"IFAs now tell us they are increasingly moving to communicating with their clients online on a more permanent basis."
54% of IFAs had to reassess the technological capabilities of their business since the arrival of Covid-19 and now three quarters (74%) say that video conferencing will remain in some capacity, 28% still expect to host/attend virtual events, and 23% expect to use email in ways they hadn’t before.
With technology playing a more prominent role in advisers’ everyday business lives over the past year, the pandemic has also led them to consider how it could help improve their business models. More than half (56%) say that cashflow modelling tools would help to improve their ability to manage customer outcomes, while better integration of back office tech (40%) and better and faster onboarding (28%) would enable them to generate greater efficiencies - ultimately allowing them to provide a better service to their clients.
With increasing use of online portals to interact with providers and more IFAs now advising their clients remotely, top of the priority list when using this technology were paperless processes, with nearly half (45%) citing this as important, followed by level of service (39%) and security (37%).
Justin Taurog, managing director of VitalityInvest, said: “It’s clearly been an extraordinary year where every business has had to adapt and accelerate their use of technology as never before. Financial advisers are no exception, and while traditionally conversations would be rarely anything but face to face, IFAs now tell us they are increasingly moving to communicating with their clients online on a more permanent basis. What’s more, taking a digital approach to managing their clients’ money is becoming more common and they welcome the ability to interact with providers on digital platforms.”
