Best CRM for financial advisors in 2024

As a financial advisor, managing client relationships, tracking investment strategies, and ensuring timely communication are essential to delivering value and building trust with your clients. A powerful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can help you streamline these tasks by organizing client data, automating follow-ups, and tracking financial plans—all from one platform. With the right CRM, you can improve client interactions, stay organized, and focus on growing your advisory practice.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the best CRM options for financial advisors like you, focusing on tools that will help you manage client relationships and provide better financial guidance.

Why you need a CRM

Implementing a CRM is essential for financial advisory firms to streamline operations, enhance client relationships, and drive business growth.

Challenges without a CRM

If you don't have an existing CRM in place, or have the wrong one in your tech stack – you may already be experiencing these challenges.

• Disorganization: Without a CRM, managing client data and advisor activities becomes chaotic, leading to errors and inefficiencies.
• Missed opportunities: Lack of a centralized system can result in missed follow-ups and potential business opportunities slipping through the cracks.
• Inefficient processes: Manual tracking of client interactions and advisor performance wastes time and resources.
• Lack of insight: Without a CRM, it’s challenging to gain a comprehensive view of client needs and advisor performance, hindering strategic decision-making.
• Inconsistent communication: Maintaining consistent and personalized communication with clients is difficult without a unified system.

Benefits of a CRM

Fortunately, the right CRM can help you address these challenges, and provide some extra benefits.

• Centralized information: A CRM consolidates all client and advisor data in one place, ensuring easy access and better organization.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automating routine tasks and streamlining workflows increases productivity and reduces administrative burdens.
• Improved customer relationships: A CRM enables personalized and timely communication, fostering stronger client relationships.
• Better decision-making: With comprehensive data and analytics, founders can make informed decisions to optimize advisor performance and client satisfaction.
• Increased sales: By tracking opportunities and managing pipelines effectively, a CRM helps boost conversion rates and revenue.
• Consistent communication: Ensures all client interactions are tracked and managed, providing a seamless and professional client experience.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM

With a lot of CRMs to choose from, it can be hard to understand which platform you may prefer. To help you with your shortlisting and evaluation process, we've put together some tips that you can adapt accordingly.

1. Define your requirements

As afinancial advisory firm, it's crucial to identify the key features that will enhance your business operations. Look for a CRM that offers robust client management, seamless integration with financial planning tools, and comprehensive reporting capabilities. Features like automated workflows, secure document storage, and a client portal can significantly streamline your processes and improve client satisfaction.

Key features financial advisors need from their CRM tools

• Comprehensive client profiles: Detailed profiles including personal information, financial goals, and interaction history.
• Activity tracking: Logs of all communications, meetings, and follow-ups.
• Client segmentation: Ability to categorize clients based on various criteria such as net worth, investment preferences, and life stages.
• Contact management: That enables real-time updates so you can update a contact directly from your customer relationship management software instead of going into multiple inboxes.
• ‍Task automation: Automating routine tasks like data entry, follow-up emails, and appointment scheduling.
• ‍Reminder systems: Automated reminders for key dates and follow-ups.‍
• De-duplication: Automated de-duplication feature so you do not need to manually take out contacts that have doubled up without you realising.‍
• Financial Software Integration: Compatibility with other financial planning and portfolio management tools.‍
• Third-Party Apps: Integration with commonly used apps such as email marketing platforms, calendar systems, and document management software.‍
• API Access: For advanced custom integrations.‍
• Customizable dashboards: That can handle multiple sales pipelines across different projects across a single financial services firm so you don't need to invest in multiple financial tools.
• ‍Custom fields: So that you know which financial advisory practice a lead or contact came through.

2. Budget considerations

Balancing cost and return on investment is essential when choosing a CRM for financial advisors. While it's tempting to opt for the most affordable option, consider the long-term benefits of investing in a platform that offers scalability and advanced features. Evaluate the pricing models—whether it's subscription-based or a one-time purchase—and ensure it aligns with your firm's financial planning and growth projections.

3. Selection process

Looking for the right CRM involves thorough research and due diligence. Start by compiling a list of potential vendors that specialize in financial advisory services. Check reviews, request demos, and consult with peers in the industry. Pay attention to the vendor's reputation, customer support, and the ease of integration with your existing systems. A vendor with a proven track record in the financial sector can provide invaluable insights and support.

4. Get a demo

Before committing to a CRM, it's crucial to see how it works in action. A demo can provide you with a firsthand look at the features and functionalities that are most relevant to financial advisors. It allows you to ask specific questions and see how the CRM can be tailored to meet your firm's unique needs. Get started with a demo of folk.

4 best CRM software

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1. folk

Best for: Small to mid-sized financial advisory firms looking for a user-friendly and intuitive CRM with strong client management capabilities that can scale with them.

folk is a CRM designed with simplicity and functionality in mind. It aims to streamline client interactions, track communication history, and help advisors manage their workflows more effectively. Folk is particularly known for its easy-to-navigate interface and robust client management features.

Key features

• Multiple sales pipeline management including sales cycle overview and lead overview
• Marketing automation with AI-assistance to personalize bulk email campaigns efficiently
• Lead generation
• Customer support
• Mail merge that supports Gmail and Outlook
• Unlimited dashboards

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Folk’s intuitive design ensures that even those with limited tech experience can navigate it easily. This is crucial for financial advisors who need to spend more time with clients and less time managing software.
• Efficient client management: It offers comprehensive tools for tracking client interactions, scheduling follow-ups, and managing client data, which enhances the advisor-client relationship.
• Customizable workflows: Financial advisors can tailor workflows to fit their specific processes, increasing efficiency and consistency in client management.

Cons

• Reporting isn't available in folk yet but is coming soon.

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14 day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows. 

• Standard: $20 per user, per month 
• Premium: $40 per user, per month
• Custom: Starts from $80 per user, per month 

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2. Apptivio

Best for: Sales driven CRM

Apptivio leverages artificial intelligence to provide deep insights into client behaviors and preferences. Its advanced analytics help users understand client needs better, predict future trends, and personalize their services.

Key features

• Sales-driven CRM
• API integration with web forms
• Lead management and lead scoring
• 24/7 customer support

Pros

• Good for enterprises looking for comprehensive support.
• Custom reports and views.
• Funnels for opportunity management.

Cons

• Clunky user interface means new users should expect a steep learning curve for implementation.
• The advanced features and AI tools can be overwhelming for users not familiar with data analytics. This might require additional training for effective use.
• Users are limited to a number of dashboards, custom fields and workflows depending on the tier of their subscription plan.

Price and plans

An annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Lite: $15 per user, per month.
• Premium: $25 per user, per month.
• Ultimate: $40 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Undisclosed.

3. Pipedrive

Best for: sales-focussed CRM for your business development team

Pipedrive is a CRM tailored towards sales teams but offers significant benefits for financial advisors through its pipeline management and automation capabilities. It helps advisors track their sales processes and manage client relationships efficiently.

Key features

• Multiple pipeline management
• Sales automation features
• 400+ integrations

Pros

• Pipeline management: Pipedrive’s visual pipeline management is excellent for tracking the sales process and managing client onboarding.
• Automation features: Automation of routine tasks saves time and reduces errors, allowing advisors to focus on client interaction and advisory services.

• Integration options: Pipedrive integrates with a wide range of third-party applications, enhancing its functionality and allowing for a more cohesive workflow.

Cons

• Sales-focused: As a sales-oriented CRM, some features may not be as relevant to financial advisors who need more client management tools.
• Customization limits: While it offers good customization options, some advisors might find it less flexible in tailoring to very specific financial advisory needs.
• Enhanced security preferences: Are only available on the enterprise plan.

Price and plans

An annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Essential: Starts from $14 per user, per month.
• Advanced: Starts from $29 per user, per month.
• Professional: Starts from $49 per user, per month.
• Power: Starts from $64 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Starts from $99 per user, per month.
  

4. Redtail CRM

Best for: CRM built for financial professionals

Redtail CRM is a CRM built specifically for financial advisors. It focuses on industry-specific needs such as compliance, client management, and seamless integration with financial tools.

Key features

• Financial services industry specific CRM.
• Workflow automation.
• Two-way sync between Redtail CRM and Office 365.

Pros

• Industry-specific features: Redtail is tailored for financial advisors, offering tools and features that meet industry-specific requirements, including compliance management.
• Integration with financial tools: It integrates seamlessly with popular financial planning and portfolio management tools, enhancing its utility for advisors.
• Strong client management: Redtail provides robust client management features, ensuring all client interactions and data are effectively organized.

Cons

• Learning curve: Despite its industry focus, some users find Redtail’s interface and features have a steep learning curve.
• Performance issues: Some users have reported occasional performance issues, such as slow loading times and glitches, which can hinder productivity.

Price and plans

An annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Launch: $39 per user, per month.
• Growth: $59 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Undisclosed.

Conclusion

Choosing the right CRM is crucial for financial advisors to enhance their client management and operational efficiency. folk stands out for its user-friendly interface and efficient client management, ideal for firms that need a CRM system to scale with them. Pipedrive provides robust pipeline management and automation features, making it a solid choice for sales-focused advisors. Apptivio is suitable for those looking to leverage data analytics. But although Redtail is industry-specific, it is one of the hardest CRMs to use in the list. Try folk free if you want a powerful but lightweight CRM solution you can plug and play.

Need a helping hand? Use our free tool to find your perfect CRM match.

More resources

• folk price and plans

Frequently Asked Questions

What do financial advisors use as a CRM?

Financial advisors typically use CRMs like folk, Pipedrive, Apptivio, and Redtail to manage client relationships, organize financial data, and streamline their workflows.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, as a financial advisor, a CRM is essential to help you stay organized, manage client relationships, and comply with industry regulations

How does folk's CRM help financial advisors?

folk’s CRM is particularly well-suited for financial advisors because of its customizable workflows, automation, and focus on relationship management