Fidelity announced that Integration Xchange, the company’s award-winningi, open architecture digital store, now includes integrations with more than 200 third-party fintech providers, increasing flexibility for firms as they develop tailored technology platforms that meet the needs of advisors and their clients. Technology is more important than ever – three-quarters of advisors in a recent Fidelity study said the COVID-19 crisis is accelerating their firm’s adoption of digital processesii. Fidelity offers its intermediary clients a robust suite of API integrations, nearly doubling the number of available API and single sign-on integrations since 2017. Fidelity also offers data feeds, real-time alerts, Financial Information eXchange (FIX®) trading connectivity and other integrations to help firms seamlessly build and customize easy-to-use digital experiences.
Read More: SafeButler and Liberty Mutual Partner to Offer Instant Renters Insurance
“Two years ago, we set out to make our integrations platform the best in the industry, building on our longstanding open architecture ecosystem to deliver even greater flexibility and more seamless third-party integration capabilities”
“Two years ago, we set out to make our integrations platform the best in the industry, building on our longstanding open architecture ecosystem to deliver even greater flexibility and more seamless third-party integration capabilities,” said Lisa Burns, head of Platform Technology, Fidelity Institutional. “Client feedback and industry awards indicate that we’ve achieved that goal, but we’re continuing to expand our integrations and enhance Integration Xchange to meet clients’ evolving needs, including making it even easier for firms to find integrations that will make an impact on their businesses.”
Read More: German Peer-to-peer Lender auxmoney Raises €150 Million
Fidelity Survey Shows Access to Digital Tools and Integration of Technologies is Crucial
The 2020 Fidelity Financial Advisor Community COVID Series — Technology Studyiii examined how firms are currently leveraging integrations, as well as advisor expectations for technology during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The study found that:
- 67% of advisors said the COVID-19 crisis is prompting their firms to explore new fintech options to potentially add to their existing platform technologies and tools.
- Half of advisors said their firms are working with at least six distinct technology providers, and 94% of advisors expect the number of distinct providers they use to increase (54%) or remain the same (40%) over the next five years.
- 81% of advisors said integration of their firm’s platform technologies and tools is important to the firm’s overall technology strategy; 82% expect the importance of integrations to increase and no advisors expect it to decrease.
- 25% of advisors said staying up-to-date on the latest technology solutions is one of their firm’s biggest technology challenges during the crisis, and even more advisors (32%) expect it to be one of their firm’s biggest technology challenges post-crisis.
Read More: GlobalFintechSeries Interview with Jill Homan, President at DeepTarget