There has been lots of talk about how AI will help wealth managers improve the profitability of their practices in the future. But financial advisors want to know precisely how this burgeoning new technology can boost the productivity of their businesses in the here and now.
Seriously, isn't there no time like the present?
To learn more about how AI can immediately help financial advisors improve their practices, InvestmentNews checked in with Sindhu Joseph, founder and CEO of CogniCor, a Morgan Stanley-backed, AI-powered technology provider that offers digital assistants and business automation platforms specifically designed for the wealth management and insurance industries. Founded in 2018, the company provides a "no-code" platform (CIRA) that allows financial firms to deploy AI digital assistants to handle routine tasks, such as client onboarding, compliance checks, and meeting management.
InvestmentNews: What are the best uses for AI that wealth managers can use right now?
Joseph: The biggest gains from AI today come when it’s embedded directly into the systems advisors already use every day, especially CRM. When AI lives inside platforms like Salesforce, it can prepare advisors for meetings, synthesize client information, and automate follow-ups without forcing them to change how they work. That’s when AI stops feeling like a tool and starts functioning like infrastructure.
InvestmentNews: How can AI help advisors grow their practices this year?
Joseph: Advisors grow fastest when they spend more time in meaningful client conversations and less time preparing for them. When AI is embedded in CRM, it eliminates hours of manual prep and documentation each week. We’re seeing advisors reclaim 10 to 15 hours of capacity simply by having intelligence delivered inside their existing workflows. That time directly translates into growth.
InvestmentNews: How can AI help advisors retain clients in 2026?
Joseph: Client retention improves when advisors are proactive instead of reactive. AI embedded in systems like CRM can continuously monitor for life events, service gaps, or planning opportunities and prompt advisors at the right moment. Clients feel better cared for when outreach is timely and relevant—and that consistency is hard to achieve without intelligence built into daily workflows.
InvestmentNews: What are the biggest ways AI can help advisors save time—and more importantly, money—in 2026?
Joseph: The real financial impact of AI shows up when it’s deeply integrated into how firms operate. Embedded AI reduces the need for additional staff, lowers the cost per client, and minimizes errors caused by manual handoffs between systems. By 2026, firms using AI inside their core platforms will scale more efficiently and protect margins in ways that simply aren’t possible with disconnected tools.
InvestmentNews: For all the hype surrounding AI, what will AI never replace in an advisor’s practice?
Joseph: AI will never replace trust, empathy, or judgment. What it replaces is friction. When intelligence is embedded into the systems advisors already use, it clears the noise and allows advisors to focus on the human side of advice—building relationships, guiding decisions, and showing up when it matters most.
InvestmentNews: Okay, we’ve talked about the here and now, but what AI services and functions will be available for financial advisors in the future?
Joseph: The biggest gains from AI come when intelligence is embedded across the systems firms already rely on — spanning CRM, planning, portfolio, and market insights platforms. When AI operates within this ecosystem, it can continuously prioritize households, surface meaningful opportunities and risks, and elevate the consistency and quality of advice, without requiring advisors to change how they work. That’s when AI moves beyond a tool and becomes a core intelligence layer for the firm.
This article is part of our Monthly Spotlight series, which in January focuses on AI in Wealth. Full coverage can be found here.
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