T3 report highlights top tech for advisors

A report presented at a recent tech conference contain insights that might be beneficial for advisors looking to upgrade their tech stack.

Joel Bruckenstein, from Technology Tools for Today, or T3, and Bob Veres of Inside Information presented the findings from the 2024 T3/Inside Information Software Survey at the T3 conference Tuesday.

The report says that when it comes to CRM programs, Redtail – now part of Orion -- is the “dominant program in the most dominant category of the survey, with more than 45 percent market share, more than three times the next competitor,” Wealthbox, the report says.

As for financial planning software, MoneyGuidePro Elite had the most market share at 33 percent followed by eMoney Pro, at 29 percent. In addition, Covisium, FP Alpha, RightCapital and eMoney Pro all received high user ratings of over 8.

The report highlights the growing number of advisors who are adopting estate planning solutions, which as the report says, “might mask a stronger undertow trend.”

“Advisors are starting to plan for the day when the estate tax exemption reverts back to much lower levels, and high-level estate tax planning becomes relevant again for a larger percentage of advisor clients,” Bruckenstein and Veres said in the report.

Estate planning solutions, which have achieved persistently low market share among advisors, according to the report, received significantly higher user grades this year compared to last year. The same is true for tax planning products, which are rapidly gaining market share, and retirement distribution planning products.

Tim Welsh, president of Nexus Strategy, says that’s because 2024 is lining up to be “peak retirement” for many baby boomers.

“It's purely the demographic demand of where these investors are sitting in their life cycle,” Welsh said. “[They’re thinking] ‘I gotta retire. I gotta figure out security. I need some tax work. I need some estate stuff.’ I think it's really being driven by the clients.”

Meanwhile, two categories related to marketing – content and lead capture – fell near the bottom of the ratings.

“We can only speculate, but it’s possible that advisors expect more from these solutions (they’ll bring me clients and I won’t have to do any work) than they can plausibly deliver,” the authors said in the report. “Advisory firms are becoming more sophisticated in their software usage and are more aware of their options than perhaps they have been in the past. We’ve seen this trend building in the most recent surveys, and it seems to be accelerating.”

More than 90 percent of advisors use video conferencing platforms, and Zoom is leading the way with almost 56 percent of market share, according to the report, while Microsoft Teams is in second place with 32 percent. Although Zoom is easiest to use, Microsoft Teams “employs better security protocols, and because it is included in many Office subscriptions, some advisors may not realize they have it,” the report said.

“Nobody's really doing cold calls anymore, and video communications are huge prospects for clients. It’s just that reflection of how people are communicating, and the industry is reflecting that,” Welsh said.

It's not just about the technology, says Tim White, co-founder and chief partnership officer at Wealth.com but the people behind the technology, and sometimes advisors missed that as they deal with different vendors.

“It's really the humans behind the tech and building a deeper partnership,” White says. “That's something that these firms need to evaluate when they're talking to different technologies and thinking about how these solutions interact and how they integrate.”

The report’s role, according to the authors, was never intended to be promotional or of marketing means. “Its role is to serve as an annual snapshot of an ever-evolving, ever-more sophisticated and helpful collection of solutions. [Its] secondary role is to make advisors aware of their (many, increasing) options.”

The big takeaway from the conference, Welsh added, was about personalization and scale for advisors, Welsh added. “What all the software's trying to do is find better ways for advisors to create a more personalized experience for clients.”