Financial advisors today manage more complexity than ever before while the fees they charge have remained relatively flat. The shift from commission-based brokerage to fee-based planning has expanded the scope of services advisors must deliver without proportionally increasing revenue, creating a productivity squeeze that makes technology adoption critical rather than optional.
According to Cerulli Associates' latest research on technology trends in wealth management, advisors who most effectively leverage technology to increase productivity and improve client experience enjoy a clear competitive advantage.
The research found that 90% or more of surveyed advisors said that their technology is either somewhat or very effective in helping them achieve key business objectives, though integration challenges and time constraints continue to limit fuller adoption.
Technology Delivers on Core Promises
The data showed that wealth management technology is successfully addressing advisor needs across investment management, financial planning, and operational functions. Advisors reported their technology suites are particularly effective at enabling regulatory compliance and delivering investment management services efficiently.
But technology underperforms in client relationship management. Just 27% of advisors say their technology is very effective at client engagement, compared with 46% who rate it very effective for compliance. Customer relationship management systems show particularly low satisfaction rates despite 86% adoption, representing a major pain point for advisors, the research finds.
The complex nature of delivering wealth management services results in advisors using up to 18 different types of technology within a single practice, the research finds. E-signature tools see 97% adoption, followed by document management at 95% and video conferencing at 94%.
Integration Woes and the AI Solution
The biggest challenge to effectively leveraging technology, cited by 69% of surveyed advisors, is limited integration between the many disconnected tools and applications they use daily. The same percentage cited compliance restrictions that limit functionality, while 68% pointed to insufficient time to learn and implement new systems.
These integration headaches create a competitive edge for large enterprise wealth management firms that can invest heavily in unified technology platforms, according to the report. Advisors acknowledged this gap, with a majority saying they would trade best-of-breed capabilities for better integrations across their tech stack, a clear signal that seamless workflow matters more than having the most advanced features.
The report also noted that solo advisors face a distinct disadvantage in technology adoption. Staff who specialize in operational areas like investment research, trading, and financial planning become experts in the technologies specific to those functions, giving ensemble advisor teams with specialized staff a competitive edge that solo practices cannot match.
Artificial intelligence may offer a path forward. While 42% of surveyed bank advisors currently used AI capabilities in their practices, bank trust advisors planned to dramatically increase their active pursuit of AI capabilities from 3% currently seeking out these tools to 36% by 2027, Cerulli fouds.
Private bank adoption leads the way, with around 56% already using AI in 2025 and expected to reach 80% by 2027. AI notetakers that transcribe client meetings and automate follow-up tasks are among the first widely adopted AI tools, addressing exactly the kind of time-consuming operational work where traditional technology has been less effective.
Clients Want Both Tech and Humans
While investors increasingly use online tools to track finances and monitor goals, demand for human financial advice remains strong even among younger demographics. Just 25% of investors in their 50s said they prefer an online-only investment advisor, dropping to 9% among those in their 70s, the research showed.
Account aggregation tools that allow clients to view all financial accounts in one place were considered important by 72% of affluent investors, including 66% of those age 70 or older who typically show skepticism toward online financial tools. The research found that 63% of affluent investors have already used online tools to better understand their financial situation.
Only 36% of those who find online goal-tracking tools essential also preferred online-only advice, while 46% said they would rather have a human advisor as part of their financial relationship. This suggests that technology serves as a complement rather than replacement for professional guidance, particularly as financial complexity increases and investors reach key life milestones.
Financial advisors must ensure their technology stack is both comprehensive and user-friendly for clients, enabling meaningful conversations and actionable insights rather than creating barriers to engagement, according to the report.
A message from Advisor Perspectives and VettaFi: To learn more about this and other topics, check out some of our videos.
Read more commentaries by VettaFi | Advisor Perspectives
