The WealthStack Podcast
00:13:46 · Brad Johnson
[00:13:46] S1: So I was this... I was a computer information systems major in college, so I actually took coding classes now. I remember nothing of that these days. But I learned how to build technology from a flowchart, if then statements, all of kind of the methodology behind. And then I thought I'd left that behind. And what's wild, it's coming full circle now when you're, I believe today, in finance, if you're not thinking like a technology company, you are going to get left behind. So we have invested heavily in that. We have back to member obsession, talk to our members, what... Where do they get stuck, what needs to work together to actually allow them to serve their clients. And AI right now, obviously very catchphrasey in everything, but specifically in finances, we record this Claude for financial advisors just came out a little over a month ago. And we have inside of Triad been running an AI mastermind for close to a year now. Here's been the biggest learning. Trigger alert. Sorry, financial advisers out there. You're not good at being technology people. And that's okay because you shouldn't be. Like, you're it's hard enough to be a financial adviser, serve your clients, build world class plans for you to be a CTO of your own firm, analyze all of the tech stack, make it talk, work together, and then, oh, by the way, as soon as you finish that out, five new AI tools rolled out yesterday. It's an impossible task. And so one of the biggest learnings in the AI mastermind is we have to build it on our members' behalf. They don't have the time. They don't have the bandwidth. They don't have the expertise. And quite honestly, they don't want to. And so when it comes to all of the AI tools, Claude for Financial Advisors, for example, super dangerous to just plug into that and start using it. You haven't vetted the connectors. You don't know where the PII is going. Even though it's enabled for financial advisers, doesn't mean you should plug in and start using it. And I strongly believe the SEC and this is leading technology, that there's gonna be some that get out over their skis here. They get a serious slap on the wrist or maybe more because they're putting client data in places where it should not go nor did they even know it. So the approach that Triad is taking is we are building right now. We have Triad AI. It's an AI enabled CRM.
00:16:07 · Brad Johnson, Shannon Rosic
So PII protected, SOC 2 compliant, and now our thought, instead of going external and connecting to all of these AI tools where you don't know where the data lives and you have to do a ton of diligence just to figure it out, We're building the fence data. We're bringing the AI tools inside of it to enable our members to actually still use the technology out there, but do it in a way that doesn't get them in trouble. So that's the simple version. There's a lot more behind it than that. But, philosophically, we're approaching the bill differently today. [00:16:41] S0: I think a lot of folks who are approaching it relatively cautiously because to your point, the SEC is still figuring out how to manage all this. So don't be that first use case folks where you do get your wrist slaps. Do this right. And to your point around AI, I actually thought your recent article on wealth management about treating AI like a new employee was a really interesting way to frame adoption because everyone's racing to deploy it. But you actually made the point that having access to a tool and being ready to use it are two different things. So what do you think advisers are underestimating about the operational and compliance changes required to make AI genuinely useful?
00:17:25 · Brad Johnson
[00:17:25] S1: So it is the future. I don't wanna take a pessimistic look at this. It is the future, and it's not going away anytime soon. And today is the worst it'll ever be. So it's... Look at the jumps we've seen over the last twelve to twenty four months. So I think understanding how to enable the usage in a way where you understand where your client's very important data is. In finance, it is the data every bad person in the world wants to get their hands on. So understanding it and taking it to that level of seriousness is key. And then I think the interesting thing with AI, because it's not just, hey, here's like a new Excel doc where it's a tool. You can't think about it like a tool that you just turn on or off. You have to think about it like an employee because at the agent level, it can go act like an employee. It can connect to things. It can pull data. It can push data. And so, just like you wouldn't invite a brand new intern into your firm and say, hey, here's everything, and they're now officially the CEO, you would have training. You would have basically a way for them to level up to get to a point to where you grant them more controls or more access to things that matter. Same thing with AI. Don't just turn it on and then unleash it. You have to start to integrate it the way you would a new employee. And I just think a lot of people just aren't thinking about it that way, so they're not intentionally doing things the wrong way. They just don't know any better. And so that was one of the points about the the podcast episode and the article the other day is, hey. Here's a new way to think about it that hopefully will help a few advisers out there.
00:19:04 · Shannon Rosic
[00:19:04] S0: So you bring up an interesting point, and I'm sure you've heard this. I know I have, especially in the conference circuit is advisers grappling on how to staff their future advisory firm. Because what does this evolution of AI mean for how firms structure their teams? Are we headed towards a model where advisers just are going to need fewer people, or are we going to see an entirely different structure or even roles emerge out of this?
00:19:32 · Brad Johnson
[00:19:32] S1: I think both. The first thing I would think if I was a team member out there, and this applies to me too as a cofounder here, it isn't a question of if you should embrace AI, you must. So from a... Your own career track, it would be like the the computer comes out and I'm like, no. I'm not a computer guy. I'm gonna stick with the yellow pad. I probably wouldn't have a lot of employment opportunities today in finance. So this is a bigger leap than that. And so I think embracing it, learning it, there's all kinds of YouTube videos out there. Now, once again, not plugging your client's data in there. You've got to know the dos and don'ts, but I have seen massive efficiency gains inside of Triad already just by we have empowered our team to use AI. This... That's another big thing is it's when you're in college and you're working on an essay. It's like, wait, am I supposed to use AI or am I not? Am I gonna get in trouble for it? So the first thing I would say for business owners, have a AI use policy, which most firms don't at this point. So your team knows the dos and don'ts of what's allowed, what isn't. But then empower your team and say, hey, we are an AI enabled firm. Here's the areas where we recommend using it. And what's wild when you have a great team, they're gonna come up with things you never thought of. So whether it's a lunch and learn, hey, what are some projects people are working on? A little show and tell. We've done that a few times inside of Triad. And the next thing, you've got a 24 year old that's been using chat for three years. What if we used it for this? Great idea. Let's build it. So I just think it exponentially increases the output for those that embrace it. And so I do think you can build things with less people, but I do think for the right team members that embrace it, now you're getting 10 times the work out of one individual. So the way I think about business, I don't want less people. I want same people, more output. Right? So it goes philosophically to the build. But I think those that are using AI, we're just seeing exponentially more output. So it's basically keeping us from having to hire more people in the future. We're able to build more with the same people.
00:21:47 · Shannon Rosic
[00:21:47] S0: I know that you've actually talked about bringing in an executive assistant into your business, and that's actually fundamentally changed the way you've operated. So I know we're talking tech and AI a little bit, but I'm curious around what was maybe the turning point when you realized you were actually becoming a bottleneck in your own business and, therefore, you needed to bring someone in? Because I think there's an interesting debate there because it brings up that intersection question around AI and human support. Right? Because as tech gets better at handling administrative tasks, some might argue that the need for human assistance will obviously diminish. But I feel like there's certainly a difference between automating an individual task and having someone who understands the business, can really anticipate those needs, and make sure things actually get done. So how do you think advisors should determine what belongs with AI and what belongs with a human and maybe where the combination of the two actually creates the greatest value?