Written by Tony Wilkinson, Investment Director, quantitative solutions, at Collidr
Your time is a precious and finite resource. It is, arguably, the most valuable commodity we have; it cannot be replenished and becomes scarcer with every passing moment.
One often hears the cliché, time is money, but regrettably, ATMs are not time machines; we cannot withdraw moments once spent. This analogy serves as a poignant reminder that, just like money, time should be managed with care and invested or used wisely. Every moment we ‘spend’ has an opportunity cost associated with it.
For advisers, there might be activities that consume disproportionate amounts of time without yielding true cost-effective benefits, so embracing developments that deliver incremental gains to free up more time becomes crucial. Take the concrete example of writing client communications and content.
Advisers often bear the heavy burden of producing post-hoc opinion pieces, market commentary and analysis for clients, a task usually dictated by regulations and regulators, and which often follows specific formats and timeframes. For some, this can become a mundane, time-consuming chore, producing uninspiring and repetitive content.
In the realm of financial advisory services, where time is often spent repeating the same content and lines, month after month, quarter after quarter, there’s a need for a transformative solution. In this, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a game-changer, a tool capable of automating content generation efficiently when used effectively.
Think about the evolution from wonky typewriters to the efficiency brought by spell-check, or how we moved from punch-cards to calculators to spreadsheets and beyond (to mis-quote Buzz Lightyear). These examples highlight the transformative power of investing in tools and processes. When did you last use a calculator in your office?
Consider leveraging generative AI language models to automate content generation. Let’s delve into a few examples where this technology allows you to create human-like text based on trusted market inputs, all whilst maintaining consistency and accuracy.
1. Producing your own market commentary
· Using generative AI language models with various market inputs, companies can automate content generation while ensuring the data comes from trusted sources. Output can still be reviewed and verified for accuracy.
2. Creating bespoke portfolio commentary:
· AI models can summarize the performance of numerous portfolios over a given period, providing sophisticated content at scale without a proportional increase in resources.
3. Writing ad-hoc research or analysis:
· By feeding AI with data, calculations, research, and insights, it can generate coherent and relevant responses in the desired style and output format.
However, like any programming language, the results are only as good as the input. Garbage in is garbage out. The technical challenge lies in curating the input data or “prompts” to achieve desired outcomes.
Investing a little time and effort at the outset can save countless hours later, allowing advisers to focus on more critical aspects such as prospecting or meeting clients.
In the grand scheme of life, managing time effectively is not dissimilar to investing wisely. Just as a financial portfolio requires careful consideration, optimisation and strategic planning, so too does the allocation of our most precious resource – time.
By allocating time more thoughtfully, advisers can cultivate a wealth of opportunities and experiences, enriching their professional and personal lives alike. Time is the currency of life, so spend it wisely, and remember that time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
And if you didn’t get this far, that’s ok. I didn’t spend more than a few minutes writing it.
