Emerging competitive threat puts pressure on human advisors to streamline operations, better communicate value proposition and embrace technology
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Fox Financial Planning Network (FFPN) announced today the availability of a new industry white paper that identifies ways advisors and institutions will need to enhance their business model and service offering to counteract the threat from online investment advice platforms known as 'Robo-Advisers.'
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Much has been written in the industry recently about the emergence of Robo-Advisers. This report is different due to the fact that it is the first to focus on solutions by providing advisory firms and institutions with specific business planning and practice management ideas they need to consider adopting in order to thrive in the coming years. The report provides insight into how advisors can embrace technology, streamline operations, leverage technology, provide outstanding client service and maintain profitability in a more transparent, price aware marketplace.
"The new, low-cost competition from online advice platforms are providing the industry with a 'wake up call' to evolve their firms," said Deborah Fox, CEO and founder of FFPN. "I didn't want to just be another company announcing the arrival of these industry disruptors; I wanted to be the first company to provide advisory firms and institutions with specific tactics they need to consider adopting. A Robo-Shield™ is the name we have given to the combination of operational efficiencies, staffing and practice management changes firms choose to implement to inoculate themselves from the effects Robo-Advisers will be inflicting on the industry."
The report also, surprisingly, recommends that advisory firms should consider partnering with a carefully chosen Robo-Adviser to leverage its technology for offering a "Tier 2" service level for their client's children and grandchildren, and other investors who don't meet their firm minimums. Deborah Fox provides the specifics of how a service tier such as this can be successfully built.
"With over $20 Trillion in assets and a history of being slow to adopt new innovations, the wealth management industry is ripe for disruption," said Fox. "The good news is there is an incredible opportunity for firms to defend – and actually improve – their industry position by focusing on building an efficient infrastructure that delivers a consistent and outstanding client service experience with well thought out systems, adoption of best-in-class technologies and clear pricing and client communication. These are all the things firms should have already be working on; so if the Robo-Advisers serve as the catalyst for firms to get into gear to do what's necessary to evolve, more power to them."
The report, fourth in a series of practice management resources from FFPN, is available on the homepage of www.FoxFinancialPlanningNetwork.com and can be downloaded at no cost.
About Fox Financial Planning Network
FFPN provides innovative solutions to advisors and the institutions that serve them by transforming the way advisors operate with tools, templates, workflows and consulting to systematize the delivery of financial advice. Based on the experiences of Deborah Fox, a 29-year veteran financial advisor, FFPN provides a comprehensive set of resources to enable advisors to increase profitability, ensure compliance and scale their practice while growing their firms. FFPN is a network of financial advisors and best-in-class technology providers, consultants and other financial industry resource providers that together, are improving the lives of financial advisors, their staff and their clients by helping them evolve their financial advisory businesses. www.FoxFinancialPlanningNetwork.com
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