AI by industry · Professional services
AI for financial advisors: what to automate first
A financial advisor gets the most from AI by automating what surrounds the advice: preparing for meetings, turning notes into follow-up tasks, chasing onboarding paperwork and keeping in touch with clients between reviews. The advice itself stays with the advisor. Westward can build these pieces, and a person approves anything that goes out.
Talk through your practice with the person who builds it
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your financial advisor to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
Pick what you want AI to take off your plate
The advice is the small part of the day
Between meetings come notes, account opening forms, transfer paperwork, follow-up emails and the reminder to call someone who has not been heard from. That surrounding work is repetitive and ideal for help.
None of that needs a prediction or a recommendation, which is why it is a safe place to begin.
Start with meetings
Before a review, pull together what changed. After it, turn the conversation into a summary, tasks and a follow-up email. These are drafts for the advisor, not decisions.
Compliance comes first
Advisors operate under rules on advertising, recordkeeping of client communications and suitability of advice. Talk to your compliance contact before using any tool with client data or client-facing messages. This is a general note, not legal or compliance advice.
Keep a list of which tools touch client data, and review it with compliance at least once a year.
Picture this
Examples of what it can look like. Illustrations, not clients.
Before a client review, you see a one-page summary of the last conversation, open tasks and life changes mentioned in email.
After a meeting, a draft recap lists what you agreed, what the client will send, and what you will do, ready for your edits.
A client who has not been contacted in a while appears on your list with a suggested reason to reach out.
The rules that apply, in their own words
“must be fair and balanced, and must provide a sound basis for evaluating the facts”
Sources
- FINRA Rule 2210: Communications with the Public: The rule for broker-dealer marketing and client messages.
- 17 CFR § 275.206(4)-1 (SEC Marketing Rule): The rule for investment adviser ads and testimonials.
- 15 U.S.C. § 45 (FTC Act, Section 5): The federal ban on unfair or deceptive business practices, ads included.
Talk through your practice with the person who builds it
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your financial advisor to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
Questions
Can AI give investment advice?
AI should not be the one advising clients. The advisor makes recommendations and is responsible for them.
Can I use AI notes under my recordkeeping rules?
Ask compliance. Communications and notes may need to be kept in specific ways.
Where should I start?
With one repeating task, such as meeting recaps or onboarding reminders. Prove it works, then add more.