Advisory firms who fully embrace technology generate more revenue than their peers, research from Intelliflo has shown.
According to the information technology firm, advisers who use technology effectively to a very high level, termed by Intelliflo as technology ‘Champions’, generate on average 57% more revenue per adviser compared to firms in the lowest adoption group ‘Explorers’. They were also found to generate more ongoing revenue, with Champions reporting double (112%) the recurring revenue of Explorers.
The findings also showed a link between client numbers and technology, with Champions found to have 41% more clients than Explorers, and 126% more assets under management.
Nick Eatock, CEO, Intelliflo, said the results highlighted the “ fundamental impact” technology can have upon any business.
“Firms that score highly are clearly outranking their peers in terms of clients advised, revenue generated, recurring revenue and assets under management. Interestingly, many of our Champions are small advisory firms which shows that anyone can maximise the use of tech, regardless of size. This means that technology can help level the playing field to some degree.
“We still find that some advisers adopt as little as a tenth of the technology they have at their fingertips. So, for us, it’s important that we don’t just provide the technology but that we help advisers make the most of it, leaving them with more time to focus on their clients and their business.”
Between 2019 and 2020, the number of firms in the highest adoption group increased by 57%, while the number of firms in the lowest group decreased by 70%, Intelliflo said.
Bob Kelly, IT director, Chase de Vere, commented: “We’ve been accelerating our digital strategy since 2019, but this year we’ve seen a noticeable difference. Prior to the pandemic, we had 1,000 clients signed up to PFP and now we’ve surpassed 10,000 – all in just over seven months.
“We’ve trained our advisers on how to make best use of PFP with their clients, showing exactly what it can do for them, which has been a great success. Alongside this, the pandemic has dramatically changed people’s engagement with technology and accelerated the adoption of PFP. People are now fully embracing the digital era.”
