Aite Group Publishes Report on RIA's State of Technology

A new report put out by the Aite Group looks at the current level of technology usage at registered investment advisor (RIA) firms. Based on an Aite Group survey of registered investment advisors, the report examines these firms' priorities for future technology spending. It also provides insight into the impact of technology integration on the allocation of an advisor's time across various functional areas, such as client-facing activities, portfolio management, marketing, administration and compliance.

RIA firms have experienced a tremendous amount of growth in assets under management in recent years. However, RIAs often find themselves torn between adding new clients and assets, and maintaining the high quality of service for which they are known, according to the report. Improving operational efficiency will allow these firms to grow their business substantially while keeping their costs under control. In order to achieve this goal, RIAs will have to change the way they currently deal with technology. Instead of making reactive technology decisions, RIAs have to become more strategic in their approach and develop a vision and roadmap that will get them to their ideal state of technology and into a growth mode, says the Aite Group in the report. "The business model of RIA firms is in line with the needs and demands of today's wealth management customers, and has resulted in substantial growth opportunities for the firms," said Alois Pirker, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of the report, in a press release. "However, only firms that have scalable technology and efficient business processes will be able to grow significantly while maintaining high-quality service," he added.