Page 36 - Investment Advisor - Jan/Feb 2021

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remote. We’ve done all our client meetings and road shows There has never been a better time to be in technology and
over Zoom, MicrsoftTeams or WebEx — whatever the client to actually leverage technology. It’s both — to be in it, but also
accepts. Technology is becoming much more accepted. to leverage it to your benefit. That’s important.
Advisors are also learning that in order to meet their
clients — and they’re not going to meet them in person — RUDIN: It’s a must. In the past, what we’ve seen in running a
they’re going to do that over video or a webinar. technology company is that you could sell the technology, but
We’re very focused right now on the front office capa- that didn’t mean it was going to be adopted and used.
bilities, having that investor client portal and having the There are some jokes about that right now.
best way [through which] the advisor can easily and readily Who’s in charge of digital transformation at your company?
tell the investor what they need to do, say, with a bonus or The CEO, CTO or COVID-19? There’s a cartoon with a wreck-
something that happened in their account or that’s happen- ing ball with a COVID-19 label on it that’s located outside an
ing in the market. office, where people are saying, “Digital transformation is not
But they can’t do that remotely with their home office going to be coming our way.”
without technology, and It’s really been the push
they can’t do their jobs really or the shove that every-
today without technology. Having the type of economy one’s needed, even though
Otherwise, they don’t have [the need to embrace digital
access to all the files. we have now, with more transformation] has always
One of my best friends is been there. It’s not even new.
a CPA who has to go into and more of those in the
the office to get files. I’ve Who or what are you
asked why she can’t just next generation becoming following in terms
bring them home or have entrepreneurs — something of where financial
them uploaded and scanned. services and its digital
But if you’re not used to that, like 26% — and this includes transformation are
you can’t operate that way. headed?
It’s just crazy women, the barrier to NASH: April and I probably
Technology is being have a similar network and
adopted faster than ever. starting your own business friends. I lean on them a lot
That’s a good thing for all and talk to them a lot — such
of us. Women naturally like just isn’t there anymore. as Lori Hardwick and Noreen
to build relationships, and Beaman. [Hardwick is CEO
they take those relation- —April Rudin of wealthtech at Red Rock
ships seriously. They make Strategic Partners and chair
good financial planners and of Riskalyze, while Beaman
financial advisors because they’re very good at that. They’re is president of Orion Advisor Solutions and earlier was CEO of
also eager learners, want to learn new things and desire to Brinker Capital, which recently merged with Orion.]
get ahead. The three of us get together and help each other. We grew
They’re the ones adopting technology faster than they have up together in the industry. Noreen and I have sat side by side
in the past. They’re learning that once you do that, your life is for about 25 years — working on some issues and tackling some
so much easier and better. You have more free time. challenges together.
You want to make sure there’s technology out there that As for what I would be watching, I would say LPL Financial.
makes you more efficient and is easy to use versus technology We’re working with them right now, and they’re doing some
that, say, is just starting out or that you try out just for the sake fascinating things and building their brand and their capa-
of having technology. bilities. They’re acquiring [other firms] and doing a lot from a
Being a CEO of a technology firm every day, our clients ask strategic perspective. They stand out.
us to help them do more with less. That’s what they need. They Also, looking at the RIA world, we’re close to firms like
invest [in technology] to make themselves more efficient. They Pershing and Schwab, and what’s happening from a cus-
know they need technology to help make that happen. tody perspective — making things a lot more automated
It’s an interesting time right now. I’ve often said that, but and efficient with easy onboarding and other steps that are
even more so today — there’s never been a better time to be important today.
technology. We can really change how people work, how advi- In financial services, Wells Fargo is reinventing itself.
sors work, and how investors and advisors collaborate. They’ve hired a lot more leadership. It’s been interesting to

34 INVESTMENT ADVISOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 | ThinkAdvisor.com