Do you know, amid all the doom and gloom these days, the Financial Planning profession seems to be in remarkably robust health, in contrast to some other parts of the economy.
I’ve based this assessment on attending the CISI Financial Planning Annual Conference in Windsor this week which proved popular and enlightening.
The event was packed out with 350 attending over the two days and many of the session were full. I was impressed how many attendees made it to early sessions on the second day, always the toughest day.
Many of the delegates I spoke to said business was good, they are recruiting and looking forward to the future. Proof yet that Rachel Reeves didn’t quite manage to kill off the professional sector.
The mood was positive, even uplifting at times, and there was plenty of laughter, discussion, questions and the sound of people enjoying reacquainting themselves with their professional peers and friends. All the things that should happen in a professional conference.
If there was one issue holding back some planning firms, many agreed, it was recruitment. Finding enough qualified staff and also affording high salaries for skilled staff remains a challenge.
There is extensive coverage on Financial Planning Today of some of the key sessions and the CISI Awards.
The big theme this year was AI and what it can do for the Financial Planning profession. The answer is quite a lot and I was pleased to hear that AI won’t kill all human life on the planet, at least not just yet.
AI expert Heather Murray provided an entertaining session on the latest developments in AI and explained how many Financial Planners could benefit significantly from integrating AI into their practices and adopting many of the new AI tools.
While she was positive about the opportunities, it was refreshing to hear her words of caution about AI and it’s ability to be “confidently wrong.”
If you are paying for an AI tool then you want something better than right most of the time. The bad news is that you will have to pay for it. She cautioned against free or cheap AI tools and said planners should aim for enterprise level tools and invest appropriately. Sound advice.
Looking ahead, some speakers forecast that traditional Financial Planning was dead and AI-based tools would take over, or at least do much of the heavy lifting.
I think this may be a bit premature. I suspect human Financial Planners will still be sitting down with human clients over a cup of tea and a biscuit for many years to come.
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Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience in finance, business and daily news. This topical comment appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days. Email: