Practical Guide to Get Started with AI in Wealth Management

AI is transforming how businesses work, and wealth management is no exception.

By smart-automating key tasks like meeting prep, note-taking, CRM updates, workflow automation, and client follow-ups, financial practices can save time, deepen client relationships, improve teamwork and efficiency, stay compliant and gain valuable client insights.

As 92% of financial advisors have already integrated AI in their practices in 2024 (source: Accenture), it is clear that using AI is becoming a necessity for wealth management firms to stay competitive.

Here’s how.

Step-by-step guide for AI adoption in wealth management

AI adoption for your financial practice doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Follow this practical guide and get started one step at a time!

Step 1: Identify the Needs of Your Financial Practice

The first step to successfully implementing and utilizing AI for your practice is understanding your needs and identifying inefficiencies and opportunities for utilizing AI. 

1.1. Audit your workflow to identify inefficiencies

First, take a look at  your current workflows and try to  identify repetitive tasks and challenges.

‍Here are the most common areas and use cases where AI can level up financial advisors’ and practices’ workflows:

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Automating repetitive manual tasks

    ➜  Meeting preparation

    ➜  Meeting note-taking

    ➜  Processing meeting notes and follow-up tasks

    ➜  Client communication, including pre-meeting e-mails, follow-ups, check-ins and replies

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Keeping records up-to-date and compliant

    ➜  Administrating meeting notes and new client information

    ➜  Keeping your client records up to date and compliant

    ➜  Updating and tracking tasks in your CRM

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Teamwork and task delegation

    ➜  Sharing information with team members for visibility

    ➜  Syncing data from different sources, such as meeting notes, e-mails, CRM or planning systems

    ➜  Delegating and tracking tasks

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1.2. Assess future needs

‍Implementing AI in your workflow will level up your practice efficiency, but  it will also be a necessity to stay competitive in the future, especially as you scale.Next to auditing your current needs,  you should also assess possible future needs and challenges, with consideration  for

  ⇮ Growth and scalability: You should also prepare for future growth of your practice. The solution should support and adapt to not only your present, but also to expected future needs and workflows.

  ✔ Compliance: It is important that your chosen solution prioritizes compliance, including continuous adaptation to regulatory requirements, so that you don’t have to worry about staying compliance-proof.

1.3. Prioritize your needs

‍Assess the identified current inefficiencies and future opportunities in terms of importance and  trade-offs, and make a list, prioritizing your needs so that you know exactly what you are looking for.

Step 2: Evaluate Internal Challenges of AI adoption

‍Before adopting a new solution for your practice, it is important to consider internal factors, particularly capital and human resource needs and allocation.

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‍2.1. Budget and cost justification

‍When determining your budget for a solution, you should consider the return on investment, including both direct and indirect benefits.

Direct benefits include:

  ☑ Time savings through task automation

   ☑ Reduced staffing costs

   ☑ Improved efficiency with fewer errors 

Indirect benefits include:

   ☑ Stronger client relationships

   ☑ Improved client retention

   ☑ Scalability

   ☑ Reduced risk of compliance issues and regulatory penalties

2.2. Learning and implementation

‍Other resources - time and effort required from your team, along training  and workflow adjustment needs - are also important factors to consider for successful AI adoption. Proper resource allocation and planning will make the process more efficient.

Best practices

   ✔  Start with a Trial: Test with a small team to gather insights.

   ✔  Leverage Support: Ask your provider’s help for best practices and customization.

   ✔  Experiment and Optimize: Refine systems and workflows before onboarding your whole team.

   ✔  Plan Onboarding: Create a strategy to minimize disruptions and quickly maximize benefits.

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Step 3: Find AI solutions Suited for Your Practice

‍Once you have successfully identified key internal factors, you can begin evaluating potential AI solutions.

AI solution checklist for financial advisors

Compare solution with your needs based on your previously identified and prioritized list of needs.

   ☑ Integration with your tech stack

   ☑ Compliance

   ☑ Data security and privacy

   ☑ Product features

Assess adoption challenges

   ☑ Check budget fit: Check out plans and how they fit into the budget determined according to the expected return on investment.

   ☑ Learning, customization and support: Look for a solution that can be customized and optimized for your practice and workflow. Choosing a solution that offers quick and high-quality customer support and onboarding can save you a lot of time and resources.

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Step 4: Choose a Solution 

After you have all relevant information in your hands, it’s time to evaluate what solution best fits your practice.

4.1. Compare your needs with solution capabilities

Make a comparison of how well  the potential solutions align with your prioritized needs and solution checklist, and make a shortlist of your preferred solutions.

4.2. Compare prices and budget

Evaluate the costs of the solutions in the context of your budget and cost justification.

4.3. Choose your solution

Select the solution that best balances your needs and financial expectations.

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Step 5: Get Started to See AI in Action

 Once you have made your choice, it’s time to test your AI solution in practice. 

5.1. Participate in a demo or start a trial 

Test your chosen AI solution in real workflows by participating in a demo or starting a trial. Explore its functions and assess how it can fit your practice.

5.2. Optimize the solution for your practice

Work with your provider in  identifying opportunities for customization and optimization of systems and workflows to maximize value for  your practice.

5.3. Prepare for onboarding

Prepare an onboarding and training strategy for your team. This will help you minimize disruptions and ensure you get the most out of the technology as soon as possible. 

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‍Zocks is built to help Advisors Succeed - we are here for you in every step of implementing AI.

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