It’s no secret that advisors would prefer to work with the latest developments in front-office technology to maximize their efficiency, reduce their costs, and scale their business. Their firms also seek similar outcomes, yet decision-makers are often hesitant to invest in advisor technology. “It’s a tricky proposition,” or “It’ll take years before we see a return on investment,” is said by some, to which we reply, “Wanna bet?”
Meet Univeris Advisor—our portfolio management solution that enables the outcomes advisors expect from technology. As you’ll see from the case study below, an investment in Univeris Advisor not only gives time back to advisors but also pays for itself and produces a return on investment (ROI) in just one year. Keep reading to understand how and why Univeris Advisor may be well worth the investment.
Use our calculator to estimate annual savings when using Univeris Advisor
Business Case: What’s Five Minutes Worth from an Advisor’s Perspective
Every minute an advisor spends on a repetitive or manual task is a minute that could be spent on a more productive endeavour. It’s why advisors continually look for ways to save time and increase their efficiency. Take portfolio rebalancing as an example. Without an automated portfolio management system, an advisor spends 60 minutes, on average, to rebalance one portfolio per client. Let’s say an advisor manages a $20-million book with a 100-basis-point turn rate, putting their gross revenue before grid at $200,000 per year. This advisor works eight hours a day for 232 days per year (assuming 20 vacation days and 11 statutory holidays), so the cost of their time is worth $1.80 per minute. Now let’s examine the capacity savings this advisor can expect from getting back a mere five minutes of their time per workday over the course of one year. The business case comes together quite easily.
By saving five minutes of their time leveraging Univeris Advisor, this advisor frees up $2,088 ($1.80 x 5 minutes x 232 days) worth of capacity in the implementation year alone. The annual cost to license Univeris Advisor, however, is significantly less than $2,000.* This means that within their first year of using the technology, the advisor recoups their investment cost and is actually generating ROI. In other words, the advisor is ahead in net savings and now has more free time to earn additional revenue at the same rate. Over time, the compounding effect on productivity gains could add up to considerable revenue for the advisor.
In reality, Univeris Advisor saves advisors far more than five minutes in their workdays. Our automated portfolio management capabilities reduce the amount of time it takes to complete tasks from hours to minutes, thus helping advisors work smarter, not harder. Going back to portfolio rebalancing, let’s assume an advisor rebalances 100 client portfolios twice a year. Without technology, this advisor spends 60 minutes rebalancing one portfolio per client, or the equivalent of 25 workdays, to rebalance 200 portfolios a year. With Univeris Advisor, automation helps the advisor complete a rebalance in 10 minutes, thereby taking only 4.2 workdays to do the same amount of work! This means that the advisor has just freed up 21 days of annual capacity to focus on other priorities and higher-value activities. At this rate, if the advisor rebalances only two portfolios a month, then their investment in Univeris Advisor has already paid for itself.
Business Case: What’s Five Minutes Worth from a Firm’s Perspective
In today’s environment, firms are looking for ways to do more at less cost. Let’s say the advisor in the above example works for a company with 500 advisors in total and all advisors have identical business economics: each manages a $20-million book at a 100-basis-point turn rate, with gross revenue before grid at $200,000 per year. The advisors work eight hours a day for 232 days per year, pegging their per-minute value at $1.80. The firm is considering an investment in Univeris Advisor to improve the front-end experience for its salesforce and save time in their day-to-day processes. The firm signs a one-year contract to use Univeris Advisor, with a one-time implementation cost.
By giving back five minutes of time to every advisor over the year, the firm saves $1,044,000 ($2,088 in savings per advisor x 500 advisors) by leveraging Univeris Advisor. The firm’s cost to license the technology, however, is significantly less than $900,000. Even with an implementation cost, the firm still nets efficiency gains by the end of the year.
A Few Minutes with Univeris Advisor Pays for Itself
It’s hard to deny the financial benefits that come with using technology—and the case study drives the point home: an investment in Univeris Advisor can pay for itself and generate ROI in just one year. It also offers other benefits such as portfolio monitoring and rebalancing, analytics, modelling, and reporting to help you provide a high level of service to clients. If you’re looking to add these capabilities to your business, then Univeris Advisor could be a worthwhile investment. Please contact us today and we’ll discuss your needs together.
What’s Five Minutes Worth to You?
See how much you can save by leveraging Univeris Advisor, assuming you work 232 days a year at eight hours a day.
Enter your gross revenue before grid
Your time per minute is worth
Your expected annual savings capacity
(based on freeing up five minutes per workday)
* Pricing for Univeris Advisor is available as a stand-alone product and as part of an enterprise-level solution. Multi-advisor and multi-year licence discounts may apply. Please contact Sales for more information.
