How to Strengthen Client Communications With Account View 2.0

LPL Financial Advisor Chris Demarest shares how using the modern and mobile-friendly portal is making an impact on his clients—and his practice

In today’s fast-paced world, we use technology as part of our everyday lives to connect and build stronger relationships. As a result, investors now expect to have their financial information easily accessible from anywhere, anytime, on any device. Now, you, the financial advisor, have a way to provide this kind of experience for your clients at LPL through the Account View 2.0 client web portal and app.

Christopher Demarest, CFP® at Blackridge Financial has seen the desire for connection through technology with his own clients. He explains, “Clients want to interact with you on their own schedule and enhancing that portal is paramount to their satisfaction.”

To provide his clients the financial experience they expect, Demarest decided to upgrade them to the new Account View 2.0 client portal and app. “It’s like a rocket ship compared to the legacy Account View,” he said. “The look and feel is totally different, and the updated dashboard makes it easier to quickly see how my clients are doing. As a result, my clients feel more connected, and I believe it makes for stickier, stronger relationships.”

Transitioning clients to the new portal and app

Demarest began introducing a handful of his clients to Account View 2.0 last year and has received positive feedback so far. “My clients have told me they like the sleek look and feel of the new version of Account View, as well as more immediate access to their accounts via the mobile app,” he said. Because of the great client reaction, his firm is in the process of moving all clients to 2.0 by the early part of this year and have been using annual client meetings to discuss the transition, ensuring clients know what to expect and making for a smooth switchover.

Customizing the portal to enhance the client experience

Demarest believes a customized experience is key to driving stronger connections, and Account View 2.0 puts advisors in the driver’s seat and completely in control of the client experience. He’s taken advantage of this capability and has used the branding and customization feature in the admin portal to ensure clients remember who’s providing their all-important financial information—so they call immediately when something arises. “I want my clients to see my picture and know they can email me or reach out anytime,” Demarest explained. “I find having a customized portal keeps my team and our services top of mind for clients—because they’re seeing our information every day when they log in to view their accounts.”

What some advisors may not realize is that you can even further customize Account View 2.0 by deciding on a per-client basis what investors can access and view. You can add or remove capabilities like asset allocation, goals, document sharing, performance, and others. Perhaps some clients should have access to the full complement of resources, whereas others may just need the basic performance information.

Using integrations to provide holistic views to clients

Demarest notes that enabling clients to easily access all their financial information in one portal—instead of asking them to go to multiple places to view it—is not only convenient for them, but can also help them feel more connected to the strategy he’s built alongside them. And Account View 2.0 has several integrations with other tools, which advisors can leverage to bring clients’ financial details together in one place, providing a seamless experience.

For example, you can share personalized recommendations with clients using LPL’s Client Goals tool, and bring in financial planning details through Account View’s WealthVision integration. Your clients can even bring their tax information into the tool using its Turbo Tax integration, which enables them to choose to go paperless for all their tax-related documents. This is extremely convenient for your clients—and it provides another layer of security since they don’t have printed documents laying around.

So far, Demarest has used the WealthVision integration, as he feels it reminds clients of their overall strategy—and what they’re driving toward together. “It’s great that it’s integrated directly into Account View 2.0, so my clients can see their financial plan anytime they want to,” he said.

“All the tools talk to each other, which is so important. It ensures my clients, my team, and I are all looking at the same, most up-to-date information and data.”

In fact, when building technology at LPL, one of the guiding principles is to ensure the quality of the data and that the information is accurate and as up to date as possible. Account View 2.0 has data updated every 20 minutes, so you and your clients always have the most recent information.

Looking toward the future of self-service

“I want to keep pushing the limits with technology, learning more about what’s available to me, and using the latest features, because as soon as you stop moving forward, especially with technology, you’re dead in the water,” said Demarest. In fact, he has some ideas about what he’d like to be able to do with the Account View 2.0 portal in the future. “I want my clients to be able to make edits to their profiles on their own, and then we both get a notification of the changes made,” he said.

“I also want to be able to post a video message or blog content for my clients to engage with, right in the app. That type of capability would not only further streamline my client communications, but it could also trigger a client to reach out to me, growing that relationship.”

His innovative feedback is exactly what we love to hear from advisors, and is, in fact, in line with what we have planned for the tool this year. Clients will soon have more self-service options, such as ACH transfers and mobile check deposit, as well as household paperless options. Later, advisors will be able to post communications and content in the app, giving you the ability to easily connect with clients in new ways.

Our goal is to give you the tools and technology to enhance your client relationship and provide you both a best-in-class experience. “My clients and I are really enjoying the Account View 2.0 features today, but were even more excited about what’s to come,” Demarest said. “Technology is critical these days, especially when it comes to digital connection and communication—and Account View is at the center of that for my practice.”

About Account View

Account View is LPL’s advanced technology that advisors can use to give their clients access to their financial accounts, statements, secure documents, and view how they are trending toward their goals.

To learn more about Account View, visit the Resource Center.

_{The views and opinions expressed by the LPL Financial Advisor(s) may not be representative of the views of other Financial Advisors and are not indicative of future performance or success. Neither LPL Financial nor the LPL Financial Advisor can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered.}

_{Blackridge Financial and LPL Financial are separate entities.}

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