I’m a great believer in learning from the competition. For a firm to get going, you must have confidence and drive. But when the firm has grown, it is very easy for the confidence to turn into complacency and the belief that the current model will always produce results. The best way to remedy this affliction is to look outwards and check out what others are doing in your industry. Once you have seen the competition in action, it is easy to incorporate some of the best ideas into your plans for future.
One group that we can learn from is the robo-advisors. I was one of the first to analyze the robo-advisors in September 2013. Since then, much has been written about them, mainly in terms of “Will they succeed?” But my focus here is on what advisors can learn from them.
Raef Lee is the technology contributor for Practically Speaking and he also serves as a managing director for the SEI Advisor Network. He is responsible for the identification of new services and markets for the SEI Advisor Network. He defines new product offerings for advisors either by partnering with best-of-breed companies or shepherding the requirements into SEI’s development teams. In addition, Raef identifies ways for the Advisor Network’s innovative business model to be leveraged in new markets.
