Intiger backs artificial intelligence to woo financial planners
Financial planning tech company Intiger Group (ASX: IAM) has posted an operational market update relating to its recent activities, saying that the future of financial planning in Australia lies in automated artificial intelligence (AI) and scalable software.
Boosted by a recent product trial deal signed with three of Commonwealth Bank’s largest financial planning subsidiaries, Intiger expects to commence product trials in Q1 2018.
Commonwealth Financial Planning, Count Financial and Financial Wisdom represent Intiger’s three largest users, with access to thousands of financial advisors across Australia.
Depending on the performance of Intiger’s pilots over the coming 12 months, Intiger could see its software rolled out across Commonwealth’s broader network serving millions of clients in Australia alone.
Intiger attributes higher expenses in Q4 2017 to “significant time significant time, effort and investment made in preparation for the pilot programs,” and expects this one-off increase to be fully justified once pilot results are assessed.
“Intiger recognises that the future of Australian Financial Planning lays in the creation and delivery of AI-automated, scalable Financial Planning software. We continue to leverage the learnings generated as the profession’s primary provider of Offshore Processing to define and deliver next generation Artificial Intelligence platform that ensures more Australians benefit from exceptional financial advice,” said Intiger Chairman Patrick Canion.
According to a shareholder update, Intiger “continues to leverage its position as a leading provider of Offshore Processing and the cash-flow this generates, to invest heavily in the creation and delivery of AI-driven automated, scalable Financial Planning software,” and expects the uptake of its proprietary AI-ready technology to place Intiger in the best possible commercial position in relation to manual processing solutions currently dominating the financial technology (fintech) space in relation to financial planners.
Intiger says that as the capability and uptake of its AI software increases, “Intiger and the industry will rely less on manual processing, within Australia and offshore,” and thereby allowing Intiger to be one of the first fintech companies to offer significantly greater scale and efficiency for financial planners.
Artificial Intelligence booming
One direct example of Intiger’s ambitions in the fintech space is the ongoing development of BOOM2, as an “amalgamation and extrapolation” of Intiger’s previous software that demonstrates effective AI application within large data sets.
BOOM2 represents a significant milestone, with Intiger reporting that “core functionality of BOOM2 is complete, with testing currently being undertaken by License and Practices nationally.”
The pilots will enable the customers to assess the integrity and value of Intiger’s services and BOOM2 in both its wholly-owned financial advice business and through its licensee network in a range of different sized financial planning practices.
Given the large number of pilot programs now initiated by Intiger, its current juncture is therefore pivotal for its overall near-medium term performance.
If successfully trialled, the recently established pilot programs could set the basis for Intiger to establish longer-term wholesale business agreements with additional financial planners and win market share from software-solutions that have been slow to adopt scalable technology with advanced features such as AI.