Envestnet Tamarac revealed its new digital advice portal, Advisor Now, at its Advisor Summit in Chicago, with the goal of strengthening the digital connection between independent advisors and their clients.
Tamarac group president Stuart DePina said its time for the wealth management industry to stop focusing on the divide between traditional financial advisors and so called “robo-advisors;” instead, advisors should leverage the benefits of technology to become a hybrid digital advisor--one that can deliver high value, low cost solutions to serve end investors more effectively.
Advisor Now combines the technology Envestnet acquired from Upside, a white-label robo-advisor platform, in February, with the capabilities already available on the Envestnet network. By incorporating automated features common among the robo-advisors, human advisors can focus on delivering value and improving financial outcomes to clients by providing services algorithms can’t process, DePina said.
Tradition #advisors vs robos. DePina recommends taking a "digital advice" approach. #envsummit pic.twitter.com/hLNYXsqZom
— Ryan W. Neal (@ryanWneal) May 6, 2015
“Does anyone in this room not want this functionality?” DePina asked the room of advisors when showing a list of tasks that robo-advisors have efficiently automated.
DePina asks, "does anyone in this room NOT want this functionality?" #ENVSummit pic.twitter.com/g2iGDD9ARg
— Ryan W. Neal (@ryanWneal) May 6, 2015
Advisor Now is targeted at advisors looking to build relationships with younger clients who can't meet account minimums but have the potential to be high-net-worth. Having the ability to automatically open and manage accounts provides a cost-efficient way for advisors to serve these clients while building their assets under management over time.
But DePina said technology isn’t just for the mass affluent. Four in 10 high-net-worth clients under 40 years of age prefer digital to in-person communication with their advisor, and two-thirds of HNW clients of all ages expect to run all of their wealth management digitally in five years.
“This is the essence of the ongoing evolution of the Envestnet network – helping advisors digitize what they do best,” DePina said.
