Fidelity is offering its advisor force a technology rolled out by United Capital to help them foster more "planning-centric" client relationships.

Last month, United Capital Financial Advisers made its proprietary Financial Life Management system available to the broader independent advisor market, and Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions has jumped on board to help its advisors manage their clients' financial lives more effectively and meaningfully.

FinLife Partners is a turnkey advice and financial planning platform that provides advisor-branded client experience tools, digital workflow technology and personalized on-demand coaching.

The idea is that advisors at Fidelity using FinLife Partners, which they can access at a discounted rate, will be able to create stronger ties with clients by addressing their wealth more holistically and on a more personal level.

“We believe that firms need to consider moving to a planning-centric practice in order to demonstrate how their value goes beyond simply managing investments,” said David Canter, executive vice president of practice management and consulting at Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions. “Yet, many advisors are more analytically minded and struggle with adding the ‘EQ element’ to their client experiences. By incorporating the emotional side of investing and considering clients’ individual life goals, advisors are able to take a big step toward becoming the one-stop location for true financial guidance that investors are increasingly seeking.”

Advisors using FinLife Partners logged revenue growth of nearly 30 per cent and net new asset growth of 10 per cent in the first 12 months of using the technology, according to analysis by United Capital. Similarly, Fidelity said it has found that advisors who provide financial planning services have higher assets under management and compensation compared to their peers: AuM is almost four times greater (at $150 million versus $38 million), and their compensation is 40 per cent higher (at $200,000 per year versus $140,000 per year), it said.

“We believe advisors should measure, track and benchmark people's entire financial lives like we do with their investments. We need to provide clarity about the consequences of their choices in a dynamic way that technology alone cannot accomplish,” added Joe Duran, chief executive and founding partner of United Capital. “Human advisors have a responsibility to harness their knowledge, discipline and empathy for clients in a manner that helps people make sound decisions in this uncertain world.”