Reducing the burden of administration

Advice businesses spend a significant amount of time on repetitive administrative work. This includes preparing documents, writing follow-up communications, managing information, and carrying out tasks that do not require the adviser’s expertise.

AI can help automate some of this work, allowing people to spend more time on activities where human judgement and relationships matter.

Rohit Vaish, Co-Founder of Saturn, described this as a shift from people being operators to becoming conductors. Rather than completing every task themselves, teams can oversee technology, check its output, and apply their own knowledge and judgement.

For business owners, this could mean a more efficient operation without removing the human element that remains central to financial planning.

Turning fragmented data into useful insight

Another challenge is how firms store client information. Data can sit across CRMs, emails, documents, messaging platforms, and other systems. Traditional CRMs can provide a useful place to store information, but they do not necessarily turn that information into insight.

AI has the potential to analyse information from different sources and identify gaps or opportunities that may otherwise be difficult to see.

For example, a business could use AI to identify gaps in client records or highlight potential opportunities within an existing client book. This could help advisers make better use of current information while creating opportunities to improve client relationships and share of wallet.

Strengthening operations and reducing risk

The potential benefits extend beyond efficiency. Financial planning businesses operate in a highly regulated environment. This environment makes accurate records, consistent processes, and appropriate oversight increasingly important. AI can support these activities, but firms need to implement it carefully.

Firms should not simply add AI to existing processes. Instead, they should consider what their operating model needs to look like and where technology can genuinely improve it. This is particularly important when preparing for a future transaction. Stronger systems and processes can make a business easier to understand, more scalable, and better prepared for buyer due diligence.

Keeping people at the centre

AI will not simply replace people within financial planning. Financial advice relies on trust, relationships, specialist knowledge, and judgement. These remain important even as technology becomes capable of handling more routine work. Instead, AI can allow people to move away from administrative tasks and focus on clients, decision-making, and oversight.

For business owners, this could create a more sustainable operating model. It builds capacity across the team without relying solely on hiring more people as the business grows.

Preparing the business for the future

AI is still developing, but financial planning businesses are already beginning to consider how it can change the way they operate. For an owner planning a future sale, the question should not simply be whether to introduce AI. It should be whether technology can help create a better-run, more efficient and more valuable business.

Preparing for a sale starts well before a business comes to market. The improvements made now can help strengthen operations, reduce risk and create a business that is better positioned when the time comes to approach the market.

At Gunner & Co., we work with business owners to prepare for sale, understand their position in the market, identify the right buyers and manage the transaction process. If you are considering a future sale, click here to arrange a free, confidential consultation with Gunner & Co..