Today, financial planning isn’t just a value-add for a wealth management firm’s top clients—it’s a core expectation across all segments. From a young couple budgeting for their first home, to a multigenerational family navigating complex estate decisions, clients expect advice that is personal, dynamic, and interactive.

But for many institutions, legacy technology decisions haven’t kept pace with these expectations. Many large firms utilize multiple financial planning platforms, with one designed for basic, needs-based planning scenarios and another designed for more complex, high-net-worth planning scenarios.

In some cases, this is to provide the firm’s advisors with a choice of vendors, while in other cases, the firm leverages different platforms for its different lines of business. However, this practice is no longer scalable and can create friction for the client, the financial advisor, and the firm itself, undermining client satisfaction and business growth.

The Challenges of a Fragmented Tech Stack

For the Client

A client may begin their financial planning journey with an entry-level financial planner who uses a basic platform. However, as the client ages and accumulates wealth, they develop more complex financial planning needs that the basic platform can’t sufficiently meet. They must then transition to an entirely different platform with a different interface, different functionalities, and a different user experience.

This creates an inconsistent and fragmented journey with your firm. Clients who have become comfortable with one platform are suddenly facing a completely different experience. They may have to re-aggregate their accounts and start their digital relationship with their financial professional over. This work for the client introduces doubt about their advisor’s commitment to them and creates moments where clients question whether they need a new financial professional entirely.

For the Financial Advisor

A fragmented tech stack equally impacts advisor development. Financial professionals invest time in becoming experts in specific platforms, earning certifications, and building proficiency. However, when they advance their careers and target higher net worth clients who require more sophisticated planning tools, they face entirely new systems that don’t leverage their existing expertise.

For the Firm

From an enterprise perspective, maintaining multiple planning solutions creates substantial operational overhead. It requires the firm to manage separate vendor contracts, conduct distinct training programs, maintain multiple compliance certifications, and lose economies of scale by splitting its user base across multiple platforms.

Leveraging multiple financial planning platforms also leads to firm-wide integration and data synchronization challenges. Firms want planning data to flow into their CRMs, marketing tools, and other systems. With multiple disparate providers, achieving consistent data synchronization across the entire technology ecosystem becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Break Down Barriers with a Unified Financial Planning Platform

By consolidating to a single, full-spectrum financial planning platform, firms can enhance the experience for both advisors and clients while driving business growth. A full-spectrum financial planning solution will provide advisors with right-sized tools for every client, from simple one-time scenario analysis for young or mass affluent clients to comprehensive planning solutions for the most complex customers.

Advisors will be able to seamlessly support their clients through every step of their financial journey as they progress naturally from needs-based assessments to complex wealth management strategy analysis. The clients will appreciate having a consistent digital experience throughout their entire financial journey. They won’t have to adapt to new technology or face disruptions every time their financial situation changes.

Access to planning data is streamlined across the firm, giving every team a line of sight into opportunities for upselling and cross-selling other solutions the enterprise offers. For example, insurance firms can identify opportunities to recommend life insurance or homeowner insurance policies that align with the client’s current assets and future goals.

In addition to driving business growth, a unified financial planning platform will improve operational efficiency. When you don’t have to maintain multiple planning platforms, there will be less time spent training on multiple tools, less data duplication, fewer vendor contracts to manage, and a reduced compliance and audit burden.

One Powerful Way to Scale Your Planning Strategy

The challenges that come with using multiple financial planning platforms create a compelling business case for consolidation. Enterprises that continue relying on disconnected, segmented planning systems will struggle to scale, personalize, and grow. Those who invest in a unified, scalable planning platform will be better positioned to deliver a consistent advisor and client experience, leverage enterprise-wide data to fuel decision making, and drive more profitable, lasting client relationships.

Download our guide for wealth management leaders, Collaborative Wealth Planning at Scale: An Enterprise Guide to the Latest Advancements, to learn more about the challenges that large enterprise firms are facing and the tech solutions that can help overcome them.

DISCLAIMER: The eMoney Advisor Blog is meant as an educational and informative resource for financial professionals and individuals alike. It is not meant to be, and should not be taken as financial, legal, tax or other professional advice. Those seeking professional advice may do so by consulting with a professional advisor. eMoney Advisor will not be liable for any actions you may take based on the content of this blog.

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