The “era of platform promiscuity” is coming to an end, according to advice business consultancy Finura Group’s latest Wealth Tech Predictions report.
The latest version of the annual report said multiple platform usage is currently driven by “legacy, managing best interest duty and diversifying operational risk”.
Research from Investment Trends found advice practices were using an average of three platforms, but Finura anticipates a move to “platform monogamy”.
In 2024, the group found there was a doubling in firms indicating a preference to use only one platform from 6 per cent to 12 per cent. This was due to not only cutting costs but also about creating a singular advice ecosystem “where data flows seamlessly and advice tech comes pre-integrated”.
Finura managing director Peter Worn told a webinar on Friday that a survey of over 150 practices found that businesses have many platforms because it’s too hard and not cost effective to move the clients.
“If [platform monogamy] gains traction, I think we’re going to see one of the great arms races of all time to consolidate platform usage across the 15,000 advisers in Australia,” Worn said.
The report predicted that, to be competitive, platforms need to be able to deliver in multiple areas including delivery of advice, practice management and client service.
In October of last year, Worn told Professional Planner that, while they would encourage businesses to invest more in technology, they cautioned against having too many systems. Particularly for smaller businesses, staff can only adequately handle two or three operating systems at most.
The report said there will be “significant implications for legacy platforms lacking sustainable competitive advantages”.
Advice tech going slow
The firm predicted that advice technology is anticipated to remain in “neutral gear” amid a shrinking market of advisers with limited budgets – the group said advisers spend roughly 3 per cent of revenue on software.
“In reality, we have a lot of tech vendors sort of competing over quite a small pie…and the trouble is that pie is not growing,” Worn said.
The Finura report predicted AI services will be the “business opportunity of the year”. However, it clarified the real opportunity wouldn’t be in creating new AI tools but rather in providing a solution to the current challenges surrounding the implementation of new technologies.
“We don’t think it’s like building AI software,” Worn told the webinar.
“This whole idea around services and software versus software as a service, software is fundamentally going to replace a lot of services that exist today, particularly in labour markets.”
However, user skill will be the biggest barrier to the implementation of AI services.
“We’ve got to retrain an entire workforce [that’s] not going to happen overnight,” Worn said.
However, the report predicted “Agentic AI” to be the business technology of the year to improve efficiencies. “It will be AI agents functioning as virtual team members. AI developers such as Zetaris are building AI agents to augment human routine processes,” the report explained.
The report described “agentic AI” as “cognitive assistants that learn from each interaction, creating a continuously moving cycle of operational excellence”.
Marketing technology of the year is predicted to be podcasts and YouTube, with both mediums the most popular among advice firms for adviser marketing and client education.
“We have a client here in Melbourne that does podcasts and YouTube,” Worn said. “They get hundreds of leads a week. It’s awesome to see.”
In with the out crowd
The report has also predicted industry funds will start making moves towards insourcing and fixing current systems after the regulators made it clear the funds cannot outsource ‘responsibility’ for member services.
“The prediction is massive amount of insourcing,” Worn told the webinar. “We’ve already seen Aware [Super] do this. At the moment, we’re hearing rumours across the market that others are considering this as well.”
As a result, the report predicts more super funds will be under pressure to inspect their own technological capabilities. The report suggests funds struggling with operational challenges should focus on fixing issues within their systems before implementing further innovation.
This is evident in the case of troubled industry fund Cbus, sued by ASIC in November 2024 due to alleged repeated failures in handling insurance claims. The prudential regulator alleges over 10,000 Cbus members have been affected by insurance claims regarding death benefits and total and permanent disability (TPD) taking over 90 days to be processed. The financial loss is estimated to be $20 million.
In December, MUFG Pension and Market Services (formerly Link) chief executive Vivek Bhatia declined to say he agreed whether Cbus chair Wayne Swan’s accusation that the claims processing delays were its fault.
The report also said only 23 per cent of firms are “happy” with the support they receive from their primary technology partner. Furthermore, fewer than 20 per cent of firms review their technology relationships regularly despite technology ranking as the second most critical issue after talent.
It predicted a potential “tipping point” where firms proactively seek new partners to meet their tech needs.
Another prediction mentioned in the report regards private equity ownership re-shaping tech, which has already made inroads in other parts of the advice chain.
Worn said private equity firms “definitely see technology as the critical lever to make the businesses more scalable, more cost efficient”.
“It is not unrealistic to expect that we will see tighter relationships between private equity licensing and technology moving in the future, because the only way you really get scale is by having common operating platforms across multiple businesses,” Worn said.
2024 yielded mixed results
Looking back to last year’s predictions, Finura’s 2024 predictions were a mixed bag with some coming true and others either only partially right or incorrect.
Finura conceded the anticipated pricing reset of tech didn’t come to fruition. While many tech providers implemented fee increases, the predicted shift in market dynamics did not happen.
“We still haven’t really had a fundamental shift in how technology is distributed and serviced in the market, and nor have we had really a fundamental shift in how even technology is priced,” Worn said.
The prediction of AI washing – a misleading marketing tactic consisting of promoting a product by overstating or exaggerating the role of AI – was only partially accurate. The 14 startups Finura tracked through the year utilised AI mostly via OpenAI or open-source large language models (known as LLMs) but none used “unique or proprietary AI technology beyond moderate levels of prompt engineering”.
AI washing was much more prevalent in the US with the Securities and Exchange Commission charges against Delphia and Global Predictions. Australian regulators kept an eye on potential AI washing and therefore Australia did not see the same level as a country like the US.
Worn told the webinar they “probably saw a little less AI washing than what [they] thought” despite the barriers to entry for AI being really low.
Last year’s prediction that AI would overpromise and underdeliver was also considered “partially right”. Research revealed 35 per cent of users had abandoned their AI tools within six months. Furthermore, Microsoft Copilot Pro adoption was surprisingly low with only 4 per cent of practices across a poll of 50 adopting the AI tool.
Finura head of consulting Danni Le Grande told the webinar the beginning of 2024 saw “real excitement” that AI was going to solve all problems and create an instant Statement of Advice.
“The reality of where AI actually fits into your advice process is [that] it’s still a tool in the tech stack, still something that has to be considered and I think we’re kind of realising that now,” Le Grande said.
The anticipated tech alliances was mostly incorrect, with the exception being the Elementa-CFS partnership. Alliances are certainly possible in 2025 – Finura research also showed 78 per cent of advisers want more integration between their core systems, potentially indicating a higher demand for technology partnerships.
Positively, some of Finura’s 2024 predictions were accurate. The report predicted digital advice would “make ripples, not waves”. Despite five super funds kickstarting digital advice initiatives – Hostplus, HESTA, UniSuper, CFS and AMP – the impact was relatively minor. Finura still expects these funds will lead the way.
Data proved Finura’s prediction that startups would both “pivot and zombie”. In Australian wealth technology, there were three companies entering administration and four moving into ‘hibernation’ mode.
The private equity wave rolled in with force, proving Finura’s prediction. Developments including Link’s privatisation, Perpetual’s ongoing buyout saga and Insignia’s private equity bidding war were all part of private equity’s entry.
“We’re talking about big PE firms who want to invest in our market,” Worn said. “That should signal to a lot of people that Australian wealth management is a really great business to be in.”
The era of “platform monogamy” is an exciting and much-needed shift for financial planning businesses. Simplifying to a single platform acknowledges a core principle of effective management: keep it simple. Each additional platform complicates operations, increases staff workload, and raises the potential for costly errors.
A single, integrated back-office system not only reduces complexity but also enables seamless data flow – provided the data is accurate and well-maintained. Clean, consolidated data is the bedrock of an efficient business system, supporting better decision-making and scalable growth while enhancing client outcomes.
This shift also highlights the need for standardisation and strong operational foundations. Whether through clear procedures, robust CRMs, or streamlined workflows, creating a well-documented business system is essential. Such systems not only simplify operations but also prepare businesses to integrate advanced technologies like AI effectively. AI’s true value lies in complementing an established foundation, not replacing it.
Consider McDonald’s success with a uniform franchise model. Each franchisee does not get to choose from multiple systems. Financial planning businesses can adopt the same simplicity and uniformity to drive scalability and efficiency and still give clients unique and customised advice. By focusing on creating clear processes and reducing operational complexity, firms can position themselves for sustainable, long-term success.