AdviserSoftware.com has launched its first Adviser Technology Index (ATI) to give a clearer picture of how advisers use technology.
The index looked at over 200 advice firms and reviewed 19 areas of technology, including practice management, cashflow planning, workflows, client portals, suitability reports, attitude to risk, communications, compliance and hybrid models.
The report compared user feedback for seven leading advice tech firms: Benchmark, Dynamic Planner, intelliflo, Iress, Morningstar, Plannr Technologies Limited and Salesforce.
It also showed where advisers want their current practice management systems to improve, with data management and validation, client portals and third-party integration coming out as the main issues.
On average, 26% of advisers said they are thinking about reviewing or changing their practice management system in the next 12 to 24 months.
Only 17% of Benchmark users and 14% of Salesforce users said the same.
Cashflow planning systems are more likely to be reviewed, with 36% of advisers planning to look at these systems in the same period.
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.
“No previous research has provided this level of granular analysis of systems side by side based in the views, experiences and priorities of their users.”
McKenna added: “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.
“AdviserSoftware.com has been created to help advisers make more informed decisions when choosing technology.”
He said: “Our team is almost entirely composed of people who have worked in advice businesses in a wide range of roles so have first-hand experience of the day-to-day challenges advisers face.
“Our analysis is not just a collection of logos on a page, but each review has involved our experienced team putting the systems through their paces and asking difficult questions about what they can or cannot do.
“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 added: “Some areas of the market are clearly overpopulated, for example advisers identified 23 different systems being used for Attitude to Risk work, although five systems account for 63% of the market.
“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.”
He said: “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.”
