By Jeff Nash, Bridgemark Strategies
As we prepare to close the book on 2024, many of us will reflect upon what happened during the year, why it mattered and what it may portend. I’m one of those people. However, for me, this exercise is always more forward-looking than nostalgic. 2024 has had a number of noteworthy events – from a pivotal U.S. election, to the 33rd Olympiad in Paris, to geopolitical unrest. What among them will your descendants still be talking about in 50 or 75 years? That’s a tough question to answer, and also a fun one to consider as 2025 beckons.
I find myself categorizing items into two distinct silos: events so impactful, they served as a line in the sand, effectively demarcating what came before and what came after … a delineator, if you will (e.g., the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the COVID pandemic). The second category covers things that became so ubiquitous, their influence became a new fact of life for everyone; or what I call permeators (e.g., the emergence of the personal computer, the development of the Internet).
The story of 2024, the event that will captivate future generations and historians, falls into both categories: the escalation of AI. This past year is that line in the sand when this emergent technology truly began to infiltrate every aspect of our professional and personal lives. I believe 2024 will be the “when” in AI’s origin story as a transformational technology across all industries, including wealth management.
AI has been in play for years, flying under the radar. It’s only recently emerged as a game changer, creating possibilities perhaps not considered before. Will these hopes come to fruition? Yes, I believe they will. When? No one knows. If the history of human ingenuity is any indication, it won’t be long. Depending upon your vantage point, this is either a welcome or ominous development.
This was the year AI cast off its standing as a science-fiction trope or toy. AI is now recognized as a cost- and time-saving tool that delivers actual, meaningful results across multiple use cases: filling out forms, streamlining databases, maximizing CRM platforms and generating dialogue. Maximizing AI technology will determine corporate winners and losers in the years to come now that advances in digital platforms have transformed information into a commodity. AI’s ability to capture and process huge amounts of data is beginning to revolutionize how business gets done, how regulators oversee industry participants and how clients are served.
Like all technologies, AI’s power is elevated the more it is integrated into our businesses and lives. Building scale using AI is the next chapter in operational efficiency and it has already begun. As the advice business faces demographic challenges and demand rises, AI can help fill the gap, delivering complementary services alongside financial advisors in an evolving ecosystem. For years, we could not comprehend the impact of AI. Now, we have a better roadmap, helping us navigate what it means for our industry, how it will be used. It’s imperative to remember it’s a tool and we determine how, when and why it will be deployed.
In the near term, AI will not be the tide that lifts all boats. Firms must assess how AI will support their value proposition and provide tangible results, especially with back-office functions and streamlined workflows. Because the ROI won’t be the same for everyone, there’s still a long way to go before AI maximizes its potential. For those who worry what will be lost when that happens, it’s important to remember that humans drive progress and AI is one of the mechanisms for doing so.
Jeff Nash is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Bridgemark Strategies, a national consultancy firm that helps financial advisors evaluate and execute transitions – from changing broker-dealers to starting or joining an RIA – and also provides comprehensive M&A, succession planning and buy/sell guidance within the financial advisory space.
