By Lori Hardwick, CEO, Wealth Tech, Red Rock Strategic Partners, LLC
While digital transformation has recently become a key priority for the financial services sector, last year was a landmark period in this journey. Nearly half (49%) of firms have accelerated their initiatives, finds Deloitte, and the financial services sector has far outpaced other industries in their digital investments (arguably, because our industry was so far behind others).
Over the years I’ve been part of several C-suite management teams and corporate boards for leading organizations at the intersection of financial services and tech. One first-hand observation I have made is that automation not only achieves short-term benefits like headcount of expense reduction, but it also creates a ripple effect that permeates across the entire company’s ecosystem. Strategic automation at the backend allows advisors to be more efficient in their work, and in turn, drives a far superior experience for the end customer. To achieve such holistic impacts, it is vital that we relook at our understanding of automation in financial services and the future roadmap.
Financial Services institutions have been primarily focused on building out an integrated infrastructure with interoperability between systems that enable a unified rendering of data for advisors. But this is only step one: It is when effective automation of front, mid, and back-office processes meets 360-degree business objectives, only then, advisors are free to build more capacity in their day and devote their time to more meaningful work, and eventually drive long-term business growth through lasting relationships with customers.
