Financial planning is increasingly becoming table stakes in terms of the services that retail investors expect from their financial advisors. Yet, there is still a sizeable portion of advisors who do not offer these services or whose service offerings are limited in scope. Cerulli believes that software innovation, particularly among fintech firms that prioritize the advisor/client experience, and automated analytics will drive greater adoption of financial planning. Our research finds:

• Among those advisors who do not offer financial planning services, by far the most frequently cited major reason for not doing so is that the advisor’s core strength is in investment management (80%), followed distantly by insufficient staff/human resources needed to offer financial planning services (46%) and a lack of interest in financial planning (46%).

• The usage rate of financial planning technology varies, with general financial planning software used by 92% of advisor practices that offer the service. The usage rates of more specialized financial planning technology such as stock option planning (41%) and estate planning (45%) are lower, but this is influenced by the number of advisors who incorporate that within their scope of advice.

• In general, the satisfaction rates for financial planning software are lower than they are for investment management and operations-related technologies. The highest rate of reported satisfaction is with general financial planning software (69%), while stock option analysis and planning (40%) yield the lowest rate of satisfaction. Income tax planning has the highest rate of reported dissatisfaction (22%).

• Technology will play a critical role in the adoption of financial planning, particularly the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI)-like capabilities that can ingest and analyze a client’s financial information and identify valuable planning opportunities, while automating to some extent the time-consuming analysis that historically has been performed by human advisors.

For more, access The Cerulli Report—State of U.S. Wealth Management Technology 2025. This report is designed as a business planning tool for wealth managers, financial technology firms, asset managers, and those who invest in fintech tools. With complete market sizing, technology adoption rates, and an evaluation of what advisors need in order to grow and improve, this report provides impactful strategic insights.