The Advisor Delta™

Narrator: Welcome to The Advisor Delta™, the practice management podcast dedicated to helping investment advisors grow their business and reach their goals. Whether you’re looking to scale your practice, streamline operations, adapt to emerging technology, or deliver value to clients - this is the place for actionable insights, thoughtful leadership and innovative strategies. Brought to you by Worldsource Wealth Management. Let’s dive in!
Trish: Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Advisor Delta™. I'm your host, Trish Smart, a practice management consultant at Worldsource. Today we're exploring a topic that's dominating headlines, conversations and quite possibly your workflows: artificial intelligence. We've been seeing headlines about AI everywhere. It seems like everybody is looking to incorporate AI into their business. It's supposed to make us work faster, smarter and more efficiently. But how are financial advisors incorporating it into their practice? So where does it fit in and how can it help you do what it's supposed to do? Advisors and their teams everywhere are facing a common challenge. How do we keep up with client expectations, compliance requirements and growing practice demands all without burning out? That's where AI used wisely can come in. As with anything in our industry, there are expectations and standards we need to follow. We want to ensure that both you and your clients are protected. So, as we go just remember, if you're ever unsure about the use of AI, don't guess. Reach out to your Compliance team for guidance.
So, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's take a step back and talk about what AI is. At its core, artificial intelligence is a way of getting computers to do the tasks that we normally associate with human intelligence. Things like learning, reasoning, predicting, and even creating. One important branch of AI is machine learning, which allows systems to improve on their own based on data and patterns without being explicitly programmed. For advisors this doesn't mean handing over client relationships to a robot. It means working smarter using technology to reduce repetitive tasks so you can spend your time where accounts with your clients. More and more advisory teams are quietly and effectively integrating AI into their everyday routines. Some are using AI-powered tools to extract and organize client data. Others are using it to rewrite client emails for clarity or draft a social media post. Some are even developing dashboards powered by AI to visually represent information and dramatically improve the client experience. These dashboards don't just help advisors look smarter, they actually make the conversation more insightful. Clients are responding well too, really appreciating the clarity and depth of information that they're receiving. If you do decide to explore these avenues, just take care on managing client data. Ensure that there's no sensitive information that's being uploaded into public platforms. AI is powerful, but it's not risk free. If you're ever unsure or need guidance on potential risks associated with AI, don't guess, talk to your Compliance team.
The question we often get is, why can't we just Google the way that we always have? Well, the difference between Google and AI is subtle, but critical. When you search something on Google, you're getting a general answer stripped of any context. Every query stands on its own. There's no continuity. You're doing the interpreting, the editing, the follow-up research, but with AI, it works with you. It can add on to your previous questions. It can tailor your content to your audience. It can write with empathy, creativity or with technical precision. Think of it as moving from a generic search engine to a personalized research assistant who knows your voice, your tone, your goals, and adopts accordingly. And if you want that assistant to be effective, you have to know how to talk to it. Which brings us to our next point, prompt writing. A good prompt is like a good discovery client question. It's clear, focused and framed with the outcome in mind. Let me give you an example. Say for example, you wanna summarize a new budget article. Instead of saying, summarize this, try saying, summarize this article in three sentences, highlighting key points relevant to a high-net-worth client in Canada. This extra context makes a world of difference. It's not about being technical, it's about being intentional. Once you understand how to write effective prompts, the possibilities really do start to open up. You can ask AI to rewrite client letters to make them more engaging. You can have it simplify a complex investment concept to a new investor so that they can understand it. You can even create a LinkedIn bio draft, a job description or generate a PowerPoint outline for your next client event. The more specific your prompt, the better the output and the less editing you have to do later.
Just don't forget to always review before using. AI isn't perfect and it's not responsible for your voice. You are. The feedback I've had from advisors is the best way to get started with AI is creating a prompt library. Think of it as your go-to toolbox. These are prompts that you and your team can reuse, refine and build on. For example, you might have one for summarizing research, another one for writing social media posts, and yet another one for organizing meeting notes. The key is to start simple and build from there. If you're leading a team, don't keep the magic to yourself. Share these tools. Encourage the teams to test on them, reflect what works and, more importantly, ask questions if they're unsure on how to use these tools responsibly. Because while AI can absolutely help you become more efficient, it doesn't take away your judgment, your expertise or your obligations. We're still a highly regulated industry, and we have to protect our client's data, their trust and our business. That means staying aware of risks, checking in for accuracy and always, always looping in with Compliance before trying anything new that can impact client communication or data security.
So before signing off today, I want to share one story that recently happened. An advisor within one of our study groups was very hesitant about using AI at all. She was experienced, successful and frankly didn't see the need to change what was working. But after hearing about AI from her peers, she started to experiment first with having AI rephrase a client email, and then to summarize a quarterly report. The next session, she reported back and said something that really stuck with me. She said, I thought AI was going to replace the human touch, but it's actually given me more time to be human with my clients. And I think that's really the point as you explore what AI can do for your practice. Remember, it's not about doing more for the sake of doing more. It's about freeing yourself up to do the work that only you can do. Build relationships, give advice and make a difference. That's it for today's episode of the Advisor Delta. If you have enjoyed this conversation, I encourage you to share it with your team or use it to spark your next team meeting discussion. Try a prompt, review the results and talk about how it might fit in with your workflows. But above all, be thoughtful, be curious and be compliant. Until next time!

Narrator: Thanks for tuning into The Advisor Delta™! We hope you found today’s episode valuable to supporting your practice. For more episodes and insights, don’t forget to subscribe and visit us at www.worldsourcewealth.com. And remember, together, we can take your practice to the NextLevel™. Until next time!
Worldsource Financial Management Inc. (a mutual fund dealer) and Worldsource Securities Inc. (an investment dealer), are divisions of Worldsource Group of Companies Inc., operating as Worldsource Wealth Management. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the participants only. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to seek professional guidance for their specific needs. Worldsource Wealth Management does not endorse any products, services, or companies mentioned in this episode.