Former adviser launches AI service

An artificial intelligence (AI) service designed to optimise the financial planning documentation process has been launched by a former adviser.

Paradino was founded by Alex Gassner as a way for advisers to create professional file notes, fact finds, presentation of statements of advice, and review meetings.

He estimated the time savings from automating these activities could be over five hours, which could then be used for other client meetings.

“How do we make the process more efficient and quicker and get the adviser out of the parts of the business that aren’t high value or revenue generating?

“AI can do the tasks which are low-hanging fruit, these things can be replicated through AI easily and means advisers can spend their time on other areas.”

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He said the benefit of Paradino is that he used to work in advice himself and now runs an outsourced paraplanning firm called Scale Up Paraplanning in Australia and the UK. This has enabled him to observe the whole advice process and identify the pain points faced by advisers.

“We have seen it ourselves in our work in paraplanning and technology, the number of clients we saw in paraplanning who had processes which were manual heavy, which slowed the process down and led to delays. 
“This impacts not only the team but the health of the business and delays cash flow.

“AI allows us to cut costs and see more clients, which has flow-on effects to the business, and these staff can be repurposed doing more high-value work, which also improves client retention.”

When it comes to implementing AI, he recommended advisers have a specific staff policy about AI usage by the firm and what they are trying to achieve around AI. They should also explain to clients how they are using AI to help them and reassure them their client data is safe and not being used for any adverse purposes.

“The businesses that are embracing AI are seeing efficiencies and getting ahead. They are leveraging it and using it efficiently. Others are using AI such as ChatGPT, but don’t know yet how they can best leverage it.

“You can’t expect every firm to have an interest and the time to invest in the technology, and that’s where Paradino sits. We have an advice background and we know where the pain points are for advisers.”

While Paradino has only just launched in Australia, Gassner is confident of its uptake and plans to use it in the UK in the future.

Last month, Colonial First State (CFS) announced a five-year agreement with Microsoft to underpin the firm’s use of cloud and AI in wealth management. The agreement will focus on ensuring CFS drives AI innovation within Australia’s wealth management, having already adopted Microsoft’s Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service in a pilot program back in January 2024. With the new deal inked, it will now expand Copilot across the CFS workforce. 

CFS’ planned use of AI within wealth management includes:

• Using Azure OpenAI Service to analyse member feedback and gain insights by identifying specific themes and patterns to enhance services and overall member experience.
• Using Azure Open AI Service to assist the CFS FirstTech technical advisory team to quickly locate information from their extensive library of superannuation legislation to answer questions from financial advisers.
• Using Azure Open AI Service to identify ways in which AI can assist CFS contact centre agents by providing faster access to information.
• Microsoft Power Platform’s AI Builder, Power Automate and Power BI tools to analyse and extract insights from feedback provided by financial advisers who work with CFS.