On the recent episode of the FPA’s Smarter Planner Podcast host Belle Osvath CFP, CSLP, AIF, speaks with Gabe Rissman, co-founder of YourStake, about how financial planners can successfully leverage artificial intelligence (AI) in their practices.
He also discusses YourStake's journey from a software company to an AI company and addresses the question of whether AI will replace human financial planners.
Q: How are financial planners successfully using AI in their practices today?
A: Gabe: The most common use case right now is using AI like ChatGPT to assist with writing marketing copy or quarterly market reviews and summaries. It's an easy way to get started.
Planners are also starting to use AI tools that sit in on Zoom calls, transcribe meetings, generate summaries and action steps, and even populate CRM entries. These tools can grade advisor performance on calls too, such as providing a "charisma score".
Q: What other AI applications are emerging for financial planners?
A: Gabe: Broker-dealers are exploring using AI for first-level compliance filtering to flag potential issues before a human reviews it. Companies like Morgan Stanley and Morningstar are allowing advisors to essentially chat with an AI economist or portfolio expert to get insights and summaries, rather than having to read through long market commentaries.
At YourStake, we're enabling advisors to actually chat directly with a client's portfolio after they upload holdings information.
Q: How do you see AI evolving in the financial planning space in the near future?
A: Gabe: We think that by the end of 2024, planners will be able to upload all available information and documents about a prospect. The AI can then extract data, populate the CRM, produce an initial portfolio analysis, and generate a proposal for the advisor to review and discuss with the client.
This will enable planners to focus much more of their time on understanding clients and coaching them through decisions, rather than on manual data entry and pulling together analytics. It will be an input-output flow powered by AI.
Q: Can you share YourStake's journey from a software company to an AI company?
A: Gabe: We started as a values-based investment analytics and reporting provider, helping advisors assess if portfolios align with clients' passions and values. In surveying our clients, the resounding feedback was that manual data entry is advisors' most hated task. We realized AI could help automate this.
So we built a platform called Advisor Core that extracts holdings data from brokerage statement PDFs, runs analytics, and enables advisors to instantly generate reports and presentations. We also have a "chat with a portfolio" feature where advisors can ask the AI questions about a client's portfolio and get data-driven answers.
Q: Will AI replace human financial planners?
A: Gabe: In the near-term, we believe AI will primarily drive efficiency gains for planners. They may be able to serve more clients by reducing time spent on manual tasks, or provide more holistic service to their existing client base.
However, planners will need to embrace AI to stay ahead of the curve, as direct-to-consumer AI planning tools are likely to keep improving.
We believe planners can beat "robo-advisors" by becoming "AI-powered planners" who harness the technology to provide a higher caliber of service and value to clients.
Q: What's one thing financial planners should know but often don't when it comes to AI?
A: Gabe: If you're still doing manual data entry, there is likely an existing solution that can automate it for you and make it a thing of the past. Planners should look for tools specific to their use case.
Parting Thoughts:
As AI continues to advance and integrate into various aspects of financial planning, it's crucial for planners to stay informed and adapt. By harnessing AI technologies, planners can improve efficiency, provide better service, and ultimately deliver more value to their clients.
The key is to view AI as a powerful tool to augment and enhance the planner's role, rather than a replacement for human expertise and relationship-building.
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