Over the years, I have seen financial advisers get caught up in “shiny new object syndrome.” It’s a malady that seems to spread every time major conferences have big, bustling exhibitor halls full of vendors showing off their latest innovations. Advisers return to their offices with big ideas for a total tech-driven transformation. But more often than not, the new technology struggles to stick the landing. It ends up half-implemented or ignored altogether.
The financial-advice industry is far from alone in dealing with shiny new object syndrome. But we tend to lag behind other industries in tech adoption and innovation. It doesn’t help matters that our profession is heavily regulated and works within strict compliance guardrails. In short, we’re especially susceptible to promises of tech-enabled shortcuts. We’re all constantly bombarded with the “next big thing” in technology: the promise of transforming our operations, making us more efficient, and ultimately, more profitable. But not every shiny new object is as good as it seems.
