The financial advice business is undergoing a structural shift. A reassuring handshake still matters, but modern clients now expect seamless digital access, personalized portfolios at scale, and automation beneath the surface. Firms that adapt gain an edge in client acquisition, retention, and efficiency. Those that don’t risk being outcompeted by digital-native platforms and tech-forward peers.

In this post, we explore why software is becoming central to the advisor value proposition and how firms can adopt a software-driven model—without losing the human trust that defines great advice.

Clients Expect a Digital, Low-Friction Experience

Today’s investors, especially those under 40, live their financial lives online. They bank through apps, shop through e-commerce platforms, and invest with a few taps on mobile trading apps. When they engage with a financial advisor, they expect the same ease of use.

Nearly 90% of advisors say digital client experience is “extremely important,” yet only 34% have fully delivered on it (AdvisorEngine). The World Economic Forum notes that hyper-personalization and around-the-clock access are now baseline expectations (World Economic Forum).

For firms, this means a streamlined client portal isn’t just nice to have — it’s table stakes.

Demographics Are Shifting — and Younger Clients Matter

The Great Wealth Transfer is accelerating. Cerulli Associates estimates $124 trillion will change hands by 2048, with most assets moving from Boomer households to younger, digitally native heirs. RIAs are already racing to attract this demographic as part of “future-proofing” their businesses (Envestnet). If firms can’t appeal to this next generation, they risk losing relevance at the very moment wealth is changing hands.

The Economics of Scale

At the same time, fee compression is squeezing margins as robo-advisors and digital-first entrants undercut traditional models (Envestnet). Meanwhile, compliance, staffing, and tech costs keep climbing.

Software provides the only sustainable path forward:

• Automating manual tasks like KYC checks, rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, billing, and reporting.

• Reducing error rates while improving auditability.

• Freeing advisors to focus on conversations and strategy rather than paperwork.

This isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about survival in a margin-constrained industry.

Personalization at Scale

Digital platforms also enable something previously impractical: true personalization at scale. Instead of steering clients into a handful of model portfolios, advisors can now:

• Customize allocations around each client’s tax profile, preferences, and constraints.

• Incorporate ESG filters or factor tilts.

• Dynamically rebalance portfolios based on real-time data.

Academic research suggests algorithmically assisted personalization — such as direct indexing with systematic tax-loss harvesting — can improve after-tax outcomes. More importantly, it strengthens each client’s sense that their portfolio is uniquely theirs.

Automation of the Back Office

This is where the real leverage lies. Many of the most time-consuming, error-prone aspects of running an advisory business can now be automated:

Surveys confirm that advisors see automation as essential for scale, helping them reduce errors and serve more clients without expanding headcount (Accenture).

Reducing Friction Through Account Connectivity

Clients are often reluctant to transfer assets out of existing accounts at Robinhood, E*TRADE, or Coinbase. With modern aggregation tools, advisors can monitor and manage held-away accounts without requiring ACATS transfers.

This reduces friction for clients and gives advisors a complete financial picture. For firms, it opens up new engagement opportunities — advice is no longer limited to the assets under custody.

Data as a Strategic Asset

Every interaction in a digital platform generates data: client engagement patterns, onboarding bottlenecks, profitability by segment. Top-performing RIAs are already using this information to refine client service and operations continuously (Soaring Towers).

In a competitive industry, data-driven insights can be the edge that separates leaders from laggards.

Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Design from the client backward

• Map the entire journey, from first click to first 90 days.

• Eliminate redundant portals and logins.

2. Prioritize integration

• Use CRM as the system of record, with clean APIs into planning, portfolio, and compliance.

3. Automate mechanics, not judgment

• Rebalancing, billing, and reporting should be rules-based.

• Advisors should remain focused on coaching and context (Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha).

4. Stay compliant

• When managing held-away accounts, follow SEC custody rules to avoid inadvertent custody issues.

5. Train teams and appoint power users

• Adoption fails without ownership. Identify internal champions for core systems.

6. Keep the human in the loop

• The durable model is hybrid: software for scale, advisors for trust (Kitces).

The Shift Is Already Underway

• 86% of advisors use CRMs, 84% use financial planning tools, and over 50% use account aggregation. Adoption is near-universal in core categories (T3 Survey).

• Digital experience is a top driver of satisfaction for investors, ranking alongside fees and performance (JD Power).

• $124 trillion is set to transfer to heirs by 2048, a multi-decade tailwind for firms serving younger, digital-native clients (Cerulli).

The question isn’t whether the industry is digitizing. It’s how quickly firms can catch up.

Surmount’s View

At Surmount Wealth, we believe this hybrid, software-driven approach is the future of wealth management. Our platform was built from the ground up to help advisors:

• Connect custodied and held-away accounts in one view.

• Personalize portfolios with transparent, rules-based engines.

• Automate onboarding, billing, reporting, and compliance.

• Analyze engagement and profitability to run practices with data, not anecdotes.

We don’t just modernize the client portal — we modernize the entire advisory engine.

Conclusion

The advisory profession is at an inflection point. Digital-first expectations, demographic shifts, and margin pressure are accelerating the transition toward software-driven advice.

With the right strategy and stack, firms can:

• Attract and retain younger clients

• Scale profitably

• Deliver personalization at scale

• Automate the back office

• Redirect time to high-value client work

At Surmount, we’re building the tools that make this possible. If your firm is ready to embrace the software-driven era of advice, let's talk.