Despite the industry collectively having spent billions of dollars to upgrade its digital offerings for clients and advisors, considerable work remains to be done. Less than half of investors (45%) are very satisfied with the digital tools offered by their wealth manager. Based on surveys conducted in March 2022, 72% of advisors and 58% of clients prefer simpler, more integrated tools rather than additional features and functionality. 

The second report of the 2022 Advisory Solutions: Expectations and Experiences series examines the digital experience through the lens of both the investor and the advisor. The report also provides action steps for firms to boost digital tool adoption/utilization and deliver content personalized to investors’ interests and communication-style preferences.

Among the study’s key findings: 

• Investors are significantly less satisfied with their digital tools than with their wealth manager overall. Only 45% of investors are very satisfied with the digital tools provided to them by their wealth manager vs. 59% who are very satisfied with their wealth management relationship overall.
• Utilization rates of digital offerings by clients and advisors are frustratingly low today. The biggest obstacle to adoption of tools is their complexity. Among investors who do not use financial planning tools to forecast retirement assets, only 36% feel that they do not need them, with the rest indicating that the tools are too difficult to use.
• Investors seek digital tools that are easier to use and digest. Investors overwhelmingly prefer short-form content and easily digestible visualizations (71%) to the research reports with longer narratives that are more typical of research outputs. 
• Investors want personalized content, but advisors find it difficult to deliver. 69% of investors prefer more personalized content, as opposed to general market information. However, only 39% of advisors find it very easy to personalize content topics for their clients, let alone the format in which that content is delivered. 

Detailed findings from the 2022 Expectations and Experiences research are being released in a series of three reports. The third and final report will focus on Risks and Opportunities for Wealth Managers in Cryptocurrencies and Cybersecurity.

Want to learn more?
Download Part 1: Emerging Retirement Planning Gaps in a Post-Pandemic World.