Brokers should pay attention to robo-advice developments- AIM

AI will cause a 'fundamental shift' in how brokers do their jobs

Brokers should pay attention to robo-advice developments- AIM

Investment management firm Kiwi Wealth has become the first financial services company to be granted FMA approval to offer personalised financial robo-advice, a development which marks significant movement for the industry.

The FMA has been looking at making exemptions to current robo-advice laws since October of last year, and has received strong support from the financial advisory sector. According to AIM mortgage broker Mark Miller, brokers should pay close attention to developments in AI technology and should all be considering their use in business processes.

“AIM will certainly be applying to the FMA to use robo-advice,” Miller tells NZ Adviser. “We want to make sure we have our underlying technology in place before we do, but we’ll be experimenting with some hypotheticals later this year and we anticipate that it’ll take a few more years for us to make it a fundamental part of our business.”

“There’s going to be a pretty fundamental shift in terms of how we all do our job,” he continues. “In terms of the rest of the industry – if they’re not at least considering it, they should probably be looking for a new career!”

According to Miller, the broker role will become more focused on ‘out-of-the-box’ advice, client support and facilitating client understanding. Whilst AI can effectively take over the more functional aspects of securing a mortgage, brokers will be there to provide support with issues that technology can’t necessarily help.

“There is still going to be a place for client advocacy,” says Miller. “The more mundane processes are the ones that will get absorbed first, but advisers will always overlay on top to make sure that it’s fit for purpose and right for the client. Increased access to financial advice is certainly important, but the broker will still need to act as an intermediary.”

“Now, it’s just a matter of not being left behind,” he concludes. “This is a really exciting area, and I don’t see this as a challenge to our profession.”