Fidelity surveyed advisors across the industry — including firm leaders and technology decision-makers — to understand how they are using technology, as well as how those decisions are impacting their success.
The best practices covered in the study are pitched as starting points to explore opportunities to improve use of technology and their business. The study focused on what it called digital empowerment, based on metrics around strategy, design and activation.
Among the key findings: Some firms consistently embrace technology much more than their peers. These digitally empowered firms — represented across every channel and firm size — score higher than their counterparts across a wide range of technology best practices.
Advisors at these firms report that their processes are more efficient and that these efficiencies convey to their client experience. They note that their teams are growing faster and that they are more highly satisfied.
“We’ve long believed that firms that invest their time in these areas will develop greater efficiency and be better prepared to compete in any environment,” reads the study. “Within this survey, we asked about best practices across each of these domains, and, unsurprisingly, we found that some firms are much more digitally empowered than others. These firms enjoy significant advantages in efficiency, growth, and advisor satisfaction, while competing to better meet evolving client expectations.”
The study also indicates that technology alone is not enough. Digital empowerment reflected not just the tools firms deploy but also how effectively they integrate those tools into daily workflows. According to Fidelity, firms that take a more intentional and coordinated approach to technology are better positioned to improve efficiency and meet rising client expectations.
The survey points out that investments in technology may yield benefits beyond streamlined operations, helping advisors spend more time on client relationships and business development while reducing administrative burdens.
The survey found that advisors at digitally empowered firms were more likely to report efficient workflows across a range of functions, with 76% reporting money movement processes were efficient, compared with 47% at other firms. Similar gaps appeared in trading and rebalancing (71% versus 37%), account maintenance (69% versus 34%) and customer on-boarding (60% versus 36%). Advisors at digitally empowered firms also reported higher productivity.
