Advisers told to become client portal advocates

Ahead of the 2024 Adviser Innovation Summit, platinum partner Astute Wheel managing director Hans Egger said advisers should showcase the benefits of client portals during client meetings.

“Advisers need to be advocates for the client portal and take the time to explain how it works, and how to use it to its full potential,” Egger told ifa.

While using client portals “is just the way that business is done” for new clients, advisers must treat it as a change of behaviour for existing clients, Egger underscored.

During his session at this year’s summit, Egger will review research conducted in the US that shows how using client portals has benefited advisers and clients, and how advisers could use features to improve their relationship with clients.

The research released in September 2023 by eMoney and the Financial Planning Association (FPA) revealed that advisers who use portals gain benefits like more motivated clients, client-led referrals, loyalty, client satisfaction, and higher levels of trust from the client.

Egger said client portals also allow for a secure environment for advisers and clients to share information without requiring them to email or post documents by snail mail.

“Information can be collected using online questionnaires that transfer data directly to the client database. Documents can be loaded into the portal and be accessed and saved,” Egger said.

A well-designed client portal typically provides clients with vast information, becomes the “source of truth” for everything related to the client’s financial plan, and allows the client and adviser to update information regularly, Egger stated.

He suggested that the information provided to the client must be both at a high level and in detail, and contain colourful visuals instead of data lists.

Portals should allow the adviser and client to track and update goals to completion. Financial advisers should be able to show information geographically and convert it to interesting ratios for the client such as debt to equity or retirement assets to income, he highlighted.

“Advisers and clients can design their own folders and keep non-financial information such as warranties and education documents as well as financial information such as tax returns and policy documents in a portal,” Egger said.

“The portal can become a valuable part of the adviser’s overall service offering and a destination that the client visits on a regular basis, not just once every year for a review.”

Commenting on AstuteWheel’s platinum partnership with the Adviser Innovation Summit this year, Egger noted that the client engagement software provider has supported the event every year since its inception.

“We believe the advisers that are attracted to the summit are looking for new and innovative ways to improve both their businesses and the client experience that they provide,” he said.

“AstuteWheel software strives to provide these solutions, including with the release of the latest version of our software.

“Advisers attending the summit will have the opportunity to hear from industry thought leaders on the topics that are driving current financial marketing trends and how to improve the way they provide advice.”

To hear more from Hans Egger about how using client portals could bolster your value proposition with your financial planning clients, come along to the Adviser Innovation Summit 2024.

It will be held on Tuesday, 4 June in Sydney and Thursday, 6 June in Melbourne.

Click here to buy tickets and don’t miss out!

For more information, including agenda and speakers, click here.