Why Building Tech Is Slowing Advisors Down — and What to Do Instead

Every advisory firm eventually faces a familiar crossroads: should we build our own tools, or buy something off the shelf?

The temptation to build feels natural — after all, no one knows your business like you do. But when it comes to technology, building your own systems often leads you down a costly, time-consuming path that distracts from what actually matters: serving clients and growing your firm.

The Illusion of Control

The biggest reason firms choose to build is the belief that it gives them control — over the experience, the workflow, and the outcome. But what starts as a “custom solution” quickly becomes a full-time development project.

Internal builds often overrun timelines, outgrow budgets, and depend on people whose core job isn’t software engineering. Meanwhile, your competitors — who bought proven systems — are already operating more efficiently, onboarding faster, and delivering a smoother client experience.

The reality? Building doesn’t give you control. It gives you complexity.

Why Advisors Fall Into the Build Trap‍

Advisors are problem-solvers by nature. When something doesn’t work the way it should, your instinct is to fix it. Building technology feels like the ultimate fix — it’s personal, precise, and tailored to how you do things.

But here’s the catch: building workflows, task management, or automation tools from scratch rarely delivers a true competitive advantage. Those are solved problems. What sets your firm apart isn’t the technology itself — it’s how you use it to serve clients better, faster, and more consistently.

In other words: you should build what’s unique to your client experience, and buy what’s already been perfected.

The Real Advantage of Buying‍

Buying technology doesn’t mean giving up control. It means buying back your time.

Modern workflow platforms — like Hubly — give you powerful customization options, smart automation, and integrations that adapt to your process without requiring you to build from scratch. You stay in control of how your team works, not what they have to maintain.

Advisory firms that buy rather than build typically see:

• Faster implementation — weeks, not years.
• Lower overhead — no developers, no maintenance cycles.
• Fewer bottlenecks — technology that scales with your growth.
• Happier teams — tools that work the way advisors do.

Instead of managing code, you’re managing clients. That’s where your true advantage lies.

The People Problem

Even the best in-house projects eventually run into the same challenge: people.

Your advisors and operations staff already wear multiple hats. Adding “software manager” to the mix drains resources from your highest-value work — client service and relationship-building.

And as your business grows, maintaining homegrown systems becomes harder. Every update, every integration, every compliance change requires time and attention your team can’t spare.

That’s why the smartest firms are shifting from build-first thinking to buy-strategically thinking — investing in technology that keeps them agile without bogging them down.

From DIY to ROI: How Top Firms Made the Switch‍

If you’re still on the fence about whether to build or buy, you’re not alone. Many advisory firms are realizing that “doing it yourself” doesn’t always mean better results — it often means slower ROI.

That’s why Hubly created our whitepaper, From DIY to ROI: How Leading Advisory Firms Scale Smarter.

Inside, you’ll learn how firms just like yours reduced operational drag, improved client retention, and freed up advisors to focus on growth — not admin work. Download the whitepaper to see what’s actually driving ROI for modern advisory teams.‍

Focus on What You Do Best

Technology should amplify your strengths, not create new distractions. The firms growing fastest today aren’t those building everything themselves — they’re the ones leveraging proven platforms to unlock scale, consistency, and confidence.

So before you launch your next build project, ask yourself one question:

“Is this helping us serve clients better — or just helping us stay busy?”

At Hubly, we believe your technology should work as hard as you do. Our platform helps advisors streamline workflows, manage client relationships seamlessly, and focus on what matters most: deepening trust and delivering value.

Stop building what’s already been solved. Start building your advantage. Start your 30-day free trial today.