Why the Next Advantage in Advice May Be Simpler Than You Think

At Future Proof Citywide in Miami, the most interesting conversations were not about which firms are adopting AI fastest. They were about which firms are using it with enough discipline to make their advice sharper, their compliance stronger, and their client relationships more durable.

That was the lens I brought to my conversation with Craig Gordon of RBC Clearing & Custody. We talked about how advisory firms are weighing AI, where portfolio intelligence is already creating value, and why the human advisor remains the center of the model even as technology gets more capable.

For advisors, the takeaway is simple: the goal is not to hand judgment to the machine. It is to use the machine to help you notice more, act sooner, and serve clients with greater precision.

The real trust gap

The “AI trust gap” is not really about adoption speed. It is about confidence in how the technology handles sensitive information. Some firms are leaning into automation, compliance tools, and productivity platforms, while others are still taking a wait-and-see approach because they are concerned about privacy, oversight, and unintended consequences.

Craig made clear those concerns are not theoretical. “The compliance aspects of AI and making sure that customer information remains private is more important using these accelerated technologies than ever before,” he said. In other words, the AI conversation should not begin with speed. It should begin with data integrity, confidentiality, and confidence in the systems handling sensitive information.

He also argued that firms should lean on trusted partners as they evaluate new tools. As he put it, advisors need those partners to help ensure the data is sound and sensitive information remains protected. That shifts the conversation with vendors away from features alone and toward governance, controls, and trust.

Compliance gets smarter

Compliance technology has been part of the industry for years, but AI is changing what those systems can do. The shift is not about removing oversight. It is about making surveillance more intelligent and more responsive.

“AI tools within those compliance engines, I think are just going to make them even smarter in identifying potential red flags or yellow flags,” Craig said. The next generation of compliance tools is less about static monitoring and more about prioritization, pattern recognition, and surfacing what deserves attention first.

The human role remains central. “I still think there’s going to be a need for the human element to understand what the tools are generating and to dig deeper and know when it’s important to dig deeper,” he said. The goal is not to remove people from compliance, but to make human judgment more effective.

Portfolio intelligence with purpose

Craig framed portfolio intelligence not as a way to drive more activity, but as a way to better understand the client relationship.

As Craig put it, “Good today is having the tools to be able to see a lot of data elements of a client relationship in one view.” That may sound simple, but it is a meaningful shift. Advisors have long relied on their experience, intuition, and periodic reviews. AI can now help bring together account behavior, holdings, cash flows, and activity patterns in ways that surface a more complete picture.

He pointed to the possibility of AI helping firms recognize patterns in withdrawals, trading behavior, and outside data that may reveal a need before the client explicitly says it. In his words, the point is “less about product and trying to understand where a potential client need may be to help that client achieve whatever their outcome is.”

Used well, that kind of portfolio intelligence does not make the advisor more transactional. It makes the relationship more relevant. If a tool helps you notice a funding need, a concentration issue, or a planning opportunity earlier, that can improve the client experience and make the advisor more proactive.

When the tool knows first

Craig shared an example from financial advisors in the RBC office where he works. A senior advisor told him that a review tool had identified a number of opportunities, and the results were surprisingly strong.

According to Craig, the advisor said, “I scanned the reviews that tell me where there’s opportunities.” Then came the part that stood out: “75% of the information I knew about. I knew the client was going through this activity.”

That alone is useful, because it confirms the tool is not inventing noise. But the real value showed up in the remaining 25%. Craig explained that the tool had identified activity the advisor had not known about, including a likely upcoming need tied to a home purchase or college funding. That kind of signal can help an advisor reach out at the right time, with the right context, before the client has even raised the issue.

Good AI in advice should not feel creepy or mechanical. It should feel attentive. When used properly, it helps an advisor anticipate needs and show up as more informed, more timely, and more helpful.

Human advice still wins

The most consistent thread in Craig’s comments was that technology is there to support advice, not replace it. That is especially important in an industry where trust is built through continuity, judgment, and empathy over long periods of time.

Craig acknowledged that many in the industry worry AI could replace advisors, but RBC sees it differently. “Our perspective at RBC, and it’s just kind of a foundational element to our business, is all about supporting advice giving advisors,” he said.

That view runs through the broader conversation around AI in wealth management. The value is not in automating away the advisor, but in making advisors more productive, more informed, and more responsive.

Craig put it even more plainly: “The trusted relationship that individual clients have with human advisors is not going away.” He noted that while technology has advanced for years, “the human trust and the bond and the caring and empathy that a advisor, a good advisor or client relationship has, is really what makes that client stick with that advisor.”

Clients may appreciate efficiency, but they stay for confidence and care.

Independent firms and scale

Craig also explained why independent firms are often quicker to adopt new tools. They are not waiting on large enterprise decision cycles, which gives them more room to test, learn, and adjust.

At the same time, he emphasized that smart firms look for partners who add strength where they may not have it internally. In his view, the best model gives firms “the best of both worlds”: the nimbleness of independence alongside the stability, risk discipline, and financial strength of a larger partner.

That balance is especially relevant now. As firms add more tools, more data, and more automation, they also need stronger guardrails. Advisors do not just need access to innovation. They need confidence that the infrastructure beneath it is built for durability.

The takeaway for advisors

The biggest lesson from the conversation is that future-proofing an advice business is not about chasing every new tool. It is about choosing technology that improves the advisor’s ability to serve, protect, and anticipate.

The next competitive edge may come from a very practical formula:

Better data.
Smarter compliance.
More proactive portfolio intelligence.
Strong human judgment.

That combination is what turns technology from a novelty into an advantage. And for advisors, it is what turns efficiency into a stronger client relationship.

To learn more about how RBC Clearing & Custody is helping independent advisors build with confidence, visit RBC Clearing & Custody here.