The wealth management industry has seen steady growth over the last decade – and advice has been the engine driving it. Revenue generated from fee-based advisory relationships in the US is estimated to have grown from approximately $150 billion in 2015 to $260 billion in 2024.1
One reason is that as clients get older, they seek more holistic financial advice.1 While the advice itself may vary, one thing is clear: Investors prefer to get advice from a human.2 Studies also show that clients prefer to work with advisors who seek to understand their lifestyle and goals, and they want financial plans to reflect this understanding.3
Meeting these expectations can be challenging for advisors short on time, but financial planning software can help. By centralizing client data and enabling more comprehensive, goal-oriented planning, a financial planning platform can enable advisors to engage more deeply with clients and deliver the kind of holistic guidance clients are seeking.
With so many options on the market though, selecting the right financial planning software isn't always easy. The steps below provide a practical framework RIAs can use to evaluate their options and identify the best fit for their practice.
Step 1: Evaluate your planning philosophy
Financial planning software is often categorized as cash-based or goals-based. So before evaluating financial planning software, you’ll want to determine which type of planning approach you’ll be taking with your clients.
Cash flow planning
A granular oriented approach focused on day-to-day financial management. Cash flow planning meticulously tracks clients’ income and expenses to help advisors create detailed cash flow projections and adjust resource allocation based on real-time data. It’s particularly well-suited for clients with advanced estate planning needs, pre-retirement cash flow considerations, and/or intricate business owner structures, as well as financial planning for high-net-worth (HNW) to ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals. The drawback to this approach is that it can be time consuming and data intensive for both advisors and clients.
Goal-based planning
As its name suggests, goals-based planning is based on identifying a client’s goals, such as retirement, education funds, or travel, and then building a plan around those goals. It begins with envisioning the end goal, allocating resources for achieving that goal, and adjusting for savings, spending priorities, risk, and timing. This approach can be ideal for clients who know their financial goals, want to actively shape their plans, and are interested in seeing the bigger picture. Because this planning experience is centered around client priorities, probability of success, and the kind of human conversation that drives client engagement, it can be a natural fit for firms focused on scale.
Modern financial planning tools blend cash-flow and goals-based planning
When it comes to cash flow vs. goals-based planning, advisors don’t necessarily have to pick one or the other. The best financial planning software supports both, allowing advisors to address detailed cash flow questions while keeping long-term goals front and center.
Step 2: Determine if the planning software meets the needs of your firm and clients
Beyond supporting your planning philosophy, the software needs to meet the practical demands of your firm and the clients you serve. When evaluating software, you’ll want to ask the following questions:
- Does it provide data insights to further your practice? Strategic analytics and insights can help you surface planning opportunities or held-away assets that you can proactively discuss with your clients.
- Is it scalable and adaptable? Can software support prospects and underserved clients without a financial plan, as well as for your current high-net-worth clients with more complex needs? The best platforms meet you where you are today while allowing you to expand planning across a broader segment of your book as your firm grows. With a tool like Dash, advisors can engage prospects and clients earlier, and scale planning across a broader segment of your book. Don’t forget to evaluate features that provide you with efficiency and scale. With just one click in MoneyGuide, SuperSolve automatically generates Plan results in the Confidence Zone by adjusting retirement ages, goals, and additional savings. Since 2008, SuperSolve has been streamlining the planning process and updating recommended scenarios effortlessly for advisors.
- Is it customizable? Flexibility and deep customization are key. Look for a platform where you can adjust capital market and tax assumptions, access an assistant license at no extra cost, manage report settings, and tailor the end-client experience.
- What tools are included? The tools provided will shape both the complexity of plans you can deliver and the efficiency of your workflows. Consider whether the software offers modeling, scenario planning, tax analysis, and other capabilities to enhance your practice. For retirement income modeling, solutions like MoneyGuide are worth evaluating, and for complex cash flow and estate planning capabilities, solutions like Wealth Studios can provide a reliable foundation.
Step 3: Evaluate the client experience
The client portal is one of the top factors advisors consider when selecting planning software. Because it’s often the main way clients interact with their financial plan outside of advisor meetings, the experience it delivers matters.
Before you make the final decision, take a close look at the client portal and ask the following questions:
- Are the visuals engaging or overly complex?
- Can clients interact with their plan and explore “what if” scenarios on their own?
- Is the experience mobile-friendly, with access to key information on the go?
Step 4: Explore how the software integrates with your tech stack
Client experience and advisor efficiency are closely tied to how well your systems work together. Financial planning software should work seamlessly with the rest of your tech stack, including your CRM, custodian, trading tools, and billing platforms. Gaps in integration can lead to duplicate data entry and manual workarounds that waste valuable time.
When evaluating integration capabilities, ask if the platform connects with the tools you already use – and how deep those connections go. A surface-level integration that simply passes data between systems is very different from a deeply embedded solution that enables a seamless, end-to-end workflow. Envestnet solutions are designed to work together, with Envestnet integrations connecting a firm’s CRM to financial planning, portfolio management capabilities into a unified experience for advisors and clients alike.
Step 5: Consider training and support
Even the right financial planning software won’t deliver value if advisors don’t feels confident using it. Training and support play a critical role in adoption and long‑term success, especially as firms onboard new advisors or expand planning across more clients.
When evaluating software, see whether the provider you’re considering offers:
- An on-demand support center with access to training videos, user guides, and help articles.
- A dedicated support team where you can interact with a real person, not a chatbot. Look at awards – Envestnet’s MoneyGuide team won a Stevie Award for customer service, for example – and also consider customer testimonials to determine how well a vendor will support your team over the long term.
- In-person training events and virtual bootcamps.
- Complimentary CFP continuing education (CE) courses to keep advisors current.
Consider MoneyGuide for financial planning
MoneyGuide is one of the most widely adopted financial planning platforms in the industry – and for good reason. Built around a goals-based planning philosophy, it's designed to make the planning conversation more engaging, more intuitive, and more meaningful for both advisors and clients. Here are a few key areas where MoneyGuide stands out:
Comprehensive planning. MoneyGuide’s flexible platform empowers advisors to deliver the right level of planning for each client – whether that means goals-based or cash-flow planning, foundational budgeting, comprehensive retirement planning, or sophisticated strategies for ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Client engagement. MoneyGuide's interactive features allow clients to interactively explore their financial plan and adjust variables like retirement age, spending goals, and savings rates to see how different decisions affect their outcomes.
Ease of use and scalability. MoneyGuide’s intuitive interface is built to reduce the learning curve. Plus, with 200+ integrations, you can seamlessly incorporate diverse data points and execute plans efficiently, whether you’re serving a single client or catering to a large group with different financial goals.
Support and education. From an award-winning customer support team comprised of FPQP® and CFP® professionals to the ongoing CFP continuing education courses, MoneyGuide invests in helping advisors get the most out of the platform, long after onboarding is complete.
"MoneyGuide’s Client Services team consistently goes out of their way to help me model sophisticated planning strategies and scenarios in the software, providing insights that enabled me to develop more effective recommendations."
Becca Phillips, FPQP, Associate Advisor
See why MoneyGuide is the financial planning software of choice and learn how it can help you collaborate more closely with clients on achieving the goals that are most important to them.
Financial planning software as a foundation for growth
The right financial planning software won't just streamline your workflows – it will deepen your client relationships, sharpen your planning conversations, and position your firm for long-term growth. Use the steps in this guide to evaluate your options and find the platform that's the right fit for your practice.
Learn more about Envestnet | MoneyGuide and schedule a demo today.
