IFA’s Thought Leader of the Year, Glen Hare: Delivering a great digital experience

Blazing a new trail in the financial planning industry as this year’s IFA Thought Leader of the Year and Co-Founder of Sydney-based firm, Fox & Hare, Glen Hare is a part of a new generation of technology-enabled advisers looking to transform how they serve their clients and drive growth.

I was incredibly excited to sit down with Glen this week and pick his brain on the importance of tech for advisers and his advice for firms wanting to digitally transform in 2022. Glen mentions that technology is always front of mind, particularly given the challenges around delivering compliant, thought provoking, member-friendly advice. At Fox & Hare, not only do they look at FinTech when exploring ways to extend their tech stack, they also research the best of breed technology more broadly. Reflecting on Fox and Hare’s members, the majority of whom are millennials, they expect a great digital experience that can keep up with the other tech they use in their everyday lives and of course, a high level of service.

Glen’s tech stack is certainly impressive, some of the tools used at Fox & Hare include; HootSuite Social Media Manager, Hubspot, AdviserLogic and Nod. Glen also notes one of his favourites is Loom, which allows you to take video recordings of yourself and your screen so you can explain and show something to a client, rather than write it in email.

When it comes to technology that delivers on client engagement, Glen says, “We see myprosperity as a very powerful tool. It ensures that Fox & Hare members are across their entire financial world and it enables the advisers to hold their members accountable to the strategy but also uncover opportunity through the data. Members don’t expect to come to their meeting and be asked questions in the first 20 mins about their balances, they expect us to have that data already.”

For other advisers looking to incorporate a client portal into their practice, Glen notes the importance in exploring the portal with an end-user account to familiarise yourself with the capabilities of the platform. Embracing technology and ensuring clients understand the importance and benefit it brings them is essential in keeping clients engaged during the ongoing service. At Fox & Hare, the team introduce the myprosperity client portal at the very start of the customer journey to gather information, even before they become a member. This way clients can familiarise themselves with the portal from the very start and understand its use as a way to collaborate with their adviser during the ongoing engagement.

In closing, Glen’s advice to other advisers is, “Don’t wait until you’re not busy to pilot new technology. You will always be busy, you just need to prioritise appropriately in terms of what you feel will be the best outcome for your clients.”