Here's how to draw new clients into the fold more quickly

VRGL, Inc., of Dallas, Texas, which has just partnered with Bridge Financial Technology of Chicago, is bringing its technology to Canada this fall so more wealth management firms can automate more of their intake processes to provide better client attraction and retention.

“I’m advocating for this process to be a little more quantitative,” Josh Smith, VRGL’s co-founder and chief executive officer, told Wealth Professional. “Why can’t someone who is looking to evaluate a financial advisor be armed with more data? It doesn’t have to be highly complex, but the advisor can add more value by being more transparent when a client is transitioning from another location.”

Smith said his software will open opportunities for advisors because it can input the data from potential clients’ statements automatically and faster than inputting it by hand. That will allow the advisors to more rapidly develop comprehensive recommendations about what they would do with those assets if the clients joined them, and then track, and discuss, those assets with them later.