The financial advice sector needs to innovate further and embrace the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, according to Foster Denovo.

The financial planning and corporate advisory group noted that it had adopted new ways of working digitally, and argued that greater take-up across the industry would result in enhanced experiences for clients.

It highlighted ways it had adopted new AI tech tools, including note-taking solution ‘Evie’ that recognises the key priorities in a client meeting and produces a summary in minutes, which Foster Denovo said saves its advisers an average of an hour and a half on admin after each client meeting.

Foster Denovo has also launched ‘Emma', which ‘writes’ the initial draft of suitability and other reports for clients.

This meant that paraplanners can give more time to researching suitable solutions for their clients, the firm said.

Both of these tools have been developed further with Advisory AI as part of Foster Denovo’s ‘Supercharge’, which is a wider drive to adopt technology, including a new dashboard to knit together the various operational satellite systems into one place.

Furthermore, the firm has digitised the physical signature on paper for letters of authority (LoA), in partnership with Pension Lab, to speed up the process.

“We’ve used AI to transform necessary but laborious tasks and sticking points,” commented Foster Denovo chief operating officer, Helen Lovett.

“It’s a practical step every adviser should be taking because it frees up more time for advisers and support colleagues to concentrate on what we all do best: focus on clients.

“Adding up the combined impact of these individual innovations means an enhanced advisory experience and it’s been achieved by being pragmatic about what can be re-engineered while the advice engine is still running smoothly.”

Advisory AI co-founder and CEO, Alan Gurung, said: “Having spent years as a financial adviser myself, I witnessed how documentation took valuable time away from meaningful client interactions.

“At Advisory AI, we’re using AI to solve the very problems I experienced firsthand, enabling advisers to double their capacity while maintaining the personal touch that defines quality advice.”

Pension Lab chief executive, Scott Philips, added: “Welcoming another large advisory group like Foster Denovo onto our digital LoA platform reinforces our position as the adviser’s solution of choice.

“Together with our growing adviser community, we’re making great strides to eliminate the time and cost wasted by the traditional LoA process — so clients receive a standard of service and advice that goes above and beyond Consumer Duty.”

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