Research firm Investment Trends’ latest Adviser Technology Needs Report, finds that satisfaction with platforms has eased slightly, but that improved support services will be key to lifting ratings.
A statement from the company says its report, now in its 18th year, is an in-depth look at the evolving technology needs of financial advisers, as well as their usage of platforms and planning software.
It says that industry wide, the proportion of advisers who rated their overall satisfaction with their main platform as ‘very good’ has fallen from 30 percent to 28 percent in the last year.
“Overall satisfaction has seen a declining trend since the highs observed in 2014 (40 percent).”
Bailey Hao, Senior Analyst at Investment Trends, says the challenging business conditions brought by the pandemic have undoubtedly put pressure on platforms to maintain high service levels to advisers and their clients.
The statement says that industry wide overall satisfaction has fallen, but across 25 individual service areas measured, advisers remain highly satisfied with their main platforms’ online transaction capabilities (49 percent rate it as ‘very good), ease of use (44 percent), level of fees (42 percent).
…Our satisfaction gap analysis highlights that adviser-facing support services should be a focus area – especially the call centre…
“While platforms serve advisers well in many areas, there is still significant room for improvement. Our satisfaction gap analysis highlights that adviser-facing support services should be a focus area – especially the call centre,” says Hao.
He adds that since advisers most prefer to turn to their platform’s call centre for their support needs, “platforms must devote more attention to improving their contact centre experience given its integral role in lifting overall satisfaction ratings.”
The company says that in 2021, Netwealth remains the highest rated platform by overall satisfaction, with a composite overall satisfaction score of 80 percent, ahead of HUB24 (78 percent) in second spot. The top five platforms by overall satisfaction are:
- Netwealth (80 percent)
- HUB24 (78 percent)
- BT Panorama (75 percent)
- CFS FirstChoice (73 percent)
- Macquarie Wrap (73 percent)
It notes that each year, Investment Trends assigns Awards for Excellence to commend platforms that stood out. Netwealth emerged as the highest rated platform for overall satisfaction by its users. It is also the highest rated for ‘value for money’, while BT Panorama leads in user satisfaction for ‘mobile access/app’.
