Victor Connor, a 40-plus year advisor in Boynton Beach, Fla., has been using artificial intelligence tools to improve his writing and to facilitate creation of PowerPoint presentations. He found that using AI to help with simple tasks gave him a good introduction to the power of AI. He’s become convinced that these tools will help advisors improve their service to clients.
Quick Overview
Guest: Victor Connor
Boynton Beach, Florida
Years in business: 40+
Firm: Raymond James
What’s working now: Using artificial intelligence to improve communications and to make standard processes more efficient.
From skepticism to daily use: AI’s growing role
Victor’s journey with AI truly took off when he started experimenting with ChatGPT. He said the moment he realized its true potential came when he began using it to improve his writing.
He said he used to write everything himself, but now he uses AI to refine his work.
Victor: “I consider myself a good writer, however, I’m always looking to get better, and I will tell you now almost everything I write, I write out my version and then I put it into ChatGPT 4.0 and it revises it and it always makes it clearer, more concise.”
This experience opened Victor’s eyes to the potential of AI not just as a productivity tool, but as a means to enhance the quality of his work and communication with clients. He now uses AI two to three times a day, finding it invaluable for various aspects of his practice.
Navigating the AI implementation journey
As he has navigated this AI journey, Victor said he has learned several key lessons that are crucial for any advisor looking to implement AI in their practice.
He emphasized the importance of staying current with technology to remain competitive in the financial advisory industry. Victor has found AI particularly useful in areas where he traditionally struggled, such as organizing and presenting information.
Victor: “I do a monthly update for my clients on the market, and what I do is now I write it out and I put it in the ChatGPT and say, create a PowerPoint and it comes back. I still have to create the PowerPoint, but it’s now organized it and basically given the product to go start and do myself.”
This approach has allowed Victor to streamline his process for creating client presentations, making him more efficient and effective in his communication.
Balancing AI and human touch
Victor said a key thing he has learned in using AI is to start with simple tasks and gradually expand its use. He’s found this approach allows him to learn and adapt along the way, minimizing risks while maximizing benefits.
One area where Victor has seen significant improvement is in his professional communications. He shared an example of how AI helped him refine his online presence:
Victor: “On my webpage, I had my bio, which I thought was a good bio, used it for a long time, put it in their chat and ended up revising it online and they did a better bio than I did my own bio.”
This experience highlighted for Victor the potential of AI to enhance not just the efficiency of his work, but also its quality. However, he’s quick to emphasize that AI is a tool to augment, not replace, human expertise.
When it comes to compliance concerns, Victor has found that AI-generated content has been well-received so far.
Victor: “I have had no negative response at all. I haven’t specifically told them I’m asking AI to do this and this and this, but every product I use, like a white paper or a PowerPoint, every time I put it into compliance for review, I’ve never had any kickbacks.”
While this has been his experience, Victor acknowledges the importance of staying vigilant about compliance issues as AI use expands in the industry.
The future of financial advisory: AI and human expertise
As Victor looks to the future, he sees AI playing an increasingly important role in the financial advisory industry. However, he firmly believes that human advisors will continue to be essential, especially for high-net-worth clients.
Victor: “For the high-net-worth clients, they don’t want a Robo-Advisor, they want a person. So as long as financial advisors are wanted by those high-net-worth clients, we’re still going to be there. They want somebody with empathy, they want to talk, they do not want, no matter how well they sound, a robot running their life.”
Despite the challenges, Victor remains enthusiastic about the future possibilities of AI in financial advising. He sees each new application of AI as an opportunity to improve his practice and better serve his clients.
Victor added that he’s convinced AI will create a fundamental shift in financial services.
Victor: “By embracing AI and learning to work alongside it, we can create more value for our clients, streamline our operations, and position ourselves for success in a rapidly evolving industry landscape.”
As the industry moves forward, it’s clear that advisors who can effectively balance AI capabilities with human expertise will be well-positioned to thrive. Victor’s journey with AI is still ongoing, but his experiences so far suggest that the future of financial advising is one where human insight and artificial intelligence work hand in hand to create value for clients.