Embracing technology could save adviser firms 43 working days a year and cut advice process, including suitability report writing, to 7 hours per client, according to new research by Wealth Wizards.
In a survey of 140 financial planning firms, Wealth Wizards, provider of the Turo adviser technology platform, found that parts of the advice process that could be automated but are currently carried out manually are adding an average 13 hours to each new case.
Businesses spend an average 20 hours per client on the end-to-end advice process where technology is not fully used. In contrast, the same process – including fact-finding, risk-profiling, market quotations, solution reviews and recommendations plus drafting suitability letters – was reduced to just seven hours per client when it was fully automated, the software provider said.
Andrew Firth, founder and chief executive, Wealth Wizards, said: “Our research confirms our belief that advisers are squandering vast numbers of hours nationally by not taking advantage of new technologies that streamline and underpin administration, solution mapping, report writing, compliance tasks, audit and reporting.
“This can seriously hinder their ability to manage compliance and scale, which impacts on their bottom line and – more importantly – limits time available to spend with clients. For bigger organisations, like wealth managers, adviser networks and banks, the lost opportunity is huge.”
Firth said that with more than five million people in the UK interested in receiving financial advice, in addition to the four to six million already receiving it, advisers must embrace technology to “bridge the advice gap” and provide a “great advice experience” for more clients.
