Get Your Firm's Tech Stack Trim and Fit this Summer
Summer is a great time to take a deep breath, relax, and realign. Of course, there is plenty of work to be done, but in the proverbial summer slowdown, many advisors block off time to take stock of what is working and what is not. Are budgets and goals for the year in alignment with their spending and growth? Is the firm in the best position to succeed moving forward?
The first stop for many advisors to uncover savings or possible efficiencies is technology. Many advisors waste money on tools and services that they simply no longer use. Whether they're duplicates of services available on other systems, or outdated offerings that are no longer needed, there is often an opportunity to trim down an RIA's tech stack.
The Challenge for RIAs
At TradePMR, we've found that firms who join us have duplicative technologies or have technology they don't need or no longer use. We recommend advisors take a step back to make sure they are genuinely using what they're paying for and are getting the best value from their service providers.
Technology in this industry has evolved so rapidly that it's hard for advisors to keep track of their providers' current offerings. With new services added constantly, it's challenging to keep up. We recommend taking some time to dive into your service contracts with providers to make sure you understand precisely what you're paying for and can ideally find some places to cut spending.
Finding the Right Tech
We developed Fusion to provide RIAs with everything they need to run their practices in one consolidated location without additional technology fees or subscriptions. That is a lofty goal, and we know that advisors may be using technologies that they love and wouldn't want to replace with our corresponding offerings. That's why we leverage deep integrations with third-party providers to ensure advisors working with us have the technology that makes the most sense for them while still centralizing their technology activities in Fusion.
Advisors working with TradePMR can leverage the advanced resources from a suite of technology providers that we maintain robust integrations with, including Black Diamond, Orion, and FIX Flyer. Additionally, suppose there are providers that any advisors like working with that TradePMR doesn’t already integrate with. In that case, our team can establish new data feed integrations with those providers to ensure the advisor can continue using what works best for their firm. On top of providing connectivity, TradePMR also has strong relationships with several third-party providers to get advisors better rates for their technology. Many of these rates are for tools that complement the Fusion platform's existing capabilities, which can help as RIAs build out their tech stack while trying to avoid paying for duplicative solutions.
At the end of the day, advisors need to find technology providers with a flexible approach to fit their unique needs. We have never subscribed to the one-size-fits-all approach to custodial services and technology – Fusion is a central hub, but there are various ways to fit the platform to your RIA.
Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate
RIA technology as a whole is changing rapidly. It's a best practice to evaluate your tech suite every couple of years. You never know what you're missing and what new offerings could move the needle for your business and improve the services you deliver to your clients.
For advisors working with us, we are always happy to set up integrations with third-party providers. However, we still recommend taking a deep dive into our Fusion platform to ensure that the tech they are currently using does make the most sense for their business. While a platform may be a great fit at one point, Fusion is constantly evolving to include more features and provide greater flexibility. Many advisors are surprised to find that what we have developed in-house at TradePMR may, at times, better suit their needs than their third-party providers.
We know that technology is added gradually to your practice, so we recommend you take a step back and dive into all the platforms you currently pay for and review all of their capabilities. This will help you find overlap and see if your firm could do without specific platforms (or even individual functions within platforms).
To learn more about Fusion and the ways our technology could benefit your RIA, check out our on-demand demo here.
Trade-PMR, member FINRA/SIPC. Black Diamond, Orion, and FIX Flyer are not affiliates of TradePMR.
