The recent rise of the robo-advisor has called into question the relevance of financial advisors and the viability of current advisory business models. Yet the reality is that technology "disrupting" financial advisor business models is not new, and has actually happened repeatedly over the past several decades, forcing advisors to adapt and move up the value chain, or be left behind.

In this session, Michael discusses how technology is once again fuelling major changes in the business model of financial advisors, driving a great convergence across historically separate industry channels and triggering a crisis of differentiation, a search for new business models, and rising pressure on improving the client experience. In the coming years, these trends will only be accelerated as the consumers of financial planning – and financial planners themselves – shift from Baby Boomers to the Gen X and Millennial generations, which, as "digital natives," will expect advisors to both leverage technology and add value.