Morgan Stanley survey finds takers for financial advice backed by AI

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Morgan Stanley Wealth Management on May 10 announced results from its quarterly individual investor pulse survey, which revealed that most investors believe Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be revolutionary for financial services.

Nearly three out of four investors (74%) think AI will improve the way Financial Advisors (FA) take care of their customers, and the vast majority of investors (72%) think it will affect the way traders and investors interact.

"In fact, over three out of five (63%) would be interested in working with a Financial Advisor that leverages it," the survey notes.

However, as per the survey, AI is not expected to take the place of human guidance.

More than four out of five investors (82%) think that human guidance will always be preferred over artificial intelligence. And nearly nine in ten (88%) concur that the human-to-human FA relationship is of utmost importance.

Also read | Personal Finance: ChatGPT and co will take quite a while to match financial advisors

"While AI is clearly groundbreaking, and we are just scratching the surface of its potential impact within financial services, this data aligns with an insight we’ve known for some time: The clients who are most engaged with their Financial Advisors are also the most satisfied," said Jeff McMillan, Head of Analytics, Data and Innovation for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. "Within this context, AI should be viewed not as a replacement of human guidance, but as a powerful tool to help turbocharge a Financial Advisor’s practice management and client interaction capabilities."

The survey also observed that enthusiasm is most pronounced amongst younger investors.

"In particular, 35-44 year old investors over index from the general population in their views that AI will be a game changer (87% v. 72%), that it will help FAs better serve clients (89% v. 74%), their interest in working with an FA who leverages it (85% v. 63%), and their belief that AI will not replace the FA/Client relationship (84% v. 82%)," as per the survey.

The research comes following a recent announcement by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management that it is creating an internal service that will use OpenAI technology and Morgan Stanley's enormous intellectual capital to instantly deliver pertinent content and insights to Financial Advisors, boosting efficiency and scale.