It’s beginning to look a lot like an RIA world out there as more financial advisors transition to independence. Some who go independent can have a trying time figuring out what best practices work best for the firm and the advisor in order to become more efficient.
Several panels at the upcoming RIA Connect New York conference will address the various technology tools and processes advisors can use that will allow them to give more time and attention to their clients.
Jason Miller, partner at Crewe Advisors and one of the panelists, says he plans to talk about how advisors can focus on their highest and best-use tech stack.
“As the industry continues to evolve, advisors are pushed further up the value stack,” Miller says. “How can you leverage and build the appropriate tech stack for your practice? How do you align culture with what you're trying to do? I think spending some time talking through advisors' specialization is important.”
Miller also plans to address how advisors or firms can build efficiencies so advisors can spend the most time with clients as possible and limit the time they spend on less important tasks.
“In our firm, we've worked really hard to create a process that delivers one consistent client experience efficiently. Advisors who joined the firm or advisors that we’re bringing up through the ranks have a process to plug into, and that client experience is consistent from client to client. We're really delivering on one firm value proposition,” he said.
And as artificial intelligent emerges as a force, firms should also be prepared to leverage AI, Miller added.
Andrew Altfest will be one of the panelists on the topic of AI at the April 16 event, and his message is that things are changing for advisors in the tech space.
“We have to compete more,” said Altfest, president of Altfest Personal Wealth Management. “Our value proposition as advisors is increasing. In that respect, it’s like being a kid in the candy store, with all the different tools and resources that are available to us in terms of technology.”
Alfest warned though, that no matter the added value that technology can provide, advisors shouldn’t be complacent about it. “There's going to be increased competition from other people out there, as well as other advisors who are more quickly adopting tools and learning how to use them to drive results.
“When it comes to AI, it’s freeing up and saving time for the advisor, whereas most technology in the past has saved time just on support work,” he added. “AI is allowing the communication and analysis side to be further automated and for the adviser to therefore be able to do more for clients.”
As clients increasingly challenge advisors to offer additional advanced services, like tax and estate planning, firms are also finding it almost impossible to scale, Altfest said. AI is allowing those advanced planning services to be scalable for advisors.
What was formerly offered to the wealthiest clients is now being automated and being offered to everyone, he added. What would have taken hours and hours of time in the past, along with a lot of specialized expertise, is now being generated in no time at all.
“The advisor, in effect, is able to have an internal planning team of experts looking at every one of their clients’ situations just by using AI,” Altfest said.
Key drivers and objectives that are essential for a firm’s operational transformation, Miller points out, start with clarifying the firm’s vision and mission, then aligning the operational procedures and processes. That then informs the build of the tech stack and how an advisor is going to use those technologies to create the most efficient back-end processes.
“This is about the 80/20 rule," he said. “How can advisors spend the most of their time on the 20 percent of activities that generate 80 percent of the results and how do we make the rest of it easier for them? I want our advisors as client-facing as possible, thinking proactively through the advice and planning ideas that we need to deliver, as opposed to spending an inordinate amount of time on activities that I would say have less added value.”
Registration for the RIA Connect New York event, which includes a special advisor rate, is ongoing. See the full agenda and speakers here.
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