Orion Reveals Advisor Wealthtech and Investor Survey Insights at Ascent Conference

Over half of advisors are investing more in client-facing technology in 2025; 95% of investors are satisfied with their advisors, but many would consider switching when inheriting money

Orion, the premier provider of transformative wealthtech solutions for financial advisors and the enterprise firms that serve them, today unveiled the results of its third annual Advisor Wealthtech Survey and inaugural Investor Survey during CEO Natalie Wolfsen’s opening keynote at the Orion Ascent conference in Orlando. The surveys, administered to an expansive set of advisors and investors who work with financial advisors, offer dual perspectives to empower financial advisors in building strong client connections and accelerating firm growth.

Underpinning the Ascent 2025 theme 'All In,' Orion’s advisor and investor surveys reveal an optimistic outlook. Half of advisors expect their organic growth rate to increase in 2025 compared to 2024. Additionally, 95% of investors are satisfied with their current financial advisor, with nearly two-thirds (63%) reporting they are very satisfied.

“As the industry faces economic policy and market uncertainties in 2025, advisors are fully committed to their clients’ success. Advisors are not just meeting the demands of their clients; they are going ‘all in’ by focusing on highly personalized service and solutions, investing in integrated technology, and optimizing their back office to free up time,” said Natalie Wolfsen, CEO of Orion. “At Ascent, we are thrilled to bring together over 1,500 firm leaders, enterprise executives, and top advisors to share insights, technology, and strategies that will empower advisors to elevate their client experiences. Advisors will leave Ascent 2025 equipped with the tools and knowledge to accelerate growth in their practices and deliver exceptional results for their clients.”

Advisors Prioritize Personalized Advice, Technology Investment to Drive 2025 Growth

To enable continued strong growth in 2025, advisors are focused on:

• Delivering personalized advice: Over four in five advisors (84%) plan to focus on providing personalized financial advice tailored to clients' unique needs and goals.
• Increasing technology investment: More than half of advisors (54%) plan to increase their investment in technology by an average of 19% in 2025. This is a notable increase from Orion’s 2024 survey where 48% of advisors planned an average of a 16% increase in technology investment.
• Investing in AI and integrated workflows: Seven in 10 (68%) advisors currently use AI-powered tools with 43% of those advisors planning increased AI investments in 2025. More than four in 10 (42%) will invest more in integrated technology workflows in 2025.
• Addressing disconnected tech: Firms are likely investing more in integrated technology workflows to address disconnected solutions, which advisors identified as their primary technology-related pain point for the second year in a row. On average, advisors say 55% of their technology is integrated.
• Improving tech stack utilization: On average, advisors are utilizing 60% of their tech stack, and 38% are focused on improving tech stack utilization this year.
• Focusing on tax efficiency: Half of advisors are prioritizing providing clients with tax-efficient investment strategies like direct indexing.

Inaugural Investor Survey Reveals the No. 1 Reason Investors Would Switch Advisors

Despite the high satisfaction levels investors report with their financial advisors, there is one reason investors are most likely to consider switching advisors. Nearly one in five investors (18%) are likely to switch advisors if they receive an inheritance between $500,000 and $1 million. This likelihood increases to almost one-quarter (24%) for inheritances of $1 million or more.

“As we navigate the largest generational wealth transfer in history, it's crucial for financial advisors to be proactive with clients who anticipate receiving a sizable inheritance,” said Chris Shutler, Orion’s Head of Strategy. “This is the time for advisors to increase communication, engage in comprehensive planning, and build trust to better serve their clients during these pivotal moments.”

The investor survey also uncovered compelling generational differences, which represent opportunities for advisors to tailor their approach accordingly:

• Satisfaction with advisors: Boomers report the highest satisfaction with their advisors with 70% reporting they are very satisfied, while millennials, with 55% very satisfied, are the least satisfied and the most likely to switch advisors after receiving a substantial inheritance.
• Expectations around technology: Millennials prioritize technology more than older generations. For those whose advisors don’t already offer these tools, 44% of millennials want mobile apps, compared to 32% of Gen X and 16% of boomers. Similarly, 21% of millennials want robo/AI-powered advice tools, versus just 7% of Gen X and 6% of boomers.
• Engagement preferences: When communicating with their advisor, millennial investors prefer a digital channel such as email, video call, mobile app message or online messaging system (46% millennials, 38% Gen X, 29% boomers). Both millennials and Gen X show strong interest in discussing new investment opportunities (56% millennials, 53% Gen X, 35% boomers), while a significant percentage also seek guidance in understanding their financial goals (31% millennials, 28% Gen X, 21% boomers), highlighting the growing demand for more personalized engagement.

More detailed results from Orion’s surveys are available here.

Survey Methodology

Advisor survey: A 10-minute online survey of financial advisors was conducted in December 2024 by Logica Research. Sample size = 585.

Investor survey: A 12-minute online survey of investors was conducted in December 2024 by Logica Research. Sample of adults over 18 who work with a financial advisor and have a minimum of $50,000 in investable assets (excluding retirement funds, real estate). Sample size = 1,000 (including 300 high-net-worth investors with $1 million or more in investable assets).

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About Orion

Orion is a premier provider of the tech-enabled fiduciary process that transforms the advisor-client relationship by enabling financial advisors to Prospect, Plan, Invest, and Achieve within a single, connected, technology-driven experience. Combined, our brand entities, Orion Advisor Tech, Orion Portfolio Solutions, Brinker Capital Investments, Redtail Technology, and Orion OCIO create a complete offering that empowers firms to attract new clients seamlessly, connect goals more meaningfully to investment strategies and outcomes, and ultimately track progress toward each investor’s unique definition of financial success. Orion services $4.9 trillion in assets under administration and $97.5 billion of wealth management platform assets (as of December 31, 2024) and supports over seven million technology accounts and thousands of independent advisory firms. Today, 17 out of the Top 20 Barron’s RIA firms¹ rely on Orion’s technology to power their businesses and win for investors. Learn more at Orion.com.

¹ Source: 2024 Top 100 RIA Firms, Barron's, 2024.

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