Andrew Gardiner, regional sales director of investment at Beneva, argues that digital tools for advisors have never been about replacement. They reduce administrative friction and expand an advisor's reach. Mobile platforms let clients check balances and statements anywhere. Automated validation removes the paperwork errors that slow account openings and trades. The result is more advisor time for planning conversations, clear answers, and the human interactions that technology cannot replicate.
Digital tools for financial advisors cut the administrative load that once consumed most of the working day. Andrew Gardiner, regional sales director of investment at Beneva, measures progress by concrete benchmarks: "how easily a new client can be onboarded, how quickly trades execute, and whether money gets invested correctly the first time." Mobile applications that validate submissions before they are sent eliminate the circular back-and-forth between brokers, dealers, and providers that Gardiner calls "the washing machine," where work churns without ever resolving. Fewer errors mean faster turnaround, fewer correction cycles, and more advisor hours freed for the planning conversations and genuine client interactions that build lasting relationships.
Client expectations for digital access have shifted from a convenience to a baseline requirement. "The expectations are that there has to be digital access," says Andrew Gardiner, regional sales director of investment at Beneva. "Clients want the ability to go in and see what they own and how it's performing." Today's clients expect to review balances, transaction histories, and statements on demand, without waiting for a phone call or a mailed document. Gardiner points to group insurance as one clear illustration: a client sitting in a dentist's chair can check on the spot whether a specific procedure is covered, removing any uncertainty before treatment begins.
Mobile platforms change not just what advisors can offer, but how many clients they can support well. "The real advantage of digital is scalability," says Andrew Gardiner, regional sales director of investment at Beneva. Platforms allow an advisor to communicate with an entire client book at once, then layer individualized follow-up on top of that broader reach. A single professional can stay meaningfully connected to far more clients than was once practical. Technology does not thin the relationship. It multiplies the number of relationships an advisor can sustain at a high standard, without sacrificing the personalization clients expect from a financial professional they trust.
Paperwork errors are among the most common sources of delay in financial services, and Andrew Gardiner, regional sales director of investment at Beneva, is candid about the challenge. After eight years, Gardiner says he still occasionally misses a box on forms he handles every day. Mobile applications with built-in validation catch those errors before a submission is sent, eliminating what he calls "the washing machine," where work churns between brokers, dealers, and providers without resolving. Every account opens correctly the first time, every trade executes without unnecessary delay, and the advisor's attention stays on clients rather than on chasing corrections through the back office.
The interval between review meetings used to be largely silent. Digital tools for financial advisors have changed that rhythm, giving advisors ways to maintain regular touchpoints through virtual interactions, digital communications, and on-demand account access. Andrew Gardiner, regional sales director of investment at Beneva, argues that trust is built through everyday interactions, not quarterly reviews alone. As Gardiner puts it, "You don't know what you don't know." Keeping clients informed between meetings creates more openings to surface priorities, prompt better questions, and help clients stay focused on long-term goals rather than reacting to short-term market noise.
Technology can remove friction and accelerate service, but it cannot replace what advisors do when clients are scared. "Money is very emotional, and a machine is not going to be able to hold someone's hand through certain things," says Andrew Gardiner, regional sales director of investment at Beneva. Talking a client out of a panicked decision, or into patience during market volatility, is work a screen cannot do. The strongest client relationships are sustained through small, consistent actions and genuine responsiveness. Trust erodes most often not from bad advice but from unanswered communication, and no platform replaces the advisor who follows through.
At Beneva, the goal is to remove friction from the parts of the process clients never see. Andrew Gardiner, regional sales director of investment at Beneva, is equally attentive to back-end efficiency as to client-facing features: the paperwork that never gets kicked back, the account that opens correctly the first time, and the transaction that moves through without delay. "All they really want to know is, Do I have enough money? Do I need to invest more? Where are my risks?" Gardiner says. A platform succeeds not by how much it displays, but by how cleanly it turns operational complexity into clear, actionable answers for clients.
Andrew Gardiner: regional sales director of investment, Beneva; works primarily at the broker level; focuses on digital onboarding, trade execution, and scalable client communication.