Joel Bruckenstein of Technology Tools for Today (T3
) and Bob Veres of Inside Information presented their initial findings from the 2025 T3/Inside Information Software Survey during their late afternoon conference session Tuesday, March 4, 2025. The insights were delivered live to an audience of financial services professionals attending T3’s 21st annual fintech conference being held March 3-6, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, Texas.
To download a PDF of the complete survey report, visit www.T3TechnologyHub.com and/or www.BobVeres.com.
The survey provides key insights into the ever-evolving fintech marketplace. The 2,128 survey participants, comprised exclusively of members of the financial planning and investment advisory community, provided answers to questions about 45 categories of fintech solutions. The results are a robust data set determining the most popular programs in each category, market share for each solution, and ratings for how well users like, or don’t like, the solutions they are using.
In all, more than 300 different programs, services and solutions are covered on the 85-page report. The data is provided through 151 charts and graphs, each organized to deliver what they believe to be helpful information in every relevant category. This year, there are four new categories: alternatives platforms, generative language AI, search AI, and graphics AI.
Among the findings from these new categories, the survey found that 41% of advisors are using one or more search or generative AI tools. The tools with the largest market share include ChatGPT (35.71%), Microsoft Copilot (12.12%), and Google Gemini (6.86%), while those with the highest advisor ratings are Perplexity (8.26/10), Anthropic (8.10/10), and ChatGPT (8.07/10).
This year’s survey would not have been possible without the generous support provided by:
“The final report serves several purposes,” said Bruckenstein. “We believe this data is useful to people who make software decisions at advisory firms – the people who are charged with creating and maintaining a functional tech stack in an ever-shifting marketplace. The charts offer guidance on programs and solutions in 45 different categories, providing insight into not just solutions, but more broadly, the directions that the tech marketplace is evolving. We suspect that more than a few readers will notice solutions that they may not have heard of before, or categories they haven’t considered, which could be valuable to their business lives.”
The report includes data pulled from previous years’ surveys to measure which software and solutions are gaining market share, and track changes in user satisfaction ratings.
The survey also collected data on which solutions advisory firms are considering in the future. “Respondents were invited to write in any software programs or solutions they are using that were not included in the survey instrument,” stated Veres. “This provided some of the most interesting and intriguing data that was collected.”
“Although the number of responses in this year’s report is a slight decrease from the 2024 survey, it is by far the most robust data set in the profession,” observed Bruckenstein. “It represents a broad, statistically valid sampling of software utilization across virtually every part of the advisor world and all demographic categories, with the possible exception of wirehouse brokers.”
“Our guess is that virtually everyone reading this report is missing out on one or more tools that would be truly useful, because they either were not aware of them or were too busy to research this broad and extensive marketplace,” commented Veres.
“We hope that this report will serve as a guide to the many possible ways that advisors can leverage technology to better serve their clients and enhance their office efficiency, and also as a small contribution to the continual positive evolution of the fintech space itself,” explained Bruckenstein. “We’re gratified to be able to record that evolution in real time, year after year.”
ABOUT JOEL BRUCKENSTEIN
Joel P. Bruckenstein, CFP®, is a globally recognized authority in the field of applied technology for financial professionals. He is renowned as the Publisher of Technology Tools for Today (T3), formerly known as Virtual Office News and now known as the T3 Tech Hub. As the driving force behind the esteemed T3 Advisor Conference, Bruckenstein has established it as the preeminent technology event for independent financial advisors executives from independent broker/dealers and executives from large registered investment advisory firms. The conference also welcomes fintech journalists, private equity firms, and asset managers that support the wealthtech ecosystem.
For over two decades, Bruckenstein has been advising financial service firms of all sizes, aiding them in enhancing their technological infrastructure, streamlining processes, and optimizing workflows. Bruckenstein’s contributions extend beyond consultancy. He has co-authored three notable books: “Virtual Office Tools for a High Margin Practice,” “Tools and Techniques of Practice Management,” and “Technology Tools for Today’s High Margin Practice.” Furthermore, he has served as a monthly technology columnist for esteemed publications such as Financial Advisor magazine and Financial Planning magazine.
In collaboration with industry luminary Bob Veres, the publisher of Inside Information, Bruckenstein spearheads an annual technology survey exclusively tailored for the financial planning community. Recognizing Bruckenstein’s immense impact and leadership, he was honored with the fifth annual Leadership Award at Bob Veres’ Insider’s Forum. This prestigious conference unites the most influential figures in the financial planning profession, and Bruckenstein received the award during a prominent main stage presentation at the Insider’s Forum held in September 2017.
Learn more about Bruckenstein at www.JoelBruckenstein.com.
ABOUT BOB VERES
Bob Veres is editor and publisher of the Inside Information interactive guide to trends and innovations in the profession. In addition, he is a sought-out speaker for many of the planning world’s most important professional conferences, and co-produces the Insider’s Forum conference for independent financial advisory firms.
Veres has been named one of the most influential people in the financial planning profession by Investment Advisor magazine and Financial Planning magazine, was granted the Special Achievement Award for service to the profession by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, and the Heart of Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award from the Denver-based Financial Planning Association.
Over his 40-year career in the financial services world, Veres has worked as editor of Financial Planning magazine; as a contributing editor to the Journal of Financial Planning; as a columnist and editor-at-large of Investment Advisor magazine; and as editor of Morningstar’s advisor web site: MorningstarAdvisor.com. As a journalist, he has won several national awards, including the Jesse H. Neal Award from the American Business Media group, considered the most prestigious editorial honor in the field of specialized journalism, and the Azbee Award of Excellence from the American Society of Business Press Editors.
Learn more about Veres at www.BobVeres.com.
