Do Advisors Really Need to Be Told that HNW Clients Don't Want to Be Served by an Algorithm?
I read an article this week in Investment News called "Why human advice still reigns supreme for HNW clients."
I'm not here to call anyone out. I'm sure the person highlighted in this article is excellent at what he does. He's just providing some commentary on a hot topic. I'm here to talk about what this article says about how advisors are using AI.
From the article:
Even in moments of crisis, Thomas believes AI can help amplify the advisor’s role rather than replace it. He points to recent volatility as an example, where automation helped his team maintain consistent, timely communication with clients across the board.
“Instead of spending too much time delivering the messaging, you can use AI to create a crisp, clean message that goes out to all clients at once, and they're kept informed,” he explains.
A few thoughts:
This seems like a terrible habit to get into.
Markets acting up? Use AI to advise your clients. Yes, the same AI that just lost a chess game to an Atari 2600 and told a recovering meth addict that maybe a little hit of meth would help improve his job performance.
Have we really reached the point where writing a short message informing clients you're watching the markets is too much for a human to handle unassisted?
When you read this, is your first thought, “Wow, what a timesaver!” or “That’s a little concerning.”
The main point of this article feels so obvious.
The headline again: "Why human advice still reigns supreme to HNW clients."
Do any advisors out there really expect HNW clients to be happy being served by an algorithm? Does this really need to be said, let alone warrant an entire article?
What is the deal with InvestmentNews lately?
As a whole, I’ve always been impressed with financial industry publications. They don’t publish just anything, and they definitely haven’t been in the habit of publishing advertorials in disguise.
But in the last week I’ve read this piece, where they interviewed one person to tell us how his firm uses AI, and then another where they basically handed the publication over to an advisor who just talked about how great her firm is because she’s the only one serving her particular demographic.
I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come, because that’s a surefire way to lose all credibility as a publication. Has this been a new development at IN since they were bought by Key Media a couple years ago? I haven’t been paying close enough attention to tell.
Industry publications always come with a fair amount of fluff pieces, but this seems like a bigger shift.
I certainly don’t mean to disparage anyone, but I do think it’s worth considering. In the end, I hope we will see more thoughtful guidance around AI and fewer advertorials in this space.
