ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eMoney Advisor (eMoney), a leading provider of planning-led wealth management solutions, today announced initial findings from the FlexGen Research Study1, co-developed with Fidelity. eMoney CEO Ed O’Brien shared highlights from the study during his keynote presentation titled “Rise of the FlexGen” to kick off Day 1 of the 2018 eMoney Summit, the industry’s premier event for planning-led financial advisory professionals.
O’Brien explained that there’s a new type of advisor leading the industry today, and they’re experiencing rapid business growth. They have a fresh mindset and view opportunities where many traditional advisors may see challenges.
To determine the attitudinal differences and practices driving change in the industry, Fidelity surveyed 458 financial advisors using a survey co-developed with eMoney. Of the advisors surveyed, 45 percent shared characteristics that eMoney and Fidelity identify as “FlexGen.” These advisors are adaptable, future-ready, focused on delivering a great client experience, and utilizing technology more often to achieve these goals.
According to the study, FlexGen Advisors are more likely than other advisors to agree that they:
- Embrace change (82% vs. 45% of other advisors)
- Love learning (96% vs. 84%)
- Challenge conventions (87% vs. 61%)
- Are forward-thinking (96% vs. 79%)
- Are nimble (86% vs. 55%)
More details of the FlexGen Research Study will be available later this year. Additional highlights of the study include:
- FlexGen Advisors reported, on average, a 24 percent increase in AUM last year compared to their peers who saw a 14 percent increase.
- FlexGen Advisors are nearly two times as likely than their peers to offer a unique service model to differentiate their business with 81 percent of FlexGen Advisors citing this capability (vs. 44% of their peers).
- They also more often cite planning as a viable way to differentiate their practice (91%) versus their peers (69%).
- FlexGen Advisors are more actively adopting technology in their firms and more likely to be future-ready with 60 percent considering themselves early adopters of technology compared to 26 percent of peers.
- FlexGen Advisors more often plan to target underserved segments in the next year, including women, millennials and minorities – 42% plan to do this vs. just 22% of their peers.
- FlexGen Advisors more often provide clients with an interactive experience (82%) than their peers (47%).
- And 65 percent of FlexGen Advisors have a marketing plan in place compared to just 35 percent of their peers.
“FlexGen advisors are delivering an outstanding experience for their clients and helping them achieve their life goals, all while deepening relationships and delivering value,” said Tricia Haskins, vice president, digital strategy & platform consulting, Fidelity Institutional. “These firms have a distinct culture – from loving learning, challenging conventions, being nimble – and they are anticipating and addressing evolving investor needs. They are delivering an interactive experience and embracing the promise of technology – and they are seeing results.”
“FlexGen Advisors are changing the landscape of the financial planning industry,” said O’Brien. “They view change as opportunity for growth and understand their success relies heavily on adapting their business models to meet the evolving needs of both current and future clients.”
The three-day eMoney Summit, appropriately themed “Rise of the Flex Gen,” hosts 1,000 attendees at the JW Marriott in Orlando through Wednesday. Attendees have various opportunities to learn how they can join the FlexGen movement. In addition to multiple keynotes and breakout sessions, a FlexGen Power Hour is scheduled for 8 a.m. tomorrow, Oct. 9, featuring seven of eMoney’s FlexGen Advisors who will share best practices on how they have successfully evolved their business models.
To view the 2018 eMoney Summit agenda or find more information, please visit https://info.emoneyadvisor.com/summit-2018.
For real-time updates on the eMoney Summit, follow eMoney on Twitter (https://twitter.com/eMoneyAdvisor) or search the hashtag #eMoneySummit18.
About eMoney Advisor
eMoney Advisor, LLC (“eMoney”) is a leading provider of scalable wealth management solutions for financial professionals, firms, and enterprises of all sizes. Rooted in collaborative financial planning, eMoney’s solutions enable financial professionals to build stronger client relationships, streamline business operations, and drive revenue and growth. With more than 600 passionate, innovative, and dedicated employees in three locations—including its headquarters in Radnor, Pa.—eMoney is transforming the wealth management experience for 50,000 financial professionals and 2.1 million end-clients nationwide. For more information, please visit: www.emoneyadvisor.com.
About Fidelity Investments
Fidelity’s mission is to inspire better futures and deliver better outcomes for the customers and businesses we serve. With assets under administration of $7.3 trillion, including managed assets of $2.6 trillion as of August 30, 2018, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a diverse set of customers: helping more than 28 million people invest their own life savings, 23,000 businesses manage employee benefit programs, as well as providing more than 13,000 financial advisory firms with investment and technology solutions to invest their own clients’ money. Privately held for 70 years, Fidelity employs more than 40,000 associates who are focused on the long-term success of our customers. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about.
eMoney Advisor LLC is a Fidelity Investments company and an affiliate of Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC and National Financial Services LLC. eMoney Advisor LLC offers: Consolidated Data, Insights + Analytics, Performance Measurement, Fee Billing, and Proposal Generation. Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions® provides clearing, custody, or other brokerage services through National Financial Services LLC or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Members NYSE, SIPC. 200 Seaport Boulevard, Z2B1, Boston, MA 02210. © 2018 FMR LLC. All rights reserved. 861047.1.0
1 2018 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community – FlexGen Study
The FlexGen Research Study was an online blind survey (Fidelity was not identified) and was fielded from July 30th through August 8th, 2018. Participants included 458 advisors who manage or advise upon client assets either individually or as a team, and work primarily with individual investors. Advisor firm types included a mix of banks, independent broker-dealers, insurance companies, regional broker-dealers, RIAs, and national brokerage firms (commonly referred to as wirehouses), with findings weighted to reflect industry composition. The Study was conducted by an independent firm not affiliated with Fidelity Investments. eMoney collaborated with Fidelity on the development of the survey used in the study.