EMoney debuted a virtual simulation at the Technology Tools for Today conference in Garden Grove, California, on Wednesday that helps advisors explain to clients how they will interact with them and the eMoney platform throughout the planning process. In the simulation, users can take a "virtual tour through the inner workings" of either the client side or the advisor side of the eMoney system, according to Kelly Waltrich, senior vice president of marketing for eMoney.
"We thought it was a fun and innovative way for advisors to show their clients the interactive experience that they'll get working with them," Waltrich told ThinkAdvisor in a phone interview on Wednesday.
The simulation is part of eMoney's new Advisor Branded Marketing (ABM) tool, which will be launched in May, Waltrich said. The simulation will be optimized for various virtual reality devices, including the Oculus and devices at lower price points.
ABM will let advisors create custom marketing campaigns from the eMoney dashboard; it features a multimedia library with content advisors can share with their clients.
"We are seeing the same data that everyone else is looking at around the diminishing value of the referral," Waltrich said. "Advisors are going to need to be more digitally inclined, not just in their wealth management processes but also in their marketing."
With the ABM tool, advisors can send content personalized for users based on their data in the eMoney platform, she adds.
"If you think about the way that advisors are marketing today, they're likely taking a piece of content and sending it to their distribution list. If they're a little bit more sophisticated, they're segmenting their distribution list and sending slightly different pieces of content to different types of prospects," the executive said.
The new tool will let them "look at those prospects who came in to the eMoney system through digital channels, and we can send personalized content to them based on their financial lives," Waltrich explains.
The firm is increasing automation tools, too, to help advisors streamline the registration and onboarding process.
A new compliance solution is coming as well. EMoney said that it will release an updated Advisor Assurance compliance workflow in April to help with documenting and archiving client interactions.
The Automated Managed Platform, an advisor-focused digital advice offering developed by eMoney and Fidelity, is expected this summer. Fidelity said in a separate statement that the platform will go into a pilot phase at select advisory firms by the end of the first quarter.
