Over the past few years, organizations regardless of the industry have been prioritizing the client experience. From offering enhanced digital capabilities to truly personalizing the customer experience, there are countless pressures driving businesses to better serve their clients.
Although many have traditionally thought that financial advisor tools are helpful only for financial planners, the reality is that they provide wealth managers and advisors with a competitive edge. These tools give advisors not only a solid understanding of financial situations but also more time they can spend on their clients.
Financial Tools 101
Equipped with the right tools, financial advisors can build trusting relationships with their clients. But where to start?
Many financial professionals have struggled for far too long with outdated and inefficient tools. When client data is spread across many platforms, inaccurate models and reports are not uncommon. Switching from one platform to another makes it hard to piece together data and gain one accurate, holistic view of a client’s assets.
That’s why one of the most powerful tools for advisors is one that provides a 360-view of a client’s assets and data. With accurate data right at their fingertips, advisors are now empowered to provide accurate, timely, and personalized advice—whether that’s evaluating performance, making projections, or assessing risk. These tools can be huge competitive advantages because they reduce the overall amount of people-power required to make confident and informed decisions.
Tools for Advisors
Depending on the service provided, financial professionals will need tools with different capabilities. Financial planning requires tools that will enable advisors to look forward. They need tools that can model scenarios, pull assets, and update data. Below are three core capabilities that financial tools should empower advisors with.
Aggregating Assets
Asset aggregation is a process that involves collecting financial information from clients and financial institutions. This includes all held-away assets, liquid or not, and liabilities from banks, credit cards, and investment accounts. Asset aggregation allows advisors to do away with the manual, error-prone, and time-consuming process of collecting hardcopy paper statements and entering data. With this capability, advisors can easily gain a full and accurate picture of a client’s financial situation.
Reporting
Advisors need to pull customized reports for different clients and different purposes. The process of pulling a report should be robust and simple, even though it will likely require pulling data from multiple sources. These capabilities are one of the most crucial tools that will help advisors guide clients to long-term financial success.
Running Models
Another important tool for financial advisors is modeling. This is the process of examining and evaluating possible scenarios that may happen in the future as well as predicting the results or outcomes. In financial planning, this can look like anticipating any changes in cash flow or the value of a business. Modeling software ultimately helps advisors make more informed decision-making so they can look into the future, evaluate and manage risks, and then give solid advice to their clients so they can make the right decisions for their financial decisions and goals.
Continue Leveling Up with FinStrat Management
Ready to gain a competitive advantage as your firm grows and scales? Founded in January 2017 and based in Annapolis, Maryland, FinStrat Management provides venture capital firms with end-to-end back-office accounting and administration service solutions. Let’s get started with a free consultation today.
