AI can give advisors a marketing edge, but mind the privacy rules
AI can give advisors a marketing edge, but mind the privacy rules
Publish Date: 2026-06-03 04:40:00
Source Domain: www.theglobeandmail.com
Open this photo in gallery:
Artificial intelligence is changing the way prospects look for advice as well as how they get approached.girafchik123/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Every week, Brent Allen, head of sales and distribution at IG Wealth Management Inc., is pitched new AI tools designed to help advisors find new clients.
“It’s changing the way people look for advice and get approached,” he says.
Although Mr. Allen and his team are excited about the possibilities and are vetting the tools – often aimed at building marketing funnels using AI to unlock leads – they’re taking a careful approach as the technology matures.
“We’re very cautious on these because of the Canadian anti-spam laws,” he says. “These new AI tools will help us. But they’re so new and they’re being created so quickly that we’re very cautious, because as you collect client information … or prospect information, they’re trusting you with their data.”
As with many uses of AI, advisors have found taking advantage of certain tools is essential to standing out and getting ahead, but a wait-and-see strategy can be more prudent with others.
Jason Pereira, partner and senior financial planner at Woodgate Financial Inc. in Toronto, says rules for using AI for advisor marketing and prospecting vary depending on the jurisdiction.
In the U.S., for example, AI tools allow advisors to identify trigger points in the lives of potential clients, such as the birth of a child, a large liquidation of shares from their employer or a house sale.
“There are so many triggers of life events that they can actually refine big data and point you to the actual person and their contact information,” Mr. Pereira says. “Those are basically modern versions of lead lists, just far more intelligent.”
Yet, this type of tool is not available in the Canadian market because of Canada’s more restrictive privacy regulations, he says.
Still, Canadian advisors are finding ways to use AI for prospecting…
