.

“It is not just about a game with a website, but having a website that evolves and continues to motivate,” said Sean McDermott, a senior analyst at Corporate Insight.

Earlier this year, advisory firm United Capital began offering FinLife Partners, an adviser platform that houses personal finance tools called Money Mind Analyzer — where investors gauge their emotions about their finances — and Honest Conversations — which prioritizes how investors want to use their money, with the use of digital cards. The firm also acquired FlexScore, a digital planning site that produces a single number to represent a consumer’s financial health. The number changes based on the consumer’s financial decisions.

These tools assist advisers in engaging with other members of their clients’ household as well, said Mark Ciucci, senior vice president of advice at United Capital.

“You’re seeing interactive planning being built into a lot of the planning software that advisers use with their clients,” he said. “Gamification is here and it is only going to increase because it solves real problems that advisers have advising clients.”