Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the financial advice industry, helping firms boost efficiency, enhance client service and streamline operations. Matt Duncan, Managing Director at Protiviti, highlights how AI is becoming an essential tool for advisers and what firms can do to adopt it effectively and responsibly.
No longer a distant concept, artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that can transform how advice firms operate and service their clients. The low cost of entry for AI means that advice firms of all sizes are actively adopting AI technology and assessing how AI can improve their client interactions and business models as they look to make efficiency gains and improve customer service while being mindful of regulatory requirements.
Protiviti’s recent collaboration with The Inclusion Initiative (TII) at the London School of Economics (LSE) highlights two clear trends: AI is increasing productivity and client engagement, and employees of any generation can become AI power users and unlock significant productivity gains. This distinction is important to advice firms, as more than half of their members are over the age of 50 and the segment of advisers aged 60 or older is growing rapidly.
The Protiviti/LSE research revealed that training, not generation, is the primary differentiator that determines success. Employees using AI (without training) can save an average of 7.5 hours per week – nearly a full working day. But employees who have received AI training see an even greater benefit, with savings of up to 11 hours per week.
For advisers, this means less time spent on administrative and redundant tasks, and more time to reinvest in building client relationships and delivering strategic financial guidance.
How advice firms are leveraging AI
Advice firms are incorporating AI in multiple ways as they drive toward streamlining operations and enhancing client service. Some of the more common applications include:
- Client meeting automation: AI notetakers automatically transcribe meetings, summarise discussions and update CRM systems. And some AI tools are being used to draft follow-up emails and identify key discussion points, saving hours of administrative work.
- Portfolio management and optimisation: AI platforms that use deep learning to personalise portfolios, rebalance assets and even predict market corrections are being considered or actively researched as a starting point for portfolio managers.
- Tax planning and compliance: Today, AI mainly supports tax research and summaries. Future tools will analyse returns, uncover tax-saving opportunities, automate document validation and flag potential regulatory risk.
- Client communication and relationship management: Chatbots handle routine inquiries, while natural language processing (NLP) enables sentiment analysis and personalised messaging and helps compliance-monitoring teams identify potential complaints or vulnerable customers.
- Market analysis and trend prediction: AI tools scan vast datasets to identify patterns and forecast market movements, helping advisers stay ahead of trends.
- Scalability and efficiency: AI automates repetitive tasks like onboarding, form processing and data entry, helping advisers scale their practices.
- Document extraction and analysis: AI tools extract data from complex documents (e.g., tax returns, investment statements) and integrate it into planning tools, reducing manual data entry and improving accuracy.
Changing the culture of advice
The rise of AI is changing the culture of advice firms, as advisers can devote more time to understanding clients’ goals to deliver personalised advice and tailored solutions. This shift will enhance trust and strengthen the adviser/client relationship, providing a critical differentiator in a competitive market.
Five steps to thrive in an AI-enabled future
To capitalise on AI’s potential, advice firms need to act decisively and have a clear strategy, starting with the following practical steps:
- Assess your AI readiness: Identify where AI can deliver the greatest impact, whether in client onboarding, portfolio management or compliance
- Invest in training: Employees trained in AI see greater productivity and efficiency. There are two training paths that will be valuable to advisers:
- Acquiring skills to increase personal productivity and analysis, an area rife with possibilities across all areas of the business
- Acquiring skills to understand and advise clients on AI products that can help them with business decisions, including how AI is shaping financial markets and investment decisions
- Integrate AI into workflows: Make AI tools accessible within existing platforms and ensure they fit seamlessly into systems to minimise disruption
- Promote success stories: Showcase early wins to build trust and momentum and build confidence across the team
- Address trust and compliance: Implement robust governance, ensure transparency in AI decision making, and maintain human oversight for critical decisions and to preserve client confidence
As AI reshapes the business landscape, advice firms that adopt it with clear strategy, strong governance, and a commitment to training across all generations will be best positioned to thrive. Firms that approach this transformation with purpose and align AI technology with client-centric values can gain greater productivity and provide higher-quality guidance. Success will depend on augmenting—not replacing—human judgment, ensuring advisers remain indispensable while setting a new standard for trust and innovation in wealth management.
