We write a lot about the drawbacks and risks of technologies, but what about the benefits? Shouldn’t good technology be delightful to us? We definitely think so! What kind of technology delights wealth managers?
Of course, we get research from some of the wealthtech usual suspects, like T3 and Kitces.com, which offer pretty good insight into what advisors are using and some general information about advisor satisfaction… but those polls aren’t as open ended as we want to be. What technology is really making advisors happy, to the point where they want to sing its praises… or at least tell a technology writer about them? There’s only one way to find out – We asked!
We talk a lot about wealth management around here, but probably not as much as we should to wealth managers themselves.
There’s really nothing quite like talking to an engaged financial advisor—and that’s why the profession will probably survive in some form for as long as there are people with wealth.
From an editorial perspective, we recognize that the voice of the advisor is something that has sometimes been lacking from our content, yet it is critical to any discussion of wealthtech—so we’re continuing our “We Asked” column to inject more wealth management voices into our coverage. Each week, we’ll ask a new wealthtech- or AI-related question directly to financial advisors using the FPA’s MediaSource and other tools at our disposal. We will always try to offer as many advisor responses to our questions as possible, with as little editing of those responses as possible.
This week, we asked “What is your favorite piece of technology you use in the workplace? Why?”
Here are our responses, in alphabetical order:
Josh Brooks
Exponential Advisors LLC
Weatherford, TX
My favorite piece of technology at Exponential Advisors is Claude. Hands down, or hands up. I run a small, veteran-focused RIA with no marketing department, no ops team, and no compliance analyst on staff. Claude functions as all three – and more (that’s my em-dash). I use it to draft client communications, content, and newsletter copy that stays inside SEC Marketing Rule guardrails from the first draft rather than after a slow rewrite cycle. In some respects, AI Compliance can be more strict than a typical compliance department.
I also use it to evaluate business decisions, analytics, prep for prospect conversations, and keep our written policies current, such as Data Privacy, SOPs, and Service Model. What’s fun is that I give different projects names: Operations – J.A.R.V.I.S CEO/Strategy – John Ternus Writing – Ernest Hemingway Video Production – Steven Spielberg Account/CFP – Deloitte Administrative/Documents – FedEx_Kinkos_Office
What earns it “favorite” status over other tools is that it maintains context across an entire workflow rather than for a single isolated task. I am not stitching together five-point solutions. I get one collaborator who understands the firm’s voice, the compliance rules I operate under, and the day-to-day details of running a small practice built around military veterans in transition. For a one-advisor shop trying to deliver a fiduciary standard of care at scale, that is not a convenience. It is what makes the model work.
Glenn Downing
CameronDowning
Miami, FL
MyRepChat. Compliant texting. Automatically saves the text thread in the client’s file in Wealthbox. Always works, inexpensive, and clients love texting.
Eric Flynn
Aprio Wealth Management:
Atlanta, GA
Technology continues to reshape how we serve our clients. Claude is helping me stay on top of communications and follow-up. Another tool is Zocks, which captures key action items, and helps me move faster. Together, these tools mean less time on logistics and more time focused on our clients’ goals. I’m always looking for new ways to be more responsive and more valuable to the people I serve.
Nathan Mueller
BlackBird Finance
Pagosa Springs, CO
I feel the most used piece of software, but the least talked about, is a VPN. My firm is 100% remote, which comes with working at home, coffee shops, libraries, friends’ houses, shared offices, etc. While my financial planning software is important, the unsung hero is the VPN always running in the background, protecting my clients and me whenever connected to the web.
