In the wealth industry, advisors often under-use the technology in their firms and that is often because the tools haven't been built with advisors in mind. The sector must raise its game.

For a US wealth management firm that has passed its 90th birthday, Fiduciary Trust International is keen to talk about what the future holds. And, in particular, how technology must be designed so that advisors – and ultimately clients – make more use of it.

One problem is that a lot of advisors aren’t using digital tools enough. That is often because technologists rather than the actual advisors have been involved in creating them, argues John Dowd, CEO of Fiduciary Trust International.

“Many firms believe their client portal is their digital strategy, and forget about the advisor experience. If we want to foster collaboration, advisor tools need to serve the advisor as well as they serve the client. Historically, technology departments were responsible for the development of advisor tools with limited understanding of what an advisor needs or what a typical day looks like for them,” Dowd told Family Wealth Report. 

“This is not effective - you need to include your advisors in the development process. At Fiduciary Trust International, the head of digital strategy is a direct report of mine. He and his team spend a lot of time with our advisors - understanding how they work with clients and including them in the development process so what we are delivering improves their experience,” Dowd said.

Dowd appears to be pushing at an open door. In the annual Capgemini World Wealth Report, published this week, it noted how the pandemic and its disruption to conventional business life has made the use of digital channels even more critical. They are not replacements for advisors, but important tools in the box.

Another reason why Dowd makes a big deal of tech is that he sees it as helping to open up the investment vista for a wider client base.

“Technology today is helping to `democratize’ investor access both in the public and private markets which overall is important for promoting savings and investing,” he said. “In the public markets you see it with Robinhood and their ability to capture new client segments via a smoother digital investing interface. In the private markets (venture capital, private equity and private debt) technology has dramatically reduced the operational and administrative issues that have made these attractive asset classes more challenging to invest in - despite higher return profiles.”

Other functions, such as accreditation and know-your-client/anti-money laundering reviews, and automating the subscription process, have all been helped via technology, he said.

“Further to these enhancements, both public and private securities will benefit via blockchain technology and the ability to fractionize and `tokenize’ these securities to make them available in smaller units, with global 24/7 markets, shortened clearing and settlement times – all of which in turn brings greater liquidity to the markets,” he said. 

Among other changes, in July last year the business rolled out a new “digital vault” for encrypted document sharing. Clients and advisors can securely swap documents such as account statements, deeds, estate and financial plans, tax filings, trusts, and wills over the new portal. It has also launched an electronic signature capability for clients.

Ninety years
Dowd knows he has to balance the benefits of the firm’s long history with understanding that a new cohort of younger HNW clients are not necessarily easily impressed by age.

Fiduciary Trust International officially opened its doors on June 3, 1931 on the 30th floor of One Wall Street in New York City. Although the Great Depression weighed heavily on the American economy, the firm had attracted clients in 30 states and 12 countries by the end of 1935.

The firm, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeteon in April 2001, likes to point out that it became one of the early adopters of computer systems, having put its first computer system - providing portfolio managers with daily account summaries and allowing the firm to keep up with growing demand for its services - into operation in 1959.

Fiduciary Trust International lived up to its name by opening its first international office in London to provide research on non-US companies and a wholly-owned subsidiary in Geneva in the 1960s, when assets under management reached $1 billion.

In another important move, it appointed Anne Tatlock as CEO in 1999, at a time when there were only a few women CEOs in the sector. 

The New York-based firm holds more than $94 billion in assets under management and administration, as of March 31, 2021. Besides its New York base, it has offices in Coral Gables, Boca Raton, St. Petersburg, Florida, Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln, Massachussets, Los Angeles, San Mateo, San Francisco, California, Washington, DC, Wilmington, Delaware, and Arlington, Virginia.