“Gen Tech” survey uncovers generational trends among wealth management firms regarding use of technology, client communication and succession planning
November 28, 2018 (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – Redtail Technology (“Redtail”), a leading provider of client relationship management (CRM) solutions for financial services firms, published the results from a survey entitled “Gen Tech” which show that the majority (55%) of Gen-X and Baby Boomer financial advisory employees today use mobile devices and tablets to access their CRMs, at a percentage just ahead of Millennial employees. The survey polled more than 2,000 financial advisory firms ranging from Millennials to Generation-Xers to Baby Boomers across the country in an effort to understand trends about technology usage across generations.
“It’s no secret that our industry is evolving at lightning speed,” said Redtail Technology CEO Brian McLaughlin. “That said, as members of the advisor fintech community, it’s Redtail’s responsibility to keep our fingers on the pulse of which technologies advisory firms are either keen or slow to adopt. We set out to uncover the technology disconnect across generations, however the results really surprised us.”
Specifically, these findings reveal:
- More than half of Baby Boomer (52%) and Gen-Xer (58%) advisory employees access their company CRM via mobile or tablet devices, more than Millennial
advisory firms employees (50%) - Across all generations, financial planning software (79%) is the most commonly used technology followed by client portal (57%) and risk profiling and analysis technology (51%)
- Only 9% of wealth management firms said that they are using digital trading software, followed by 31% using compliance technology, across all generations
- The use of technology systems within an advisory firm correlates with age, with Millennial respondents as the biggest users of technology systems, followed by Gen-Xers and then Baby Boomers.
McLaughlin concludes, “Our research shows that Gen-Xers, Baby Boomers and Millennials in the industry are more technology empowered than we think. The biggest eye opener for us was all generations are seeing eye-to-eye on technology. It’s apparent that the industry can no longer afford to overlook aging advisors as a target market, particularly those who need assistance on their succession planning strategies.”
The survey was conducted on the heels of Redtail’s recent launch of Redtail Speak, a technology that enables advisors to interact via text message with their clients, while remaining compliant with all federal rules and regulations. Through Speak, every conversation, message and document is fully searchable and automatically archived, recorded daily and shared with the advisor’s email surveillance provider.
Redtail analyzed data from more than 2,300 wealth management employees across the U.S., with assets under management ranging under $1M to more than $1B. For media inquiries, contact redtail@ficommpartners.com.
For more information about Redtail, visit www.redtailtechnology.com.
About Redtail Technology
Founded in 2003, Redtail Technology is a leading provider of web-based Client Relationship Management (CRM), compliant text messaging solutions (Redtail Speak), paperless office, and email archiving solutions in the financial services industry. The company is dedicated to helping advisors efficiently grow their firms by providing them with the core technologies that drive their day-to-day operations, offering low cost and easy to implement applications and integrating with many of the industry’s most widely used applications. As a pioneer in the financial technology industry, Redtail is committed to providing advisors exceptional customer service and strives to contribute in meaningful ways to its local communities in California, Arizona and Georgia. For more information, visit www.redtailtechnology.com.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Abbie Sheridan
FiComm Partners
abbie.sheridan@ficommpartners.com
(917) 636-4803