The financial services firm Morningstar Inc. on Monday debuted Enterprise Analytics, a suite of dashboards that identifies valuable business intelligence based on firmwide activities.
The three dashboards available on Morningstar's Advisor Workstation include intel such as proposals that may pose a regulatory risk, month-over-month trends in proposal volume, the breakdown of favored asset classes and the ability to compare activity to industry benchmarks.
“Investor needs are changing as they navigate opportunities brought upon by fast-moving technological developments, increases in investment choice, wealth transfer between generations and the need for sound advice,” said Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor.
The firm also published new research, based on discussions with more than 600 financial advisers and wealth managers across the country, to reveal trends in their offerings, how they spend their time and where they are looking for help.
Among the findings:
- Advisers are responding to client needs and an uncertain market by offering more products in the form of alternative assets — cryptocurrencies, structured products, liquid alternatives, REITs, private debt and private equity — which make up between 14% and 19% of their total assets under management.
- Advisers spend an average of 20 hours per week on client-focused activities.
- About 27% of advisers intend to expand their offerings in the next 12 months, with “sustainability advice” and “education planning” leading the way as the top new services they say they will explore.