Advisors connect with new tech

The use of mobile devices and social media is becoming more important to financial advisors, who see the potential that these technologies offer in meeting clients’ changing expectations.

This is evident in the overall average importance ratings that advisors gave the “support for mobile technology and the mobile advisor” and “support for using social media” categories in this year’s Report Card series, with the former category’s rating rising to 7.7 this year from 7.1 in 2013, while the latter’s rose to 6.2 from 5.8 year-over-year.

The increase in the importance rating for support for mobile technology was even more pronounced when looking at the individual Report Cards. In the Report Card on Banks and Credit Unions, the importance rating rose to 7.8 this year from 6.4 in 2013. And in the Insurance Advisors’ Report Card, the importance rating for mobile technology rose to 7.9 this year, up from 7.2 last year.

Closer inspection, though, reveals that how these new and evolving technologies are used generally depends upon the age of the advisor. While there were exceptions, advisors under the age of 45 typically were more interested than their older colleagues were in using mobile devices to connect with existing and prospective clients.

“Being able to meet clients at their homes outside of branch hours is important to me these days,” says a 30-year-old advisor in Ontario with Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada, which provides its advisors with a “bring your own device” program and support for remote access.

Younger advisors with insurance agencies also are benefiting greatly from the support they receive for using smartphones and tablets in their work.

“In the past 12 months, the firm has really come into mobile tech,” says an advisor in Atlantic Canada with London, Ont.-based Freedom 55 Financial. “This is important because I do 99% of my work in the field and 80% of my meetings are in clients’ homes.”

An insurance advisor on the Prairies with Kitchener, Ont.-based Financial Horizons Inc. who is in his 20s said he is looking forward to receiving enhanced mobile support from his firm: “There’s an iPhone app coming. It’ll be huge for younger advisors.”

In fact, most younger advisors across the entire financial services sector want their firms to support the use of any kind of smartphone or tablet they choose, whether it be a BlackBerry, Apple or Android device. But much of the feedback focused on the lack of choice that advisors face, with many saying they’re stuck using BlackBerrys.

“For years, [we] had nothing but BlackBerrys,” says an advisor in British Columbia with Vancouver-based Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. “They haven’t kept up to date with the latest technology.”

This growing interest in using an Apple or Android device among younger advisors is not surprising, given the results of the 2014 Survey of Advisors and Mobile Devices, which was recently conducted by Montreal-based Transcontinental Inc.’s TC Media business solutions group (Investment Executive’s parent) in partnership with Credo Consulting Inc. of Toronto.

The survey found that 25% of advisors aged 45 and younger own a BlackBerry smartphone, 48% use an iPhone and 32% use an Android smartphone. Meanwhile, 32% of advisors older than 45 use a BlackBerry, 39% use an iPhone and 22% use an Android smartphone.

Although advisors over the age of 45 may be less concerned about having the latest device, they still value mobile support. For these advisors, they want the ability to access their work computers from home.

“I don’t use the smartphone link to the office because I need balance in my life,” says an advisor in Ontario with Toronto-based BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. Instead, this advisor, who is in her 50s, likes to be able to work from home on days when she has to take care of her family. “My manager doesn’t care where I am, as long as I’m making money.”

Much like support for mobile technology, support for using social media also grew in importance this year – albeit at a slower pace. The overall average importance rating in this category rose to 6.2 from 5.8. And when looking at the individual Report Cards, the average overall importance rating for this category runs from a low of 5.6 in the Dealers’ Report Card (up slightly from 5.5 last year) to a high of 7.0 in the Insurance Advisors’ Report Card (up from 5.9 in 2013).

As was the case for mobile devices, younger advisors typically were more interested in using social media to communicate with existing and prospective clients than were older advisors. Says an advisor in Quebec with Toronto-based CIBC Wood Gundy: “If you want to stay in touch with prospects and be visible on the Internet, [social media] is very important.”

In many cases, advisors noted that their firms are slowly starting to embrace this new technology. Some firms have launched pilot projects and many have welcomed the use of LinkedIn. For example, Waterloo, Ont.-based Sun Life Financial (Canada) Inc. recently ran successful pilot programs for its advisors to use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; as a result, the firm is now testing a third-party monitoring program.

“I’m part of a pilot program,” says a Sun Life advisor on the Prairies. “It’s using a service called Hearsay Social to schedule posts in advance so I only have to go online every couple days. It also grabs feedback from my connections and tells me what important things have happened in an email.”

For advisors older than 45, the importance of social media relates more to the future of the advisory business than to their practice. Says an advisor in Ontario with Mississauga, Ont.-based IDC Worldsource Insurance Network Inc.: “Some of our younger people are into [social media]. I just don’t know if it benefits me and my business.”