The best RIA account management software tools
With the many account management software tools on the market, which should you choose for your RIA? Here’s an article that can help
Back in 1940 when the first RIAs were established, there was no such thing as computers, or account management software, much less an RIA tech stack. These days, companies like RIAs are fortunate to have all the tech tools available to assist in crucial tasks, such as account management.
As you build and develop your RIA’s tech stack, you’ll find that apart from a CRM tool, account management software is just as important to your RIA practice. Good account management software is very important for any sales team to do their customer relationship management tasks and ensure customer retention.
According to the President of Orion Advisor Technology Brian McLaughlin, “the number of technology solutions in the independent advisor space can be overwhelming. There are a lot of options, some of which are advisor-specific and others that are more general. When advisors attend large industry conferences, they can see upwards of 100 technology vendors.” With this many choices, how then, does an RIA choose the best-suited account management software?
To help RIAs make this crucial decision, InvestmentNews lists some of the best account management software RIAs can choose from.
The top account management software solutions
Before running down the list, what is account management software and why is it important?
It’s a software tool that helps companies, especially RIAs, to unify their business processes with their available customer data. A good account management system is important, since it can allow RIAs to:
- provide a mechanism to receive data feeds from one (or more) custodians
- reconcile those feeds to increase reliability in the data
- act as a central hub to connect other items in the RIA tech stack: CRM, rebalancer, risk analytics, financial planning, etc.
- preform customer account billing
- create complete profiles of each customer using the database
- monitor customer trades to help with firmwide compliance functions
- upsell to customers who expressed interest in purchasing a product
- nurture existing clients
- automate business processes related to the sales process, closing sales more efficiently
- generate forecasts based on current data
These functions are typical of many accounts management software. There are tools that can be more flexible and serve your RIA’s needs and give the best client outcomes in various ways. That said, here are 5 of the best account management software to choose from today:
1. Black Diamond
Black Diamond is an award-winning, cloud-based solution designed to meet the complex business needs of wealth management professionals and their clients. This software tool comes with vital features like performance reporting, portfolio rebalancing, and client portal.
The platform also has the convenience of being linked to a vast ecosystem of smart integrations. Users can expect proactive, personalized attention from a dedicated service team for an optimized service experience.
| BLACK DIAMOND AT A GLANCE | |
| PROS | CONS |
| Has the capacity for very detailed reporting; can generate summarized reports for clients to clearly see their portfolio’s performance | Can be complicated to navigate and sometimes difficult to use |
| There is ongoing training and education for users | No free version to try out |
| Pre-networked with over 45 solutions; building an effective RIA tech stack is easier | Not all data is updated automatically; some data still needs manual input from users |
| Plan Pricing | Contact vendor for pricing |
2. Orion
The Orion Advisor platform is renowned for its robust features. This includes crucial functions like customizable reporting capabilities, integrated account aggregation, risk assessment tools, and automated portfolio rebalancing. The platform also has a client portal that enables secure communication and collaboration between advisors and their clients.
Like many other advisor solutions, Orion’s technology is cloud-based, providing scalability and flexibility for advisors to manage their clients’ investments effectively.
Orion continuously updates its platform to incorporate the latest industry trends and regulatory requirements. With Orion, advisors have the benefit of accessing cutting-edge tools to support their practice.
| ORION AT A GLANCE | |
| PROS | CONS |
| Very user-friendly, platform is easy to navigate; even less tech-savvy users will find it easy to use | Price can be high for smaller RIA firms |
| Integrates very well with many other popular software in most RIA tech stacks | Prices have seen a regular increase |
| Very customizable dashboard and client portal | Rising costs may force the software to price itself out of reach of smaller firms |
| Plan Pricing | Contact vendor for pricing |
3. Advyzon
Advyzon is yet another complete advisor’s solution that works 100% within the cloud. Much like other popular advisor software solutions, Advyzon is highly customizable and easily integrates with popular tools. One of the touted benefits is that the platform seamlessly integrates with Google’s G Suite and Microsoft 365.
Emails and appointments are automatically synched with a client’s records without requiring any manual input. Users can stick with their email and calendar, but they’ll show up in Advyzon and get archived for compliance.
| ADVYZON AT A GLANCE | |
| PROS | CONS |
| Seamlessly integrates with existing tools like G Suite and Microsoft 365 | Pricing package may not be appropriate for smaller RIA firms |
| Has a mobile app for both client and advisor to easily track investment | |
| Plan Pricing | Starts at $6,500 for minimum 150 clients, charged annually |
4. Envestnet
Formerly Portfolio Management Consultants Inc., Envestnet has grown into an advisor technology juggernaut from its original setup of only 50 employees. Envestnet has since become the top choice of many big-name firms, most notably Charles Schwab and Raymond James.
The Envestnet platform offers a wide range of tools and services like portfolio management, financial planning, performance reporting, and data analytics. Envestnet’s technology is designed to help advisors streamline their operations, enhance client engagement, and drive better outcomes for their clients.
The platform has access to a vast network of investment products and solutions, allowing advisors to create diversified portfolios tailored to their clients’ needs and goals.
| ENVESTNET AT A GLANCE | |
| PROS | CONS |
| Run by an established company in the field of finance | Fund search facility seems a bit clunky |
| Good reputation: many big-name financial firms use and trust Envestnet | Suffers from slow loading times |
| Good fund analytics and portfolio construction features | Application is not as user-friendly; no audit feature to track changes |
| Excellent for trading and sales | PDF reports can be confusing to set up |
| Plan Pricing | Contact vendor for pricing |
5. Addepar
This platform boasts of “simplifying complexity” with its features like performance reporting, portfolio analytics, data aggregation, and risk assessment. Addepar has established itself as the advisor solution that can collate vast amounts of complex financial data and provide insights. Its cloud-based platform effectively assists advisors and clients to make informed financial decisions.
| ADDEPAR AT A GLANCE | |
| PROS | CONS |
| Trusted by large firms like UBS, HSBC and Stifel | No free version |
| Generally easy to use and navigate; platform is very customizable down to the colors of the dashboard | Integration with other tools can take time |
| Very easy to share reports across teams and with clients; the platform allows login from any browser, even mobile devices | |
| Plan Pricing | Contact vendor for pricing |
How to choose the best account management software for your RIA
While it would be tempting to simply follow the crowd and go with the most popular account management software, this strategy may not work for your RIA.
Worse, this could prove costly and detrimental if your RIA is still growing and you find that your RIA won’t use many of the tool’s features. Here are some suggestions for choosing the best account management software for your RIA practice:
1. Determine your account management priority
When you feel you’re at a loss on where to base your account management software, start with a singular goal. What would your goal look like? Here are a few examples:
- increase client retention with omni-channel automation
- find upselling and cross-selling opportunities via account health scores
- improve client relationship management with multi-tool integrations
Note, however, that your goals can change over time, so consider only the tools that can also evolve as your goals do. That should help narrow down your choices and weed out the other tools that may not be as suitable for your RIA’s needs.
2. Consult your team
Before choosing account management software, ask your team about the apps they already use for their key account management. This way, you can maximize overlaps and existing integrations between their current tech stack and a potential account management software pick.
Using the account management tool that’s easy to use means less cost and less downtime for training your staff to gain familiarity with the tool. This will also make it easier for your staff to manage and service existing client relationships.
Remember this valuable tidbit from Brian McLaughlin: “advisors are not chief technology officers. They just want their tech stack to work intuitively, and they want the various components to be as integrated as possible so they’re not spending time rekeying information or transferring data from one platform to another.”
3. Check reviews
McLaughlin also reminds us that “creating a connected advisor tech stack is really hard and it requires commitment from multiple parties to get the work done,” so it’s worth looking at customer reviews and reading customer stories.
As you shop around, don’t hesitate to take advantage of demo versions or trial periods if the tools offer them. Have your team of advisors try the tools for themselves, then get their feedback and advice on which tools can help them do their jobs best.
Speaking of reviews, here’s a short video that showcases the top 5 tools according to user reviews. Some of the options are already listed here along with a couple of other alternatives.
4. Take stock of your current tech stack
Small businesses, even IRAs, see account management tools and their components as business investments. Even the smallest components like account management templates can be invaluable in managing key accounts for the long term. To make work more efficient, the software you end up buying must work well with the tech stack you have now, especially if you’re setting up a new RIA practice.
As McLaughlin counsels, “it’s worth taking time upfront to evaluate each tool individually to determine which work in their ecosystem and which won’t.”
From starting an RIA practice to keeping it running sustainably and profitably, your choice of tech stack and its component account management software is not to be taken lightly. They can be crucial not only to retain clients, but also to retain your top advisor talent.
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