Companies that hesitate to invest in AI risk falling behind. That was one of the main messages from Charles Morris, Chief Data Scientist for Financial Services at Microsoft, in part 2 of a special episode of The Disruption Is Now. Host Greg Matusky sat down with Charles, Brad Sparks, Cofounder of Pomarium, and Rebecca Wilde, Managing Director of StockSnips, at the AdviseAI conference.
The discussions explore a number of perspectives on the state of AI, from how to kick off corporate change to personalizing investments around values to democratizing advanced investment strategies. The guests’ combined experience offers listeners a peek at AI’s impact across sectors.
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Key takeaways
Under-investing in AI could leave your business struggling to catch up
Charles Morris says that companies that delay adoption of AI may find themselves two years behind competitors that have already built the necessary skills and habits.
Companies are recognizing that the cost of catching up later is much higher, and moving beyond experimentation, integrating AI into core strategies.
Change management is crucial for successful AI integration
Adopting AI is about transforming how employees work.
Charles emphasizes the importance of change management, noting that even regular users of tools like Microsoft Copilot might not be utilizing them to their full potential. Companies need to invest in training and support to help teams adapt to new workflows and maximize the benefits of AI tools.
AI enhances human creativity and consistency
AI tools handle routine tasks, freeing up employees to focus on strategic thinking and creativity.
Greg shares that in his PR agency, AI helps the team recall a broader range of strategies, leading to more consistent and innovative work. Charles adds that AI can make employees’ best days even better by providing support that ensures high performance every day.
Personalized experiences through AI deepen client relationships
Brad Sparks explains how Pomarium’s AI platform allows financial advisors to create personalized investment portfolios aligned with clients’ values and preferences.
By engaging clients in meaningful conversations about their investment philosophies and personal values, advisors build deeper relationships. Clients become more engaged and loyal when they see their values reflected in their investments.
AI democratizes advanced investing strategies
Rebecca Wilde discusses how StockSnips’ AI-powered ETFs use sentiment analysis from over 50,000 daily news articles to select stocks.
Its proprietary AI models interpret nuanced financial texts to predict stock movements, bringing sophisticated investment strategies to independent advisors and investors. Rebecca emphasizes the importance of proprietary data and expertise in AI to deliver reliable and effective solutions.
Key moments
- Speaking in crayon about AI (1:11)
- The risk of under-investing in AI (2:30)
- Change management as a critical factor in AI adoption (6:11)
- Templated vs flexible AI (12:04)
- Mechanical tasks vs value-judgment tasks (15:43)
- Creating personalized investment portfolios with AI (18:14)
- Reflecting client values in investments (22:18)
- Is there risk in relying on algorithms? (29:54)
- AI analyzing 50,000 financial news articles daily (38:35)
- The challenges of accurately assessing financial texts (41:02)
- Making sophisticated AI investment strategies accessible through ETFs (44:49)
- AI won’t replace investment advisors (52:39)
