The financial services sector spends too much time ‘talking to itself about itself' and focusing on business growth and compliance issues instead of long term client needs according to the head of a financial planning practice management group.
"The financial services industry is very inward looking and has been recently been focused on compliance issues and efficiency gains and business growth which are all one-off events. What they have not done is consider the clients in these efforts which are and will continue to be the centre of their businesses over time," Practifi chief executive Glenn Elliott said.
According to Elliott financial planners are beginning to adopt online tools that allow them to better manage their clients but many have yet to see how they can use these services and tools to simplify the usually complex and bespoke advice process.
"Financial planners who understand the shift that needs to take place are using client relationship management tools holistically to create multiple touch points to create client content and interactions, but they are in the minority," Elliot said.
"Planners are letting themselves down in that they regard all of the financial advice process as one complex advice transaction. Personal financial advice is initially complex and bespoke at the front end but the other 95 per cent of the relationship is similar to that of other clients but is still approached in a bespoke model."
Elliott said planners should be considering using online tools to simplify areas such as research, modelling, documentation creation, compliance and workflow in the same way they have approached the use of cloud storage for client files.
"Three to four years ago there was uncertainty and doubt around the use of the cloud but we rarely see that now as planners have made the mental shift. They will need to do the same when it comes to client relationship management tools," he said.
"Forward thinking planners have already begun to consider this and have discovered that moving to online tools rips costs out of their business."
