Contact

News & Insights

NEWS WRAP – Approaching AI in the Financial Advice Industry

The survey revealed that 72 per cent of financial services firms are planning to introduce a greater reliance on automation over the coming five years, and, tellingly, it is larger firms who are making the most contingencies, with 94% of the larger firms polled saying that they had already earmarked sums for greater investment in AI platforms. **

However, the research found that among some advisers there was reluctance to adopt AI technologies (88.8%) because of fears about a lack of transparency**. The Financial Conduct Authority’s Christopher Woolard recently summarised this view when he expressed concerns that
“true robo-advice” might be impossible to regulate because of its algorithmic decision process.*

The Blacktower FM View

It is hard not to meet the news regarding automated financial services with some level of ambivalence; yes, anything that improves efficiency and/or outcomes and reduces costs while also freeing more time for client-adviser interaction is undoubtedly a good thing, but not if it ultimately leads to a downgrading of human service.

Perhaps AI will work for some and not for others; it is conceivable that it will not be the high-net-worth client who benefits from the technology, but instead those with smaller investment sums or those who are unable to afford bespoke financial advice.

Currently, it is difficult to predict precisely where AI will go.

What is certain is that AI can only make the financial advice process “more meaningful” if it enhances human interaction rather than diminishing it. This scenario would mean AI taking over some of the number-crunching, thereby freeing advisers to provide clients with more frontline and personalised support.

This, at least, is the view of Rainbird’s chief executive James Duez, “Financial advisers will increasingly be performing specialised tasks that machines cannot. A new generation of AI can replicate human reasoning and make inferences from data, but it cannot empathise with people.”*

Human advice from a forward-thinking firm

Blacktower Financial Management has more than three decades of experience in the financial services and wealth management sector. Again and again we have shown our commitment to evolution and innovation while all the time retaining the human qualities that have made us such an outstanding firm.

Wherever you live, if you are an expat and are looking for international financial advice from a team of specialist cross-border advisers, contact your local Blacktower FM office today.

 

* Poll report on FTadviser.com https://www.ftadviser.com/your-industry/2019/10/04/how-automation-could-change-the-advice-industry/ Accessed 01-11-19

** https://www.blacktowerfm.com/images/73RB_EnterpriseSurvey_A4.pdf Accessed 01-11-19

Other News

To Brexit or not to Brexit, that is the question

400 years of Shakespeare and we are still pondering over the question! 

I recently returned from London – more specifically the City of London – and was rather surprised to find out that the financial ‘experts’ were still in a state of flux, arguing over the theoretical economical fall out, on the day after of the fast approaching in/out referendum. I came to the conclusion, after pouring through reams of editorial columns from “would be” financial gurus, that the prognosis relating to the likely impact on the FTSE100 on the 24th of June – the day after – was that the general consensus converged on a simple equation; if the in campaign wins the day, there would be an immediate 5% appreciation. Conversely, if the out campaign has it, the FTSE100 would suffer a dramatic 10% loss.

Read More

TOP TIPS – Review Your Finances for 2020

Ready for 2020The start of a new decade, and with it the beginning of a new era for Britain and its citizens in the form of Brexit, represents the perfect time to review your wealth management plans. From taking a look at the suitability of your asset allocation and your pension savings to reviewing your tax and estate planning, now is an especially pertinent time to develop a clear path into the future.

While Brexit is not quite a done deal yet, there is at least some clarity and although Boris Johnson might have been unable to get Brexit ‘done’ immediately, one thing is pretty clear: as of 31 January, the UK really will begin the process of leaving the EU.

Read More

Select your country

Please select your country of residence so we can provide you with the most relevant information:

You are currently viewing the Blacktower Financial Management EU website.

You may be looking for the Blacktower United States website.

Blacktower United States > X Stay on this site

Or choose your country.