Advizr offers advisers’ clients access to interactive financial planning

Business process management company Genpact has partnered with Advizr, a financial planning software provider, to expand its reach with clients who want more interactive options to build a financial plan.

With the service, clients can access software through an invitation from an adviser, who will determine how much of the process he or she wants the clients to participate in. From there, the client will be able to answer questions or construct an entire financial plan, which will then go back to the adviser for review. Together, the two will work on implementing the plan.

Hussein Zaidi, chief executive of Advizr, said his company has partnered with Genpact OpenWealth, a turnkey asset management platform, to build a lead generation tool via Advizr’s existing platform, Advizr Express.

“It is more hooks out there that can attract the customer,” said Mr. Zaidi, referring to a more interactive website that can help boost the likelihood of converting prospects.

Through this partnership, Advizr will reach banks, trusts, private client organizations and broker-dealers. It will also keep them competitive against robo-advisers, he said.

This partnership also piggy backs on industry trends to focus more on clients who want more self-directed investing options, where advisers can use software to engage with clients, who can take more of a lead role in the financial adviser’s process. Other major forces in the financial planning software market are getting clients more involved through entering their own data.

eMoney Advisor next month plans to update its portal for clients to onboard themselves from the adviser’s website and organize their financial lives, expected in March.

“They want more transparency, accountability, and clarity than ever before,” Drew DiMarino, executive vice president and head of sales and enterprise sales at eMoney, said in an email. ”Not only does that enrich the client/adviser relationship, it give advisers the edge they need in today’s consumer-centric Uber and Netflix environment.”

MoneyGuidePro announced its fourth generation platform will come out this year, where clients can input their information and goals.

“It is much more about the client,” said Bob Curtis, chief executive of MoneyGuidePro. “It is more engaged, and they want that.”

Mr. Curtis said the industry has grown to put financial planning at the forefront, due in part to the push from robo-advisers who directly work with clients and the Department of Labor regulation that puts the spotlight on having the client come first.

“It has taken the industry a long time to change that attitude,” he said.

Michael Wilson, chief operating officer of AdvisoryWorld, a financial technology provider, said this is something a handful of vendors are doing, but more are expected to jump in this year and beyond. He said he has heard from advisers who want a stronger lead generation component, and his company is offering stronger client engagement on a few tools, such as risk questionnaires and model selections.

“I can tell you on our side we are dedicating more resources to building an interactive user experience to be shared with the individual,” he said.

Mr. Wilson added that having interactive tools has to go beyond pulling in prospective clients though.

“It is not just for the initial sale,” he said. “I think a lot of people are looking at this like let’s get out there and generate leads, and get them through the door … it is the ongoing relationship component that helps the adviser retain more assets and make their brands stickier,” he said.