A new client says yes. Great. Now the paperwork begins.
There are account applications to complete, information to collect, signatures to chase, custodial requirements to navigate and money to move. If your firm works with multiple custodians, the process can get even more complicated.
And for the client, all of that can feel pretty disconnected from the experience they were promised.
That's a problem because onboarding is often a client's first real experience with your firm. You can have a great website, a compelling value proposition and an excellent first meeting. But if the next step is a pile of forms and a string of emails, that polished first impression can disappear pretty quickly.
This is where digital onboarding can make a real difference. The question isn't simply whether your wealth management software lets clients fill out forms online. The better question is: Can your technology make opening and funding an account easier for the client while making the process more efficient for your team?
For RIAs, that means looking at the entire onboarding experience, from the first questionnaire through account opening and funding.
At its best, digital onboarding connects the pieces of a process that has traditionally involved a lot of manual work.
Instead of moving information from one system to another, advisors should be able to collect the information they need, assess the client's risk profile, build a proposal, open the appropriate accounts, gather signatures and move money without asking the client to repeat themselves at every step. That's especially important for high-net-worth clients.
A household may have multiple investment accounts, trusts, entities or other complexities that make a one-size-fits-all process unrealistic. At the same time, HNW clients expect convenient digital experiences in almost every other part of their lives.
They shouldn't have to choose between a high-touch relationship and a convenient digital experience. Good wealth management technology should provide both.
There's another issue that deserves attention when firms evaluate onboarding technology: custody.
Many RIAs work with more than one custodian. That's valuable from a business and client-service perspective, but it can make onboarding considerably more complicated behind the scenes.
Different custodians have different forms, requirements and processes. Without technology that connects those workflows, your operations team can end up doing the same work over and over again.
And the client doesn't necessarily care which custodian requires which form. They just know they're being asked for more information. That's where multi-custodial account opening can change the experience.
Instead of forcing advisors and clients to navigate each custodian's process separately, wealth management technology can provide a more consistent front-end experience while managing custodian-specific requirements behind the scenes.
AdvisorEngine takes this approach by bringing custodian forms and account-opening workflows into the platform and connecting them with the broader digital onboarding process. The platform also checks information for accuracy and completeness to help reduce not-in-good-order (NIGO) applications and the back-and-forth they create.
The goal is simple: Less time fixing paperwork. More time working with clients.
Digital onboarding doesn't have to mean handing a client a link and letting them figure everything out themselves.
In fact, that's probably not what most advisors want.
AdvisorEngine supports advisor-led, client-led and hybrid onboarding, giving firms flexibility in how much of the process the client handles independently.
Here's what a connected digital onboarding workflow can look like.
The process begins by collecting the information required to understand the client and establish the relationship.
Depending on the firm's workflow, the client may complete information and questionnaires through the Client Portal, or the advisor and team may guide the process.
Either way, the goal is to capture information once and use it throughout the rest of the onboarding process. That's an important distinction. Digital onboarding shouldn't simply turn paper forms into electronic forms. It should reduce the amount of information that has to be entered, transferred and verified manually.
Risk profiling shouldn't be a standalone exercise that produces another document nobody looks at. AdvisorEngine supports customizable risk assessments and questionnaires that can be incorporated into the onboarding process and used to inform investment recommendations and portfolio construction.
That creates a more logical progression: Learn about the client → understand their risk → build the portfolio → open the account. When those steps are connected, information collected during onboarding can actually help drive the investment process instead of becoming another administrative task.
Once the advisor has the information needed to understand the client's goals and preferences, the next step is putting an investment recommendation together.
Connecting proposal and portfolio construction with onboarding can eliminate another handoff. The client isn't bouncing between different systems while the advisor tries to keep everything organized.
For the advisor, it means less duplicate work. For the client, it feels like one process rather than a series of unrelated tasks.
This is where the difference between electronic paperwork and true digital onboarding becomes especially clear. Simply turning a PDF into an electronic form doesn't necessarily make onboarding easier. The technology needs to help manage the actual account-opening process.
AdvisorEngine incorporates custodian forms into its digital onboarding workflow and uses custodian integrations to move applications through the process. Information can be checked before submission, helping reduce errors and NIGOs that can send an application back to the operations team.
For advisors, that means fewer "we need one more thing" emails. For clients, it means fewer interruptions.
Electronic signatures have been around for years, but they're still an important part of a better onboarding experience. The key is what happens around the signature.
If a client receives a DocuSign email but still has to print other documents, upload information somewhere else and wait for an advisor to tell them what to do next, the process isn't really digital.
A better workflow connects signatures to the rest of the account-opening process so the client knows what needs to happen and the advisor can see what's complete and what's still outstanding.
Opening the account isn't the finish line. The money still needs to get there. Digital funding capabilities can help clients link bank accounts or transfer assets from other firms without creating another completely separate process.
That's important because funding can become one of the biggest bottlenecks between "the client signed" and "the client is actually invested."
When account opening and funding are part of the same broader workflow, the process has less opportunity to stall.
Digital onboarding should make life easier for the operations team, but advisors need visibility, too. Where is the account? Has it been approved? Are there missing documents? Does someone need to take action?
AdvisorEngine's account status dashboard gives firms a centralized view of new accounts and their status, rather than requiring teams to piece together updates from email, spreadsheets and different custodian systems. That may sound small. Anyone who has chased down an account-opening status knows it isn't.
The onboarding experience shouldn't end when the account is open. The client portal becomes part of the ongoing digital relationship, so it's worth considering the experience as a whole.
AdvisorEngine's Client Portal can be branded to the advisory firm and configured to support account opening, funding, document sharing, reporting and communication.
Clients can also see their investment accounts, linked accounts and accounts that are still being opened. That's useful because clients don't necessarily want to call the office every time they have a question about where something stands.
At the same time, not every client wants to do everything themselves. That's particularly true with complex HNW relationships.
Some clients may happily link a bank account and sign documents from their phone. Others may want their advisor or service team to walk them through every step. A good digital experience should accommodate both.
This may be the most important point for wealth management firms considering digital onboarding. The goal isn't to replace the advisor. It's to free the advisor from administrative tasks technology can handle. Think about the difference between these two experiences.
In one, an advisor spends time tracking down forms, entering information, checking signatures and following up with a custodian.
In the other, technology handles those repetitive steps while the advisor spends that time talking with the client about what actually matters: their goals, their family, their business, their retirement or their investment strategy.
That's the version of digital transformation that actually benefits an advisory firm. Automate the process. Don't automate the relationship.
When evaluating wealth management technology, it's easy to get caught up in feature lists. Instead, look at what the experience actually feels like from both sides of the relationship.
Ask:
These questions get closer to the real issue. Because the goal isn't to find software that simply digitizes paperwork. It's to find technology that removes friction from the entire client journey.
The first impression of a wealth management firm doesn't end with the first meeting. Every interaction that follows reinforces it.
When a prospective client can provide information digitally, complete a risk assessment, review a proposal, sign documents, open accounts and begin the funding process without repeatedly switching systems or sending paperwork back and forth, the experience feels different.
It feels modern. It feels organized.
And, perhaps most importantly, it gives the client confidence that the firm they just hired has the technology and processes to make their financial lives easier.
For RIAs, that's the real promise of digital onboarding. Not just faster account opening. A better client experience from the very beginning.
What is digital onboarding in wealth management?
Digital onboarding is the process of bringing a new wealth management client into an advisory firm electronically. It can include collecting client information, assessing risk, building an investment proposal, opening accounts, gathering electronic signatures and funding accounts.
How can digital onboarding reduce client onboarding time?
Digital onboarding can reduce manual data entry, paper forms, email exchanges and repetitive information requests. When account opening, signatures, funding and other steps are connected in one workflow, advisors and operations teams spend less time moving information between systems.
Why does multi-custodial account opening matter for RIAs?
RIAs that work with multiple custodians have to manage different account-opening requirements and workflows. Multi-custodial technology can create a more consistent client experience while handling custodian-specific requirements behind the scenes.
Does digital onboarding mean clients have to do everything themselves?
No. A strong digital onboarding platform should support different levels of advisor involvement. Advisor-led, client-led, and hybrid workflows allow firms to tailor the experience to each client's needs.
What should an RIA look for in a digital client portal?
Look for a portal that goes beyond investment reporting. Account opening, funding, document sharing, communication and other client workflows can make the portal a useful extension of the overall client relationship.
What makes AdvisorEngine's digital onboarding approach different?
AdvisorEngine connects digital onboarding with multi-custodial account opening, risk assessment, proposals, portfolio construction, funding and a configurable client portal. Firms can choose advisor-led, client-led or hybrid workflows based on how they want to serve their clients.