There is a consensus in the financial planning industry that paraplanners will be made redundant by technology. While technology will have an undeniable impact on the paraplanning industry, the future for paraplanning is not as apocalyptic as it appears. We need only to look at Xero’s impact to predict the same trajectory technology can have on the financial planning industry.
Xero exploded onto the accounting industry in 2006 when it brought accounting technology from the desktop to the cloud. While the initial reaction from bookkeepers was fear – and indeed, accounting member magazines ran articles on how to exit the cloud in case of disaster, such was the interest in Xero – what happened is that businesses that adopted the innovation ended up thriving because they could service more clients and give more time to each of them – reducing a lot of the administrative burden.
“There is an enormous time imbalance that financial planning businesses are experiencing where they spend 10%-20% of their time with clients and 80%-90% on administration,” Asendium’s CTO, John De Angelis said.
Like how Xero propelled the accounting industry forward, what technology offers is the ability to flip that percentage dramatically to the point where you can spend, at a minimum, 60%-70% building relationships with your customers, and 30%-40% on administration. Automation gives you more time to be with your clients, and the ability to be more creative in your role.
If the financial planning profession is to thrive and be profitable despite the increasing compliance requirements, businesses need to remain open-minded in evolving what would traditionally be considered administrative roles into creative roles.
Paraplanners and administrative staff that were traditionally stuck on creating advice documents can now transition to assist financial planners in developing financial strategies for clients, or transition to become financial planners themselves – which will increase the overall number of financial planners in the industry.
Technology continues to improve and change the way that we work, through collaboration and an evolved ability to engage with each other. The financial planning industry is no different. The sooner we embrace and evolve with innovation, the sooner we can begin to reap the benefits of change.
To learn how your practice can harness the power of automation, book a demo with Asendium here.
