Advice firms are investing in technology, but adoption isn’t keeping up
This is article 4 in our 6-part series which explores the operational challenges shaping growth for wealth management firms across the UK. Developed from our work alongside ambitious firms, it brings together key themes, pressures, and priorities we’re seeing across the market.
For most firms, deciding which technology partner to work with tends to follow a logical approach. A firm migrates to a different back office system, launches a new platform, or invests in a new client app because the capability is there, and the business case makes sense. The harder questions come afterwards. Does it become part of how advisers and support teams actually work, and will they use it?
That gap between rollout and real usage is not limited to financial services. The UK Government’s Technology Adoption Review found that the UK ranked fifth in the Global Innovation Index 2024, but only twelfth for knowledge diffusion.¹ In other words, acquiring or developing technology is not the same as utilising it across an organisation.
Adoption weakens when the system sits outside the workflow
Most firms do not struggle with adoption because teams are resistant for the sake of it. The issue is usually more practical than that.
If a system feels slightly outside the normal flow of work, people start to work around it:
An adviser goes back to email because it feels quicker.
A support team member keeps a local process going because it is familiar.
A document is shared through an older route because it avoids an extra step.
That wider pattern is visible in adviser research too. NextWealth found that nearly 75% of advisers made changes to their technology over the year of 2024, yet only 26% said they were satisfied with their current tech stack.² That suggests the challenge is no longer just accessing technology, but whether it fits well enough into day-to-day processes to be used consistently.
Uneven adoption creates operational drag
Once usage becomes patchy, the firm starts carrying two main business processes at once: the process intended to run, and the process people actually follow.
That matters because inconsistent use can erode the value of the system very quickly. When communication happens partly inside the platform and partly outside it, visibility starts to fall. When some teams follow workflows but others bypass them, the model becomes harder to control. When documents are shared in the right place some of the time, but through side routes at others, the process becomes less consistent and repeatable.
FE fundinfo’s 2024 Financial Adviser study shows why firms keep investing despite this. It found that 55% of advisers had increased spending on technology over the previous year, and 40% planned to increase spending again over the next 12 months.³ The appetite to improve is clearly there. The harder part is turning that investment into processes that are actually followed.
Why rollout is not the same as adoption
A new technology system can be live and still not be central to how the firm operates.
This is reflected in Innovate UK Business Connect’s 2025 financial advice and wealth management report, which notes that even when technologies are implemented, many advice firms face challenges in using them effectively. The report says this uncertainty leads to suboptimal implementation and underutilisation of potential benefits.⁴
That is an important distinction. A rollout may be complete, training may have happened, and the system may be technically available. But if people still treat it as optional, the firm carries the cost of change without gaining the full operational benefit.
What stronger adoption looks like
Adoption improves when technology feels natural to use rather than like another layer of effort.
For wealth management firms, this usually means communication, document sharing, and client interaction happening in one place, within a process that feels intuitive enough to become the default. The goal is not to force behaviour through policy alone. It is to make the platform useful, connected, and relevant enough to the adviser process that people choose to use it consistently.
When that happens, the operational benefit becomes clearer. Processes are easier to oversee. Communication is easier to follow. The client experience becomes more consistent because the system is reinforcing the workflow rather than competing with it.
What this looks like in practice
Technology being launched and then used only occasionally is not what success looks like. Instead, technology should become part of the firm’s day to day operating model, particularly around secure communication, and other client facing workflows.
Moneyinfo clients, Town Close are a great example of what strong adoption looks like over time. As they put it:
“We’ve been on a journey with Moneyinfo and they are part of our future. It’s the way we do business now and I can’t imagine how we’d ever do it without them.”
Alan Flack, Town Close
In Town Close’s case, the use of Moneyinfo expanded over time from aggregated valuations into broader business processes and secure communications.
Ready to review your current setup now?
Book a discovery call to identify where visibility is limited, and see how Moneyinfo could support a more controlled and joined up client servicing model.
Peak Performance. Unlocked.
Sources:
¹ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6857e0995225e4ed0bf3ceb5/dsit_technology_adoption_review_web.pdf
² https://nextwealth.co.uk/financial-adviser-tech-key-trends-shaping-the-uk-financial-advice-industry-in-2024/
³ https://www.fefundinfo.com/insights/financial-advisers-increase-technology-spending-in-pursuit-of-operational-efficiency-and-client-engagement
⁴ https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Future-Finance-%E2%80%93-Technology-Insights-Series-Financial-Advice-and-Wealth-Management-compressed.pdf