Netwealth to explore AI’s ‘transformative opportunity’ in advice
Netwealth has recognised the significant potential and transformative opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI), with six areas of the business set to see the greatest benefits.
In the firm’s 2023 annual general meeting, Matt Heine, Netwealth chief executive, described how AI will “profoundly impact” various aspects of the platform and both its internal and external interactions.
“Netwealth has been actively utilising and exploring AI, particularly in machine learning, leveraging cutting-edge technology from OpenAI, Microsoft and other software vendors with whom we already collaborate with,” he explained.
The platform has also gained early access to Microsoft Copilot, the technology giant’s own AI chatbot assistant, enabling Netwealth to reconsider its service engagement and web interfaces.
Heine pinpointed six main areas set to be early beneficiaries of AI:
- Portfolio management
- Financial advice
- Client experience
- Administration
- Marketing
- Compliance and security
The chief executive confirmed that numerous projects have been planned, delivered or are in progress relating to these areas.
“Notable examples of these projects include automated portfolio commentary and insights, account alerts, real-time insights on client data and the development of an AI-driven fund manager portal to increase data interaction.”
Automating back-office tasks has been another focus for the platform. Microsoft Copilot can respond to emails, facilitate communication, and extract information from PDF documents, teams and meetings.
Looking at risk and compliance, Netwealth noted AI’s crucial role within data management, risk assessments and cyber security.
Heine continued: “To sum up, we are in a great position for both current and future growth.”
Last month, the platform reported elevated levels of outflows in the last quarter, though it chalked this up to cyclical challenges in the macroeconomic environment and maintains a “very positive” outlook.
Funds under administration (FUA) outflows were $2.6 billion, down from outflows of $3.1 billion in the previous quarter.
According to Netwealth, the outflows related primarily to clients partially withdrawing funds to invest in off-platform investments, including term deposits and other fixed income investments, and large partial withdrawals from high-net-worth and large accounts.
“Our new business pipeline and conversion remains strong, our client satisfaction remains high, and our market leading product suite and service ensures we continue to attract substantial inflows from existing and new clients across all our key market segments,” the firm’s ASX statement said.
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Jasmine Siljic
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