Advisors are spending 73% more time and resources to risk and compliance than they did previously, Fidelity found in a recent study of its advisor clients.
As a result of that shift, advisors are spending 19% less time on marketing and business development activities, and 10% less time on client service.
Fidelity's 2012 Executive Forum Poll, which was conducted during its Executive Forum in Scottsdale, Ariz., in April and May, surveyed 118 of its RIA and broker-dealer clients out of more than 350 who attended at the event.
The findings, which were released Thursday, also touched on investors’ sentiments, some of which go in the opposite direction of where advisors say they are headed. About 12% of those surveyed said that investors are more involved in the investment process. In another important finding, 64% of respondents said investors are more risk averse.
Digital media emerged as a way to address the need for greater transparency. About 7% of advisors said that using text and social media as a means to communicate was the third most significant change in investor behavior.
As for advisors and their relationship to technology, 34% believe that technology will be the primary force that drives industry innovation in the near term.
