Over the last few years, financial planning has looked very different in comparison to the 80s and 90s. While the underlying basis stays the same, there have been incredible advancements in the way technology assists financial planners to help do their work better. We’re not talking about flashy robots or tiny drones carrying your papers across the office floor, though that would definitely be a sight to behold. We’re talking about the way technology has seeped into the very crux of financial planning, with things like artificial intelligence and machine learning completely changing the way investors and financial planners interact and visualize their portfolios.

As this technological advancement continues, the financial advisor of the future may work very differently with the help of advanced automation and IoT technology, and perhaps even some technology that hasn’t even been publicly released yet.  Another thing to note is that as we move into the 2020s, the kind of customer advisors will be dealing with is most probably going to be tech-savvy and heavily dependent on the internet. This new-age investor would expect their advisor to be abreast with the latest advancements in fintech as well. The ability to offer future-proof solutions that allow for easier access to an individual’s financial data and monitor their portfolio could be a deal breaker for new financial advisors looking to kick-start their careers. Believe it or not, but the tech race is on at the financial planning playground, and all of us are already in it. Here’s a look at how technology will change the financial planning landscape in the coming years.

• The Use Of The Cloud – If you haven’t heard about the cloud yet, it’s time to come out of your bubble. Using cloud services like Google and AWS helps organisations in more ways than one. The first advantage of using the cloud is the ability to access it anywhere. It greatly reduces the amount of time and money spent travelling, sitting in on physical meetings, and also reduces operational costs by removing the dependency on physical storage. In case financial planners and advisory firms aren’t comfortable moving completely to the cloud, there are hybrid solutions available that allow for a more flexible way to store and access critical data as and when required.
• Artificial Intelligence Support – AI has been the buzzword for quite some time now. While enterprise AI solutions and home assistants like Amazon Alexa have already been embraced by a large population of the world, there is still a lot of time left before AI becomes an integral part of a financial advisors’ arsenal. However, with the capabilities AI technology has shown in the financial space, the future of AI and financial planning looks quite promising. Existing AI solutions are already doing a great job helping advisors and their clients visualize their financial journeys and get quick recommendations for further investments. Within the next few years, there will undoubtedly be a much larger role for AI to play; will this affect jobs in the financial space? It’s still too early to tell, but we’re not going to completely replace human advisors with AI or robo-advisors (as they are popularly known) anytime soon.
• IoT & Automation – In the 6th Annual Digital IQ survey held by PricewaterhouseCoopers, it was found that the financial services industry is one of the leaders when it comes to investing in IoT and automation innovation. IoT and automation both allow financial advisors to quickly gather, analyse, and transfer data. In areas like insurance, risk management & compliance, and regulation, automation can significantly improve the efficiency of understanding patterns and making investment decisions. Today, we already have programs that can systematically identify financial risk and the operational, business, and data-related issues that affect your risk exposure, all done with just a few clicks. With automation empowering advisors to complete gargantuan tasks with speed and consistency, we can expect to see more productivity and cost-effectiveness at the workplace.