AdviserSoftware.com has launched a ‘first of its kind’ technology index to get a better understanding of advisers’ use of technology.
The ‘Adviser Technology Index’ analyses the views of over 200 advice firms to understand the technology systems advisers use, how they use them and rate them.
It provides data on system usage, adviser opinions and real-world experiences as well as insight into current and planned use of technology across 19 areas, including practice management, cashflow planning and workflows.
Ian McKenna, founder of FTRC and AdviserSoftware.com, said: “Technology is now crucial to how every adviser firm operates. This does not just impact the firms themselves but platforms and insurers looking to do business with them.
“This study should be an essential guide for investment platforms, life insurers, asset managers, and discretionary fund managers looking to build a business case to prioritise different requests for integration and other support. The objective is to provide real evidence on who are the leaders and laggards in different areas.
“The index also enables tech providers to understand how their users feel about the systems they work with, identifying key opportunities to do better.”
The index will explore how different systems perform against each other, comparing user sentiment across seven AdviceTech vendors; Benchmark, Dynamic Planner, intelliflo, Iress, Morningstar, Plannr Technologies Limited and Salesforce, and benchmarks them against market averages.
For each software provider the report also includes analysis of where existing users see room for improvement within their current Practice Management System supplier.
McKenna said: “We are finding more and more advisers using our analysis as the first stage of building their short list of suppliers for any new system requirement or supplier review.”
He said that on average 36% of advisers are looking to review their Cashflow planning system in the next 12-24 months but only 14% of Salesforce users have such intentions. This could be influenced by the quality of the integration between different systems, not just their functionality.
“Overall, 60% of advisers now use technology to support their client review process, this rises to 64% for intelliflo users, 68% for Dynamic Planner users, 71% for Plannr and Salesforce users, 73% for Morningstar users and 83% for Benchmark users. The study identifies significant variations between different systems for different purposes,” he added.
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