Notetaking AI app Zocks launched new features that can automatically transfer information from client meetings to a practice’s other software, such as client relationship management and account management systems, the San Francisco-based tech firm announced.
It can now integrate with eMoney Advisor, Orion Advisor Solutions and PreciseFP, among other advisor tools.
Other new Zocks features include the ability to autofill forms, such as intake forms and account openings, using information from conversations, emails and client relationship management software.
“We have the ability to fill in forms from multiple systems,” Mark Gilbert, CEO of Zocks, said in an interview. “We can now capture that not just from meetings … but also from other data sources.”
This year, Zocks has started discussions with Winnipeg-based financial planning software company Conquest Planning and Toronto-based performance and risk analytics software firm d1g1t on software integration, Gilbert said. Advisors don’t want to retype all the information across different systems, he added.
Zocks also integrated with Zoom. A live AI assistant can retrieve client information in real time within the video call window as an advisor speaks to a client.
With the update, Zocks’ AI can draft responses to about 70% of client emails by gathering information from conversation history, financial plans and portfolio performance. Previously, it could only reply to 40% of client queries, Gilbert said.
“We see [advisors] spending about an hour a day to, frankly, [answer] random client questions,” Gilbert said. “If it’s [a client] that we have data on, we will try to draft a reply for the advisor or their team.”
Zocks plans to open its first Canadian data centre by the end of fall, Gilbert said. While it will cost more to host data in Canada, Zocks won’t charge advisors extra for the service.
When Zocks works with more firms and advisors in Quebec, it will begin building a French-language user interface. For now, Zocks can transcribe meetings in French, but the summary is still in English.
While the French transcription works well when a meeting is entirely in French, the tool still struggles when participants switch between English and French, Gilbert said. Zocks is working on accommodating those types of meetings.
Online wills company launches advisor platform
Toronto-based online wills company Willful launched Willful for Professionals, a platform for financial advisors.
Advisors have been a key referral source for Willful for years.
“After having a child and buying a home, the number three reason [clients] came to create a will was the recommendation of their financial advisors,” Erin Bury, CEO and co-founder of Willful, said in an interview.
But after referring clients to Willful, advisors had no way of knowing whether clients followed through and created a will, Bury added. With the platform for professionals, advisors can send co-branded Willful links to clients and track their progress.
“You can use it as a tool to follow up, ‘Hey, I see you accepted the invite, but you haven’t actually completed your documents. Do you need me to be one of your witnesses?’” Bury said. “If they know that their client has created a will but not [power of attorneys], or if we know that they have life insurance but haven’t discussed their funeral and burial plans, we can actually prompt advisors with those next steps.”
In addition to client tools, Willful will also offer continuing education credit courses and webinars for advisors. Topics include legislative changes affecting estate planning, the validity of digital wills in Canada and how to include intellectual property in a will.
Pricing for advisors starts at $3,500 a year for 25 wills. Advisors can include it as part of their service or charge clients for it, Bury said. “We’re just experimenting with things like monthly versus annual pricing. We’re very early days, so we’re going to look to the advisor community for feedback on pricing levels and inclusions.”
Croesus launches AI video summarization tool
Montreal-based software company Croesus launched Vidia, an AI tool that creates personalized videos summarizing market and portfolio data for clients.
The technology uses software from California-based tech firm Storyline.
Viewers are more likely to retain information from video than from text, Croesus said. Instead of producing text-based reports clients might not read, videos can help advisors strengthen client relationships, it suggested.
Firms using the Croesus platform can brand Vidia videos, use compliant templates and set formats that adhere to company policies and regulatory requirements.
FICO unveils three new AI models for financial services
Montana-based financial analytics firm FICO announced three new AI models for the financial services industry: the focused model, focused language model and focused sequence model.
FICO said the models were built to reduce hallucinations and are more accurate than conventional generative AI models.
The focused model was developed for training on specific tasks. Compared with general-purpose large language models trained on broad knowledge, FICO said its focused model requires up to 1,000 times fewer resources.
The focused language model reduces the risk of hallucinations by training on data relevant to its tasks. The smaller model is more accurate and costs less to run, FICO said.
The focused sequence model was designed to analyze transaction data. It can capture relationships between transaction histories to detect payment fraud and reveal behaviour patterns that were previously too expensive to identify.