The latest report by Cerulli underscores the need for more technological training and support among financial advisors.
While the pandemic brought in a surge of interest and developments for technological features—most notably a rise in web conferencing and online meetings—the industry still “has a long way to go,” Cerulli researchers write.
According to the research, just half of advisors said they are satisfied with the training and support they receive. As a result, it’s up to software vendors, custodians, and broker/dealers to ensure they are appropriately aligning their services with the needs of financial advisors, said Michael Rose, director at Cerulli.
“Given the high importance advisors place on the technology available to them, it is critical that B/Ds, custodians, turnkey asset management providers, and other firms that provide technology platforms to advisors elicit sufficient and ongoing feedback to ensure the technology stack they offer remains aligned with the evolving needs of the practices they serve,” he said.
Surveyed advisors said their most frequently cited challenge in using the technology were compliance restrictions (73%), which could limit functionality or impose other limitations on an advisor’s ability to use the technology. Others pointed to a lack of integration between tools/applications (71%) for the lack of adoptability, while 70% said they had insufficient time to learn and implement the technology.
Overall, one of the industry’s main obstacles is managing technology needs, with 29% of surveyed advisors indicating this as among their greatest practice challenges.
However, Cerulli adds that such hurdles could be solved if home office and financial technology firms offer additional training and support to advisors. “Many of the challenges advisors identify with using technology are challenges that can be overcome through knowledge-sharing efforts to educate and inform advisors about the potential power of more effectively leveraging the technology tools already available to them,” added Rose.
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with over six years of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. Amanda received her degree in journalism and government and politics at St. John’s University. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado with her partner. In her free time, Amanda enjoys running, cooking, and watching the latest drama show.
