The top advisers use mobile devices

APR 28, 2013
By  AOSTERLAND
The use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is making a huge difference in the profitability of advisory firms. According to the 2013 InvestmentNews Adviser Technology Study, 88% of the top performers and 94% of all others use smartphones, while 65% of top performers and 61% of all others use tablets. In this year's study, InvestmentNews once again focused on a subset of top performers to provide advisers a benchmark against which to assess their own practices and processes. The revenue, assets and profits of top performers were three to five times greater than all other firms on both a per-employee and a per-professional basis.

"INNOVATOR' FIRMS

The study also identified a group of “innovator” firms that make greater use of technology than their peers and determined that they too had financial performance superior to the broader population of financial advisers surveyed. The key difference between top performers, innovators and other firms, was how they used their devices. When it came to accessing core work applications other than e-mail, 47% of top-performing firms did so from mobile devices, compared with 42% for other firms. The apps they most frequently accessed were their firm's customer relationship management software (81%), followed by portfolio management (42%) and financial planning (39%). That compares with 64%, 33% and 32%, respectively, for other firms. The differences are starker between innovators and average advisers. The study found that innovators were using mobile devices to access core apps at nearly twice the rate of other firms. Their most frequently accessed apps were financial planning software (84%), CRM systems (82%), and portfolio management functions (82%). About 50% of the innovator firms were also accessing account aggregation tools from tablet computers and smartphones, while just 42% of all other firms actually had account aggregation tools. “Mobile devices make firms more efficient,” said InvestmentNews technology reporter Davis D. Janowski, who worked on the study. “They enable advisers to do things as simple as checking account balances or as complicated as re-balancing client portfolios remotely,” he said. “The more sophisticated firms have made this realization and it's reflected in the data.” [email protected] Twitter: @aoreport

Latest News

Judge OKs more than $90 million in settlement money for GWG investors
Judge OKs more than $90 million in settlement money for GWG investors

Mayer Brown, GWG's law firm, agreed to pay $30 million to resolve conflict of interest claims.

Fintech bytes: Orion and eMoney add new planning, investment tools for RIAs
Fintech bytes: Orion and eMoney add new planning, investment tools for RIAs

Orion adds new model portfolios and SMAs under expanded JPMorgan tie-up, while eMoney boosts its planning software capabilities.

Retirement uncertainty cuts across generations: Transamerica
Retirement uncertainty cuts across generations: Transamerica

National survey of workers exposes widespread retirement planning challenges for Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers.

Does a merger or acquisition make sense for your firm? Why now is the perfect time to secure your firm’s future
Does a merger or acquisition make sense for your firm? Why now is the perfect time to secure your firm’s future

While the choice for advisors to "die at their desks" might been wise once upon a time, higher acquisition multiples and innovations in deal structures have created more immediate M&A opportunities.

Raymond James continues recruitment run with UBS, Morgan Stanley teams
Raymond James continues recruitment run with UBS, Morgan Stanley teams

A father-son pair has joined the firm's independent arm in Utah, while a quartet of planning advisors strengthen its employee channel in Louisiana.

SPONSORED RILAs bring stability, growth during volatile markets

Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.

SPONSORED Beyond the dashboard: Making wealth tech human

How intelliflo aims to solve advisors' top tech headaches—without sacrificing the personal touch clients crave