Clients are increasingly demanding holistic financial planning rather than investment advice, and advisors should adapt their practices accordingly, executives at Univeris Corp. said on Monday.

At a daylong summit in Toronto, Richard Binnendyk, executive vice president of Univeris, said the industry is undergoing an evolution. He pointed out many aspects of advisors’ day-to-day operations that have changed in the past two decades, from the products they sell and the technology they use to the way they interact with clients.

“We’ve seen an evolution of the advisor practice over the last 15 or 20 years,” he said.

He noted that members of the industry have gone from calling themselves mutual fund salespeople to investment advisors to financial advisors, reflecting the changing nature of the business. He believes that the industry is moving towards a much more holistic approach, and that members of the industry will eventually identify themselves as “life advisors”.

“That’s really about becoming more involved in the client, more involved in their day-to-day financial situation, offering more services,” Binnendyk said.

Advisors are also facing a client base that is changing rapidly, as aging clients begin to retire and younger generations begin to seek out advice. Generation Y is set to move into the workforce in a major way in the next decade. By 2020, Binnendyk said Generation Y would make up 70% of the workforce, while aging baby boomers will comprise just 40%.

As a result, advisors must cater their services to this younger generation, which tends to value transparency, efficiency, technology and convenience.

“The advisors has to understand what’s important to that generation,” he said.

Embracing technology will be particularly important as this demographic shift occurs, according to Binnendyk. He expects advisors to increasingly embrace such tools as tablet computers, smart phones, social networking and Skype video conferencing in their day-to-day operations.

Advisors must learn to enhance their clients relationships through technology, conducting business in a mobile, efficient and automated way.

IE