Whether you’re fascinated by AI or not, it is essential for everyone to stay knowledgeable about the newest AI tools that are enhancing companies’ competitive advantage. Today we’re diving into two exceptional AI tools that’ll help your company grow organically.
Vanilla is an estate planning technology firm. They exemplify embracing AI to modernize how advisors optimize their client’s strategies. Their new AI tool, Vanilla Scenarios, allows multiple real-time scenario modeling.
The tool combines potential planning scenarios into already established estate plans. This creates a more foundational strategy for the client. By simulating how GRATs, SLATs, ILITs, and QPRTs could mitigate estate taxes, advisors can present financial plans with crystal-clear planning options.
Although young (founded in 2019), Vanilla has the support of major investors such as Vanguard, Mariner Wealth Advisors, Avantax, and Balentine. Vanilla is co-founded by AdvicePeriod and Convergent Wealth Advirs founder, Steve Lockshin.
“Vanilla Scenarios takes proactive estate advisory to the next level, offering a comprehensive planning experience that empowers advisors, planners, and estate attorneys to deliver actionable estate advice, educate clients on the value of additional planning, and minimize both state and federal tax implications,” said Gene Farrell, CEO of Vanilla.
Vanilla Scenarios gives your firm an unmatched competitive edge in the financial planning industry. In a recent study by Herbers & Company, 58% of advisory firms offer some sort of estate planning services, while 28% of clients seek such services.
Financial consumers are looking for a more holistic approach these days. The AI tool helps give advisors a well-rounded service to help enhance the consumers’ potential strategies and could entice your tax planning clients for additional services from your firm. Did someone say organic growth?
Another new tool advisors are excited about is Archive Intel, a new archiving solution for electronic communications such as text, email, and social media. Fintech entrepreneur Larry Shumbres, alongside chief technology officer Ravi Gupta and Chief revenue officer Shea Werner, have created the first AI archiving solution to combat the recent uptick in audits.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued collective fines of over $1 billion last year for noncompliant communications with clients. This initiative is a continuation of the aftermath of a $1.8 billion fine imposed on 16 Wall Street firms for their record-keeping shortcomings in September 2022.
Jeff Nash, chief executive of recruiting and consulting firm BridgeMark Strategies when asked about the upside in audits, commented:
“Firms are actually getting fined because advisors are not following the firms’ texting policies so as part of the auditing process, firms are looking at cell phones to see if advisors are following the firm’s policies regarding texting. The only way to do the audit is to look through someone’s phone and do a spot check to make sure they’re not texting clients.’’ – Jeff Nash, BridgeMark Strategies
Although there are a handful of popular archiving solutions for electronic communications such as Smarsh, Global Relay, and Redtail; Shumbres notes that Archive Intel is no competition to them. Archive Intel learns specific sentences (compared to only keywords from competing software) to help eliminate false positives when flagging problematic phrases. In case of any internal needs, such as an SEC audit, Archive Intel can quickly generate and export a report.
For firms hesitant about AI integration, we hope this changes your perspective on AI’s supposed “evil” nature. No matter to what extent you implement these kinds of tools into your system, we are finding that there is no avoiding it.
The era of artificial intelligence has begun! Whether you want to learn it now or risk being left behind in the evolution is up to you.