The 4 AI tools I use in my practice — and 3 questions to avoid 'AI ick'

A few weeks ago, I walked into a client meeting with an entrepreneur who was in the process of selling his business. Fifteen minutes before the meeting started, I'd scanned a 120-page brokerage statement I'd received the night before into one of my artificial intelligence tools (more on that further down). 

By the time I sat down across from my client, I had a clean asset-allocation summary, fee analysis, performance attribution and historical stress tests in front of me. The conversation never touched Excel. Instead, we spent the full hour talking about what the sale would mean for his family, his cash-flow needs and his biggest fears about the deal. The meeting was calm and more human because the data work was already done.

This is the promise of AI done right in wealth management — tools that handle the repetitive, time-consuming tasks so we get back the hours we need for strategic thinking and making genuine connections with clients.

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'AI ick' erodes client trust
I have a strong aversion to what's been dubbed "the AI ick." You know, that feeling you get from those long, generic LinkedIn posts and templated emails that scream they were generated by ChatGPT or some other AI-powered chatbot. Clients and centers of influence can spot them instantly, and they erode trust.

My rule is simple: AI is for preparation and analysis only. I never let it generate the first draft of anything a client will read. I write every email, every note and every proposal in my own voice. Then I ask AI to proofread for grammar, clarity or sensitive phrasing. I review every single output before it leaves my desk. 

Here's a simple three-question screen before you hit send on content aimed at prospects and clients:

1. Does this sound like me or like a robot?
2. Have I reviewed every number and every recommendation myself?
3. Would I be comfortable if the client knew exactly how this was created?

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AI as PA, thought partner, time-saver
I rely on a small, focused stack of AI tools. Each was chosen because it was built for, or easily adapted to, financial advisory workflows, and each one delivers measurable time savings while sharpening the work I do as an advisor.

Anthropic Claude Sonnet is my big-picture strategic thought partner. As an example, when evaluating a multistate tax framework, I use Claude to help me build a clear discussion framework. For big strategy questions, it can help organize my thoughts in hours instead of days.

Quin is my AI personal assistant, built specifically for financial advisors. After every client meeting it transcribes the conversation, summarizes the key points, updates the CRM, delegates tasks to our operations and trading teams, drafts follow-up emails and tracks every open item. Most important for prospect and COI relationships, Quin reminds me of unfinished threads, for instance: "You last spoke with this tax attorney about that QSBS opportunity on March 12; time to follow up." What used to be two hours of administrative catch-up now takes me 10 to 15 minutes of review. Nothing falls through the cracks.

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VRGL handles portfolio intelligence and is how I came prepared for the client meeting with the entrepreneur I mentioned above. VRGL processes the upload overnight or in a quick batch and returns a complete picture: asset allocation, hidden fees, performance attribution and how the portfolio would have behaved in every major market event of the past decade. The work that once took an analyst days now takes minutes. I can spend the meeting discussing strategy instead of reconciling positions.

Vanilla is my estate-planning accelerator. Clients often bring 10 to 30 PDF documents from prior planning. Vanilla reads them all and produces a clean diagram of trusts, beneficiaries, successor trustees and potential gaps. Last month, when one client's father entered the hospital, we had the updated successor-trustee conversation the same week instead of months later. Proactive beats reactive every time. When everyone reclaims even a few hours a week, the whole practice runs smoother.

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Eliminate drudgery, amplify empathy
Administrative and analytical work that once consumed entire days now fits into short review blocks. That reclaimed time shows up where it matters most: in deeper professional relationships.

Clients feel the difference. Meetings shift to meaningful dialogue about their lives and goals. The entire team spends far more of the day listening, strategizing and building trust.

Going forward, the most valuable advisors will not be the ones who use the most AI. They will be the ones who use it to eliminate drudgery and amplify human judgment and empathy. Start small, keep your voice front-and-center, and the technology will quickly pay you back in time and client trust.