Financial advisor proposal generation technology has become a cornerstone in bridging financial planning with implementation, helping firms deliver a more personalized and engaging client experience. Let’s explore how firms are leveraging Envestnet’s Proposal tool as a competitive advantage, transforming their practices and delivering more impactful results for their clients.
What are key features of a strong investment proposal workflow?
As the natural step following a financial plan, a proposal brings that plan to life by transforming client goals into a personalized, actionable investment strategy.
A proposal follows a streamlined workflow designed to guide advisors from initial discovery to final delivery to their clients:
- Proposal properties: Begin by entering the essential details such as the household information, proposal type, and a custom proposal name.
- Risk and objective: Define your client’s target risk range and select their investment objective. This helps filter investment options to those that align with their risk tolerance and financial goals.
- Account strategy: Specify the proposal strategy, including custodian and registration type. Choose investment products that reflect your client’s style, time horizon, and objectives.
- Preview: Present a visual snapshot of the proposed investment products and the value they offer – designed to client engagement and action.
- Account setup: Configure account-level details such as security restrictions, cash preferences (e.g., dollar-cost averaging), and special instructions like reusing an existing account number.
- Fees: Review and confirm all applicable fees, including custody, sponsor, and advisor.
- Summary: View a high-level overview of the proposal and next steps.
- Documents: Send proposal documents electronically for e-signature or download them as PDF files for printing and manual signing.
More advanced tools, like Envestnet’s Proposal workflow, are unique in that their integration of advanced capabilities enhances both advisor efficiency and client personalization. These include:
- Tax Management Service Offering: Seamlessly incorporate tax-aware strategies.
- Sustainable Impact Investing Offering: Align proposals with clients’ values through ESG and impact-focused investment options.
- Optional Preview Document: Share a visual summary of the proposal before finalization to support client engagement and decision-making.
- RTQx (Express Risk Tolerance Questionnaire): Quickly assess client risk preferences with a streamlined, built-in questionnaire.
- Account-Level Funding Source Specification: Assign funding sources individually for each account, offering the ability to compare a client’s current portfolio against their current portfolio and understand tax consequences of the proposed investment strategy.
- Inline Product Research & Advanced Search: Access real-time product research and use advanced filters to build or refine models directly within the workflow.
- Product Cost Visibility: View cost details during product selection to ensure transparency and alignment with client expectations.
What criteria should firms prioritize in a proposal tool?
A modern, comprehensive proposal tool can be a powerful differentiator and a catalyst for client acquisition. It aligns the client’s unique needs and objectives with thoughtfully selected investment solutions.
When evaluating a proposal tool, a firm should consider the following key capabilities:
- Comprehensive choice
Ensure the tool offers access to a wide range of programs and products to support any client scenario. It should enable evaluation of risk profiles and investment objectives to appropriately source and recommend tailored investment solutions.
- Asset consolidation
Look for functionality that allows simplified asset discovery and integration into proposals and client reporting. The ability to manage and adjust strategies from a centralized platform, regardless of asset location, is essential for holistic planning.
- Client collaboration
Select a tool that promotes personalized and interactive engagement. It should support the presentation of educational content to enhance client understanding and empower informed decision-making.
- Competitive edge
A modern proposal tool should streamline the entire workflow—from data prefill and analysis to onboarding and implementation. Reducing manual data entry and eliminating redundant steps enables teams to operate more efficiently and deliver results quickly.
- Seamless integration
A proposal tool should integrate seamlessly with your existing technology stack — including financial planning software, CRM systems, and custodian platforms. For example, Envestnet’s proposal tool integrates with MoneyGuide to pull in the client’s accounts and risk scores, enabling a more cohesive experience.
Envestnet Proposal tools for enterprises: What sets it apart for advisors and their clients?
Envestnet’s modernized proposal tool enhances advisor capabilities with a streamlined, flexible workflow that adapts to a wide range of planning needs. Whether an advisor prefers a quick setup or a more in-depth approach to portfolio customization, the tool adjusts seamlessly to their style, offering access to a broad selection of managed products and models.
The refreshed interface delivers an enhanced user experience by simplifying navigation and accelerating proposal creation, freeing advisors to focus on client engagement and strategy. The proposal document itself has also been upgraded with a sleek, modern design and robust customization options. Firms can now apply custom colors across pages to ensure a consistent, professional look, while advisors can upload and configure personalized content (such as bios, educational resources, and other firm-specific materials) to create a richer, more relevant experience for clients.
What does the future of Envestnet’s Wealth Proposal tool look like?
Our exciting tech roadmap is packed with innovations designed to empower advisors through smarter data integration, enhanced analytics, and streamlined workflows—driving greater impact and flexibility at every step. Looking ahead, we’re focused on:
- Integration: Deepening connections across Envestnet’s suite of tools to deliver a more seamless and intelligent advisor experience.
- Data integration and insight generation: Providing meaningful, timely, and actionable insights at critical decision points.
- Enhanced portfolio analytics: Enabling advisors to identify potential issues and clearly demonstrate the value of proposed strategies.
- Workflow flexibility and efficiency: Delivering a faster, more flexible experience—especially when opening accounts outside the proposal workflow.
As an adaptive wealthtech leader, Envestnet is committed to delivering a proposal experience that not only evolves with advisors’ needs but also sets them apart in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Learn more about what makes our tool unique, or schedule a demo, at www.envestnet.com/wealth-management/proposal-tool
