How we are using AI

There is a question a few of our clients have asked – and most have probably wondered:

“Are my financial advisors using artificial intelligence? And how?”

A fair and timely question. We are living in a world that’s constantly changing, often faster than our ability to adapt, which makes us less than comfortable. Every day brings a new headline about AI, automation, robotics, data analysis, or some new technology that promises to make our lives easier, faster, smarter, or more efficient. And sometimes more scary.

Some of these promises are real. Some are exaggerated. And some raise legitimate concerns. So, we think it would be helpful to address the subject directly.

Yes, we are using AI in a limited way in our practice. We are using it thoughtfully, carefully, and in ways we believe can help us perform our work better, faster, and more efficiently. But I want to be very clear about something from the beginning: AI may change how we work, but it does not change why we work.

We come to work every day because we care deeply about the families we serve, your family. We care about helping you make good financial decisions. We care about helping you feel organized, prepared, and confident about the future. We care about helping you move from working for money, worrying about money, and thinking about money – to using your wealth to support the life you want to live.

That is human work. It always has been. It always will be.

Artificial intelligence is a tool. A powerful tool, yes, but still a tool. It is helping us sort information, organize ideas, review large amounts of data, summarize research, identify patterns, prepare educational materials, and reduce the amount of time we spend on routine behind-the-scenes tasks.

That matters because time matters. We all are gifted precious little of it, and we want to spend it helping the people we care about the best way we can. The more time we spend on mundane administrative or analytical tasks, the less time we have to spend on what matters most to us: you.

We want AI to help us find more time for face-to-face conversations. More time for planning. More time for follow-up. More time for thinking carefully about your unique situation. More time to help you and your family make decisions that are not just financially sound, but personally meaningful.

In that sense, technology isn’t lessening or replacing the relationship we have with our clients. Properly used, it is helping us strengthen that relationship. AI can do the task, but we still do the job. There is a difference.

A task might be organizing the reams of financial research we rely on to make investment decisions for your portfolio, or summarizing a tax law update, developing the algorithm behind the True Wealth Index we recently introduced you to, or helping us draft a first version of an educational article. Those are useful tasks, and AI can help us complete some of them more efficiently. But the job is different.

The job is understanding your goals. The job is knowing your family. The job is helping you decide when to retire, how much to spend, how to invest, when to take Social Security, how to think about healthcare costs, how to prepare the next generation, and how to use your wealth in a way that reflects your values.

The job requires judgment. It requires experience and trust. It requires listening carefully not just to what you say, but how you say it. AI cannot do that for us. Our job requires more than intelligence; it takes wisdom.

Technology can help us gather information, analyze multiple scenarios, and prepare materials to support a decision. But it does not know what keeps you up at night, or what you want for your children and grandchildren. It doesn’t know what kind of retirement will be fulfilling for you. That’s why the human-to-human relationship remains at the core of everything we do.

We believe AI will continue to become a more useful tool as it develops. But we also believe that judgment, wisdom, empathy, and trust will become even more important in a world where information is everywhere.

So, here is our promise to you: to whatever extent we use AI, we will use it to enhance our relationship with you, and not in any way to replace it. We will use technology – as we always have – where it helps us serve you better. We will avoid using it where it does not belong. And we will continue to believe that the best financial advice is not merely about numbers, charts, tax rules, or investment strategies. It will always be about humans (like our family), helping other humans (like you and your family) succeed.