Exploring the impact of technology and digitization on professional financial planning.
We live in a world that’s constantly reshaped by technological advancements and shifting consumer preferences. Digital innovation presents an opportunity to transform the financial planning profession and make financial advice accessible to more Canadians.
That’s why FP Canada™ and IQPF are teaming up on the Fintellect Initiative, to explore this key question:
How do we leverage new and emerging technologies to enhance the practice of professional financial planning and increase its accessibility for Canadians?
As consumers continue to embrace and adopt digital financial services, it’s incumbent on firms and industry organizations to understand how technology is changing the profession of financial planning. Although building trusted client relationships is still essential, we must also collectively strive to understand how technology can be leveraged to support the goal of enhancing financial wellness for all Canadians.
About Fintellect
The Fintellect Initiative has established a task force dedicated to exploring the impact of technology and digitization on professional financial planning. The task force is composed of a group of stakeholders with a diverse range of experience across the financial planning profession. Meet the members of the task force.
Our Journey
Phase 1 – Discovery and Planning
Phase 1 includes hosting workshops to explore potential research areas and understanding where FP Canada and IQPF can add value to the profession and to consumers.
Phase 2 – Research
During Phase 2, working groups will undertake detailed research in the key priority areas identified during Phase 1. This phase will involve active engagement with stakeholders through activities such as surveys, focus groups and interviews. The task force will share its research outcomes with relevant stakeholders to enhance the practice of professional financial planning.
Phase 3 – Turning Insights into Actions
Once the initial research is complete, the task force will focus on providing resources to enable practicing financial planners to leverage its research and findings. The task force will also explore how its learnings can be embedded into the strategies of key stakeholders such as industry firms, regulators, credentialling bodies and governments.
In the News:
Leveraging technology to serve your client
From Investment Executive: New technologies can improve financial planning and make it accessible to more Canadians, Fintellect panelists said at FP Canada’s 2022 Financial Planning Conference.
Technology: Imperative for financial planners to become “agents of change”
From Insurance Portal: Highlights from the Fintellect roundtable at FP Canada’s 2022 Financial Planning Conference.
Tough questions ahead in financial planning industry's tech journey
From Wealth Professional: Fintellect Task Force members lay out scale of wealth technology opportunity, challenges for advisors at FP Canada’s 2022 Financial Planning Conference.
Financial planning and digital transformation: It’s time to act
From Investment Executive: Tashia Batstone, President and CEO of FP Canada, explains why realizing technology’s full potential for the profession requires a thoughtful, proactive approach.
Leveraging technology to better serve Canadians
From FP Standard: Christopher Dewdney, Chair of the Fintellect Task Force, highlights the goals of the task force and the importance of this initiative.
Recent events:
At FP Canada's 2022 Financial Planning Conference, the following sessions explored the theme of technology and financial planning:
Money, Technology, and the Future of Authority
In his keynote, futurist Jesse Hirsh examined the ways that technology is changing our relationship with authority, exploring who we trust and how we plan for our future. Key points included the following:
- When it comes to new technologies and leveraging the internet to best effect, there’s a learning curve. The most successful planners in the years ahead are likely to be those who are as high up on the curve as possible.
- At a time when there’s no shortage of news coming at us through many different types of media, it’s important to think about the signals financial planners are putting out there. What signals are clients and potential clients picking up on?
- Human beings desire connection, even at a time when technology is playing a very significant role in our lives. When utilizing technology, planners should embrace humility, show respect, and ensure the messages they’re putting out there are widely accessible.
Fintellect Roundtable
During the Fintellect Roundtable, members of the Fintellect Task Force discussed the massive potential that technology holds for the financial planning profession. In particular, they highlighted the significant efficiencies that technology creates, which enables planners to serve more Canadians.
- As technology continues to evolve and impact the financial planning profession in different ways, it’s important for stakeholders from across the profession to play a role in shaping this evolving technology and the ways it’s used.
- “When it comes to the future development of technology, you’ve got a choice to make: you can either be one of the drivers, or you can be a passenger. If you elect to simply be a passenger, it’s going to take you wherever it takes you; it’s not necessarily going to be where you want to wind up,” said Neil Gross, Capital Markets Policy Consultant.
Videos from the conference will be published soon.