Beyond the dashboard: Making wealth tech human

This article has been produced in partnership with intelliflo.

The market closes in an hour, and your models have just flagged a handful of accounts for rebalancing. But your platforms don’t talk to each other, so you’re toggling between screens, manually entering trades, and hoping nothing critical slips through the cracks.

For wealth managers, it’s a familiar tension. Technology holds the promise of efficiency, scale, and stronger client relationships - but too often delivers the opposite. Disconnected systems, clunky workflows, and impersonal experiences get in the way of what matters most: sound advice, delivered with a human touch.

Jennifer Valdez as President of Americas at intelliflo, spends much of her time listening—really listening—to the pain points and ambitions of wealth professionals. “We don’t just want our technology to be used,” Valdez says. “We want it to feel like a genuine extension of the advisor’s practice. Our best feedback comes from those who rely on us every single day.”

intelliflo solutions support over 30,000 financial advisors worldwide, representing over three million end-investors, with over $1 trillion serviced across our platforms, positioning themselves as an enabler rather than a disruptor.

What really matters to advisors is simplicity and control

As more advisors digitize their practice, clients are noticing a subtle shift. Over one in three wealth management clients—about 35%—now say their relationship with their advisor has become less personal due to increased technology use, according to recent research from EY. This finding underscores a genuine risk: digital tools, if not thoughtfully implemented, can erode the very trust and familiarity that define great advice.

intelliflo’s approach to customer satisfaction leans on direct measures: Net Promoter Scores (how likely clients are to recommend intelliflo to peers), referrals, support ticket metrics, and—most tellingly—customer retention. Valdez notes, “When most of our new business comes from referrals, that speaks to our dedication to our solutions and customers.”

This feedback-first culture extends to every layer of service. The company tracks ticket volumes, response times, and the speed of issue resolution. For many advisors, a quick fix to a tech hiccup can mean the difference between a confident client call and a day lost to troubleshooting.

“It’s about being responsive, not just reactive,” says Kendall Austin, Head of Customer Success, Americas at intelliflo. “We keep a close eye on how advisors use our technology and areas that we can make it easier.”

This focus on personalization goes beyond investment models. Advisors using intelliflo’s platform can customize dashboards, reflect preferences—such as ESG or low-cost portfolios—and streamline client onboarding, digital signatures, and reporting. It’s a move away from one-size-fits-all tech, toward a model where digital tools strengthen, rather than dilute, the advisor-client bond.

Integration in action: Streamlining rebalancing and trading

For advisors themselves, digital adoption is a work in progress—and the main pain point is clear. InvestmentNews’ Advisor Study 2022, found that over half the respondents (57%) reporting the lack of integration between software applications as a significant obstacle.

The advisor’s got the signal, the portfolios that need adjusting are clear. But executing that move feels like trying to run a relay race while holding every baton yourself. Each system demands its own login, its own format, its own double-check. What should be a smooth sprint turns into a slow-motion scramble. “It’s one of the most common complaints we hear,” says Austin. “That’s why our onboarding and implementation are so focused on making key workflows, like digital account opening seamless.”

One of the thorniest issues facing U.S. wealth firms is integration: too many platforms, too little connectivity. Advisors, especially at independent RIAs and broker-dealers, are often left stitching together tech stacks and rekeying data—hardly the best use of a professional’s time.

“We take a really intentional approach to onboarding and implementation,” says Austin. “It’s tempting for firms to want everything all at once, but the reality is you get the biggest gains by focusing on a few core processes first.”

Despite these opportunities, complexity remains a barrier. According to Cerulli Associates’ 2024 research, 29% of advisors report that “managing technology needs” is among their top practice management challenges. Even as digital tools promise to deliver efficiency and growth, many professionals struggle to keep up with the learning curves and the demands of fragmented systems.

For example, digital account opening—often a bottleneck—can be transformed with streamlined workflows that free up advisors to focus on clients, not paperwork. Sometimes, the secret to success is tackling a few core processes instead of trying to boil the ocean.

Change management is another hurdle, and here, simplicity wins. Rather than overwhelming users with features, intelliflo focuses on building confidence with essentials. “If you start with the basics and layer on more as users grow comfortable, adoption sticks,” Austin explains. Advisors have access to digital training, webinars, and live support—resources designed for every level of tech fluency.

Customer-driven innovation

In a sector where technology can feel one step removed from the real work of serving clients, intelliflo stands out for putting users at the heart of product development. In 2024, a staggering 83% of enhancements to intelliflo redblack, its flagship platform, were inspired directly by customer feedback. “Putting customers at the center of innovation ensures that the platform remains intuitive and aligned with advisory needs,” says Valdez.

That commitment to partnership is already resonating with forward-looking firms. At Balentine, a wealth advisory firm managing over $5 billion in assets, the team views intelliflo redblack not just as a platform, but as a strategic collaborator in their long-term evolution. For them, technology is central to improving both client engagement and internal efficiency—and intelliflo is playing an active role in that transformation.

That feedback loop isn’t passive. intelliflo’s teams regularly meet with clients to review business strategy, understand their evolving priorities, and actively solicit ideas for improvement. The result: innovations like the compliance rules engine, which allows RIAs of all sizes to automate complex regulatory checks, customizing compliance at the client level and freeing up hours once lost to manual verification.

To learn more about intelliflo redblack and how the platform can help you scale, reach out to their team here.