Hoping to Scale? Put Fears of the Tech Boogey Man to Rest

In this blog, we’ll discuss the frustrations advisors have with technology, along with misconceptions about the resources needed (more staff) to achieve the outcomes desired. We also explain how to take advantage of recent advances in technology to streamline your tech stack, so you can put fears of the Tech Boogey Man to bed—for good.

Key Takeaways:

• Fragmented, legacy tech creates drag that slows down operations, frustrates teams, and puts client experiences at risk.
• Common fears about upgrading technology—complex integrations, long implementations, additional staff requirements—can now be put to rest.
• Modern platforms that can unify data into a single source of truth make it possible to leverage AI and LLMs effectively.
• Scaling doesn’t require adding headcount. With unified data and automated workflows, RIAs can do more with the teams they already have.
• The right technology isn’t just an efficiency play—it’s a growth engine that expands margins, strengthens client relationships, and boosts firm valuation.

How did wealth tech get so twisted and scary?

There’s no question, technology has played a key role in helping advisors streamline operations and improve client communications and support. Today, firms frequently have multiple tools in their tech stacks (financial planning, portfolio management, risk tools, trading, compliance, CRM, marketing, onboarding, accounting, etc.), adding new tech to perform different tasks over time.

The trouble for most advisory firms is that it can be challenging, if not impossible, to get all of this fragmented technology to communicate and share data across platforms. Siloed data doesn’t do anyone any good. In fact, advisors who don’t “get it together” risk being out leveraged by savvy RIA firms that do.

What’s holding RIAs back from upgrading technology?

For many advisors it’s the Tech Boogey Man, which strikes fear in and paralyzes advisors for a number of reasons. Some of the common reasons RIAs put off implementing new technology include fears of Integration nightmares, finding time to install new tech, and justifying the employee time and resources they believe are necessary to install and manage new technology.

These fears are valid from the perspective that many RIAs have experienced these issues in the past or heard horror stories from colleagues. Our clients also tell us that the cost and potential for disruption of existing workflows give them pause. Again, valid fears when you look in the rearview but fears that can be overcome when you consider the advanced tech solutions available today (more on that below), along with the ROI of investing in new technology.

What risks do RIAs face if they delay modernizing technology?

When data is siloed and technology doesn’t communicate, it stifles operations teams because it takes more time to track down and analyze data, create reports, respond to clients, and so on. Clinging to outdated, fragmented technology can also make it difficult for RIAs to fully leverage data to make the optimum recommendations for clients.

This technology drag is a burden on RIAs and their staff; and, most importantly, it can make it harder for advisors to clearly see what’s important to their clients or the risks they face. RIAs who don’t modernize their tech stacks may struggle with:

• Operational inefficiencies.
• Client acquisition and retention woes.
• Employee acquisition and retention challenges.
• Being able to scale at the pace desired.
• Getting a good valuation (buyers seek out firms with solid tech stacks in place).

Won’t AI fix everything?

Anyone who has attended a wealth management conference lately will tell you that AI is the topic du jour and advisors need to hop on the AI bandwagon pronto if they want to compete and scale. While AI can do amazing things, if your tech stack and associated data are disjointed, AI tools and LLMs will have limited views of the data available, which can prevent these powerhouses from providing accurate insight or truly streamlining operations. Data needs to be unified first. In tech speak, this is called a data lake.

How a data lake can help streamline your tech stack

What is a data lake? A data lake is a repository of large volumes of data of varying types. The beauty of data lakes is they can store endless variations of raw data in any format, from unstructured data to semi-structured data to structured data.

Just think about all of the different types of data your technology collects today. From client intake forms, portfolio reviews, and CRM prospecting data to reams of historical market performance data, sales figures, billing history, and more.

Once you move your data into a data lake, AI and LLMs can do their jobs

As previously stated, most advisors today operate with a fragmented tech stack and data sets that typically don’t communicate very well. That’s why Amplify built its platform on an AI-native data lake, which is able to seamlessly pull data from multiple sources and deposit them into a data lake.

The Amplify Platform also cleans and unifies data into a single source of truth, providing deep insights and automating workflows across the advisor journey from client acquisition to investment management. Unless your platform can do all of this, the full power of AI is just hype and won’t be a reality for your firm.

If you modernize your tech stack, you won’t need to hire more staff to scale

A common misconception some RIA firms have is the belief that scaling requires hiring more people to prospect and manage new clients. It sounds logical—more clients, more complexity, more staff. But the truth is, with the right platform, you don’t need to add headcount to scale.

When data is unified and workflows are automated, your existing team gains the capacity to do more with less. Tasks that used to demand hours of manual effort—like reconciling client information across systems, generating compliance reports, or processing billing—can now run seamlessly in the background.

Instead of hiring additional staff to juggle inefficiencies, RIAs can free up their current team to focus on higher-value activities: serving clients, pursuing growth opportunities, and strengthening relationships. That’s the real path to scalability—smarter systems, not bigger payrolls.

Amplify Technology, LLC (“Amplify”) is not an SEC-registered investment adviser. Its services are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice or recommendation. Please consult a registered investment adviser before using Amplify and its services.