We found that many advisors
are just starting to become involved
with social media. Most are limiting
themselves to LinkedIn, a quarter use
Facebook, and many are only logging
into social media infrequently. File-sharing services are gaining popularity among advisors, with DropBox, a
leader in providing such services to
consumers, a favorite of advisors as
well — presumably due to ease of use
and high name recognition.
We were also able to get new
details this year. During the early
years of the survey, we did not look
much beyond the gross numbers
— but new methods allow us to share
intriguing observations based on the
business models of the advisors sur-
veyed. Do the tech decisions made by
number of responses was smaller than
the past — although still the same size
as major national surveys — but the
accuracy of the data was far superior.
The margin of error is +/- 2.7%.
In 2013, will your I T budget grow,
shrink or stay the same?
Don’t know
20%
Grow
36%
40%
Stay the same
Shrink
4%
What percentage of your annual revenue
is dedicated to technology
and technology training?
None
6%
The average advisor’s technology is better
than it was a few years ago, but there is
still much work to be done.
1% to 5%
37%
6% to 10%
32%
11% to 25%
9%
independent RIAs differ from those of
dually registered advisors or advisors
affiliated with a broker-dealer? If so,
what might be the reason for some of
these differences? We saw some big
differences here in portfolio management software, mobile devices, CRM
tools, and other areas.
One key finding was that independent RIAs are slightly more likely
than average to shrink their tech budgets. This could be because they have
already performed a recent upgrade,
are relying more on their custodian for
technology, or have already achieved
some economies by moving to the
cloud.
More than 25% 1%
Don’t know/no answer
14%
LEARN MORE
Financial Planning Editor-in-Chief
Scott Wenger and Editor-at-Large
Joel Bruckenstein are scheduled
to present additional details from
the latest FP Tech Survey at the T3
conference Feb. 11-13 in Miami.
Visit TechnologyToolsforToday.com
to register and for more information.
Corbis
WHO WE HEARD FROM
A note about that methodology shift:
To improve the survey finding’s integrity and prevent any ballot box stuffing, FP sent out individual, single-use
links to thousands of readers. The total
MOBILE DEVICE TRENDS
Some of the most surprising results
this year came from a deeper dive into
smartphone use patterns of our readers. Because some readers own one
phone for business and one for personal use, we asked specifically about
use of phones for business purposes.
Overall, 13% of readers told us
they still use a BlackBerry. Independent RIAs are right on the average
here, with independent affiliates
and CPAs who also do planning falling noticeably below average. On the
other hand, bank-affiliated advisors
and employees of broker-dealers are
at least twice as likely as the average
advisor to own a BlackBerry. Insurance reps also indicated above-average BlackBerry usage. We’ve long
suspected that these groups would
be the last to give up their BlackBerrys, because many larger enterprises
dictate the device that employees
Financial-Planning.com
December 2012 Financial Planning 57
