3 benefits of having a centralized planning process

September 20, 2017 by Allison Sobek

About the author

Allison Sobek

Business development representative

Combining a passion for FinTech and a degree in economics from Miami University, Allison strives to share the value Advicent brings to companies throughout the financial industry.

Advisors have their time maxed out by trying to capture new business, meet the needs of existing clients, and deal with the disruption of the DOL fiduciary rule. Advisors do not have the ability to spend a significant amount of time on planning processes. Here are three ways that advisors will benefit from implementing a centralized planning process.

Eliminate business silos

When there are employees dedicated solely to creating financial plans, this frees up a lot of time for the advisors. With this time, advisors become the “face” of their business. Advisors can focus on both building relationships with their existing clients and getting referrals to attract new clients.

Financial plans become a standard upsell or value-add because it takes minimal time for the advisor to get a plan to the client. From a case study done by Advicent, it was found that by utilizing technology to create a centralized planning process, product sale revenue increased by an average of 40 percent and increased assets under management by 10 percent.

Enhanced compliance workflows

One of the benefits of NaviPlan a financial planning application offered by Advicent, is its ability to allow other people within the firm's internal structure to fully review a plan before it is approved. After those in charge of planning create a draft plan, it can be proposed to the advisor. Here, the advisor can check the plan to ensure it meets personal and corporate standards and either approve and deliver it, or reject it and send it back to the draft stage.

Address the full breadth and depth of each client's unique needs

Utilizing NaviPlan and the centralized planning process model reduces advisor overhead by 20-50 percent. As a result, advisors who work under a centralized planning process have more time to spend getting to know their clients’ needs because they are spending less time doing data entry and administrative tasks.

From this, advisors are able to give their clients more customized and comprehensive financial plans that help the clients achieve their financial goals. Advisors will then continue to meet with the clients to reevaluate their plan and search for deficiencies in goal progress. By having one single system capable of covering the full breadth of financial planning, advisors are able to have ongoing conversations with their clients, rather than a “one-and-done” meeting.

 To learn how financial planning technology can help implement a centralized planning process, click here.