The paradoxical solution to more-personal investment management

Charles Schwab’s recent Consumer Digital Demands survey is stocked with fascinating statistics about the future of the digital consumer experience. According to the survey, technology is now the first place consumers turn to for assistance in interactions with a company, with 64% seeking personal advice only when they can’t solve their problems digitally.

But when it comes to financial planning, the personal touch remains key: 52% are more comfortable with human assistance than automation. A recent PwC and AIMA survey confirms this, showing that face-to-face meetings, email and phone calls are the three most important tools advisory firms use to communicate with existing and potential investors.

Clients are more prepared than ever to accept modern technology and innovation, but there is still incredible value to a personal touch and tried-and-true ways of doing business.

In this era of digital transformation, technology sits at the nexus of the client’s desire for personalization and willingness to accept digital tools. So what can a firm do to create this culture of technology-enabled personalization?

The biggest key is to reduce the amount of menial legwork that consumes an adviser’s time and remove as much red tape for the adviser as possible.

Technology can automate a lot of tasks that would normally take a major chunk of advisers’ time, such as automated calendaring, searching for content and even note-taking. As advisers spend less time on these tasks, they can spend even more time fostering a strong relationship with a potential client and sourcing other new business.

(More: Embrace innovation to attract next-gen investors)​

As Ani Yessaillian, head of marketing firm Excella, recently put it, every adviser’s first goal is to “have picture-perfect clarity on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of every relationship you manage in order to deliver personalized experiences.”

Firms should also invest in automating the communications to advisers of specific factors affecting each particular client. Some of these factors are global and time-sensitive — how calm or volatile the housing market is, the state of the economy. But some are specific to an individual client — are they paying a lot in tuition for their children at the moment? Are there other local circumstances that dictate how to manage their account?

With the right technology, a firm can not only ensure that their advisers have this information, but they can also bake it into their automated preparation so each client is catered to individually. It’s the firm’s responsibility to understand the world around the client, and automation can make doing so as easy as possible.

Lastly, firms should enable their advisers to have as many lines of communication open as possible. In-person meetings are no longer the only option to connect with a client. For example, research from FactSet found that high-net-worth individuals conduct 44% of their interactions with advisers online.

Texting platforms, LinkedIn messaging and virtual meetings now make a well-nurtured relationship more attainable than ever for advisers, in the exact channel every unique client prefers.

The result for forward-looking firms to take advantage of this trend may seem paradoxical: They need to invest heavily in technologies — that facilitate more personal interactions.

But dig a little deeper and the strategy begins to reveal itself. For the client, it’s about feeling like they are an individual. For the adviser, it’s about being in the best position to serve clients. The onus is therefore on the firm to produce the right mix that will satisfy clients and advisers as they seek personalization and efficiency at once.

As the Schwab survey notes, the expectation is for technology to make financial management easier. With more personalized content and better-understood problems on the end of the adviser, technology is currently doing just that.

Now, we will see which firms get the message.

Doug Winter is CEO of Seismic, a provider of sales and marketing enablement.