AI For Advisors: How Technology is Impacting Financial Services

Joanna Ehresman [00:00:10]:

Hi there. Thanks for joining us. I'm Joanna Erisman. And I'm Leah Alter. And this is Women's Share, a marketing guide for women in financial

Leah Alter [00:00:20]:

We are so excited to welcome you Elena to the podcast today. She is the head of product for Catch Lite, An AI powered tool to help financial advisers grow their practices. In her role, Yolena is responsible for developing and managing the Catchlight platform products, providing strategy development, product management, and go to market support. Prior to joining Catchlight, Yelena spent over 23 years building products for wealth managers in various roles. She has focused her efforts on the cross section of advisor and investors facing technology, including portfolio management, institutional order management, trading platforms, and workplace investing technology. She's pretty much done it all y'all. I have had the pleasure of working alongside Yelena, on several projects over the last 3 years, most recently, cocreating an amazing adviser program, for Catch Lite customers. She is a fantastic leader with a lot of passion for helping advisers reach their goals.

Leah Alter [00:01:30]:

Thank you so much for being here, Yelena. Welcome to Women's

Yelena Melamed [00:01:34]:

Share. What an introduction. Thank you for having me. I'm I'm excited to be here.

Joanna Ehresman [00:01:38]:

Yes. And we cannot wait to hear more from you because, obviously, artificial intelligence is Transforming every industry right now, and financial services is clearly no exception. So would be curious given your experience in this space, how do you see AI Changing how financial advisors grow their practices moving forward.

Yelena Melamed [00:01:58]:

That's, that's a big question. As I think about it, there's probably a few themes that stand out to me. I think efficiency, being one of them. AI is really best tasked at helping advisors leverage Sites out of that data. We as an industry have been talking about big data for so many years, decades, really. Really, in this case, in the case of growth, Leveraging data to focus attention on best fit opportunities for their business. For example, using lead scoring systems to identify potential leads, By analyzing insights that you have about them or online behavior or engagement, allowing advisors to focus their time and Efforts on really the best opportunity most likely to convert. I think another big theme is really driving that personalized marketing, Personalized engagement home.

Yelena Melamed [00:02:48]:

And this could be in the context of a lead or a client because advisors grow in a very diverse set of ways. It could be With existing customer base, but leveraging the data, to create highly personalized marketing campaigns, highly personalized engagement cadences To really ensure that an advisor can target their ideal customer with a tailored message. It really increasing that Opportunity to have more moments that matter with a customer or prospect is another theme. I think Maybe 1 more I'd add to round out to 3, is predictive analytics. So AI can analyze a lot of Data, especially historical data, to predict things like the type of prospect that you've tended to be successful with, The type of prospect that's been simpler versus more difficult for you to convert, or maybe the most productive source of leads for you as an advisor, Since every advisor tends to be focused on a very specific niche, understanding where the best leads, best opportunities come from is A huge efficiency step. If I think about what we do at Catchlight on a pretty regular basis, we answer really 2 questions for advisors. How do you focus Your time on best opportunities and how do you engage with those opportunities in the most personalized way possible, Whether it's at the individual or at the segment level, we do that through leveraging data to round out insight that someone has in a profile, Putting them in an easy way for an advisor to really filter and focus on their segment. Layering that with AI and analytics that allows someone to think about are they the type of a person that have similar characteristics to those by advice And leaning in on the personalized data about each and every prospect in each and every segment to really think about what ways You can efficiently and in a personalized way engage so that people read what you send out there in the, in the ecosystem.

Joanna Ehresman [00:04:56]:

Well and I think too the power of this is such a great fit for financial advisers where the work that they do for each and every client is so customized and, You know, unique to that person's situation, I at least in my experience, that's what I advisers would get frustrated if they don't have Very much specific information on a prospect that was generated through a marketing program. Right? Where they're like, how do I I add value by speaking to their problems and their needs. So I can see how the power of more of that data being accessible to more advisers earlier in the kind of prospect to client life cycle can only help them Be able to issue spot, speak to how they can help, and move those people those prospects to clients more quickly.

Leah Alter [00:05:41]:

So Well and, also, you know, you said something earlier, Yelena, about, having specific Niches that they advisor is serving. I would think using AI technology and a product Like, catch like can also give them insights on the type of clients that resonate with them. You know, it's very much a two way street. Yes. I wanna work with doctors, but are doctors the ones that are resonating with your message in your story, and I think you get a lot of information back and forth through that.

Yelena Melamed [00:06:20]:

That's spot on, Leah. I I think As I think about the things I've learned from you and the partnership that we've built over the years, I think Data and AI are absolutely important, and they can do a lot of those things. But I think where you're leading is there needs to be a strategy. And there needs to be a strategy where why did you get into this business in the 1st place as an advisor? Who is it that you're leaning in to help? And where have you had success in the past? Really, really spending some time and effort in assessing that. You can use a lot of the data that you already have as an advisor in your hands or as an organization for for kind of a larger enterprise shop. It's really important to think about where you've had successes and why you've had those successes to really send a message out in the world and everything that you do, whether it be An event, we are website, your marketing efforts to really try to rally around those best fit segments for you And tell the stories how you've helped people in those. So you're absolutely right. We do have customers in Catchlight that leverage and lean in on the data and analyze their book to look for just that, they have a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge in their customers.

Yelena Melamed [00:07:34]:

However, having a more robust Set of data to really try to interpret that and understand what it means is really where AI shines, right? Using all that massive data to interpret into Insights.

Leah Alter [00:07:47]:

Absolutely. And we know you work with a lot of advisers who are focused on growth. Right? So In that same vein, what do you see as some of the prospecting challenges and also opportunities for them As they are working with the data in Catchlight?

Yelena Melamed [00:08:05]:

Yeah. That's a great question. There is a whole collection of challenges. And I think, the challenges Have a lot of similarity across the advisor base, but also some differences if you are, you know, an advisor doing business On your own, maybe with some partners, versus you're in a large institution, really trying to drive that marketing across your base and either supporting advisors or You are an advisor with a book and also trying to handle some of the marketing efforts. So the challenges that we see is just really a Huge increase in competition. We recently ran some analysis around even our user base and what we found is We have a diverse user base across the nation, but even across the customers that we serve, 57% of them Have at least 1 leave in common, at least 1 leave in common, I'll stress that. And so this is just to highlight that There's probably a lot more competition than we have transparency into. Just maybe someone we don't service today from an advisory standpoint.

Yelena Melamed [00:09:12]:

That's, that's tremendous. And that's hard to grasp in terms of, well, how do you Demonstrate to a leader or prospect, either warm or cold, that you are the right advisor for them, because others are doing that all alongside of you. I think another challenge I see as I talk to more and more advisors is, Regulatory in nature. So, the recent updates, the marketing rule and really what interpreting what it means for your business. Because it's both a challenge, but it's also an opportunity. So we can touch on that later in really understanding how we can work to your advantage. How can you use, let's say, testimonials in a way that would support someone identifying you as a potential right For them to service them through a financial advisor partnership. Frankly, I think lastly, in terms of challenges, I'd Establishing a marketing strategy that gets results is is a big area of discussion that we tend to get with a lot of our customers, big or small.

Yelena Melamed [00:10:19]:

It is, you know, really trying to understand simply how to focus on the best that leads and best that leads is a simple thing to say, but it Requires some work to really understand who your best leads are and why and why you're the right person to serve them, the right firm to serve them. And then Personalizing the nurturing efforts that you have is really time consuming and costly. So how do you do that right? I feel like I've outweighted the Challenges, so gives me a fun, fun opportunity to talk about the opportunities in the space because, I think they are massive, And they are, maybe I'm an optimist in this case, but, the general, you know, eco System that we live in, is there is technology that can help you be more efficient. Data that you've collected over the years And may maybe have looked at in a different way can be used to help formulate your strategy, can help you Be more effective in your prospecting efforts. I think we all know that we live in an interesting time. We estimate something like 50% of all Assets will move over the next 10 years. And that's advisors retiring. It's also consumers retiring, passing on their wealth.

Yelena Melamed [00:11:36]:

Huge opportunity for advisors. This is the time to really think about lean in and how do you reach out? Who do you reach out to? Why? What makes you compelling? And using the data insights, to really identify those ideal prospects In developing targeted outreach strategies, where AI can help with lead prioritization, with lead routing if you're in a larger Firm and really understanding who's the best fit across your firm to service this particular segment of opportunities or this particular individual. Engagement tactics and really making prospecting overall more efficient.

Leah Alter [00:12:13]:

It's so interesting too because As you were saying that and talking about, you know, this great wealth transfer, how you market and prospect The generation that is retiring versus this generation that is inheriting all of this money It's very, very different. The expectations that that a consumer would get during that process is very different. You know, it's no longer a, you know, good old boy, you know, somebody referred you to handshake, and now this is my advisor. This younger generation wants to do research, wants more information, wants to do that all on their own. And then when they meet you, they wanna make sure that The vibe checks out, you know, that it's a a match of what I've heard and what I've read and what I've researched and who you actually are. It's a it's a very different experience.

Yelena Melamed [00:13:12]:

It is. I think it's been interesting, and I've grown up in this industry and, to really, You know, reflect on who's servicing who. And pulling back a little, we tend to see advisors service their peers. This industry is has been advisors servicing their peers and the opportunities are diverse And younger and the technology and the expectation of service from a consumer is very, very different. You know, you're starting to see From a consumer angle, more connections to someone who is looking To really click to your point with the advisor on the other side, they expect a very differentiated service experience, maybe than one that you've Delivered before. Not to say that advisors have been stellar in the service that they delivered. It is just A different generation with different expectations and frankly, even some of the, you know, more advisor prone Populations still expect something different because they are now serviced by the likes of, you know, the Amazons and, you know, Apples of the world. And Their service expectations are entirely different.

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:30]:

Well and that made me think everything you've been saying so far is just, like, Connecting the the points of something that Leah and I have discussed quite a bit or are very passionate about from a an approach to marketing standpoint is about Using data to make your decisions, right, of how to get the best return from what you're doing or where are you seeing the best results, which I think as marketers from larger organizations, we've seen this, we understand it. But say I'm an advisor who hasn't Been working in you know, with marketing technology for a while. That can sound a little daunting. You're like, okay. But how does that actually work though? So can you tell us a little bit about how That data is presented to help inform advisers. Like, how is it actually made practical?

Yelena Melamed [00:15:16]:

Yeah. I I think, it's it's a great question. It's a a powerful question because that's, you know, been at least for the last almost 3 years, been the mainstay of my job Is how do you use data to really help improve some of the efficiency in growth and prospecting and yet do it in a in such a way where Advisors as consumers of technology or firms as consumers of technology feel like it fits into their ecosystem and makes sense. And so what we start with is often very little information about leads. It is An e mail address attached to a name, maybe a phone number, maybe a mailing address if you're lucky. All 3 is unusual, but sometimes happens. And, that's where we get started. That's all that's all really we need to go to research.

Yelena Melamed [00:16:09]:

We then leverage public record data, first party disclosed data To try to paint a profile. And that allows us to pull back up to 2,000 data elements on each And every lead. Sometimes advisors are also thinking about not just cold leads. They're thinking about referrals. They're thinking about Looking inward in some of their related business models. So maybe there is a CPA shop attached. Maybe there is a four zero one ks business attached. Really tried to prospect from within.

Yelena Melamed [00:16:39]:

Making that data be presented and helpful is where we spent a significant amount of time and iterated Due to a really great partnership with the financial advisors we serve, everything we've built has been based on their feedback. And so We present a profile and that profile is not the 2,000 data elements because that is not a way to use an advisor's time efficiently. It is a way to think about the marketing persona or the persona of the person on the other side, all the way from liquid investable assets It's an income, so their household setup to life events to kind of where are they Working, what's their background in education experience all the way to household hobbies? How do you use that comprehensive dataset In a lightweight way presented to an advisor or an advisory institution, which we do through less of a UI oriented way, but through our API stack And through our Salesforce app. We also integrate to a lot of CRMs that advisors spend time in. So if you want To see that data as you're prospecting, as you're kind of setting yourself up for a meeting. Great. We also help you think about Segmenting the audience. So leveraging some of the key data we bring back to help an advisor build A segment.

Yelena Melamed [00:18:07]:

Usually it starts with an advisor thinking about what are the segments that are best fit for me Like we talked about earlier, but we also have canned segments that we see advisors do a lot of business with writing the software, Like ultra high net worth for your pre retirees as an example. And that is a way to not just figure out how you might Communicate, engage with someone in an individual way. It is also how you might communicate, engage with someone in a segment Or as a segment. I think one thing I did not touch on, I think it's important, is we started with the hunch That we can make, prospecting better. We went into large financial institutions and small ones alike To understand where are the best practices of what could we move forward out of those best practices? Figuring out who Is best fit to the segment you prospect in is part of trying to organize your time and attention on the right people. The other is understanding who is, Really ready to partner with an advisor for paid financial advice. So we have things like the catch light score. That is and That is one of our AI models.

Yelena Melamed [00:19:22]:

It's a it is a really interesting way to look at those that have bought and paid for advice in the past, And apply insights on what are the characteristics of those people to your own lead list to really organize your attention of Who is more alike to those that have bought advice in the past?

Leah Alter [00:19:43]:

I think one of my favorite things about the technology is it Removes the excuse of I don't have time. Because you always have 5 minutes, right, For 1 email or 1 phone call or whatever, and and having a technology that says, today, your hottest prospect Is Yelena, and being able to focus your efforts on Down to that personal level really does eliminate the excuse of, like, I don't have time to prospect or I don't have time to market. It's it's really such a cool a cool thing to do. Alright. So kind of switching gears A little bit because, as you know, we, here on Women's Wear, are are very passionate about the women that are in this industry and how their careers have evolved. So you have a 23 year Plus career, which has all been within the Fidelity family of companies, which is so unique today. You know, you see a lot A lot of people jump from the you know, even after substantial amount of times, jump from companies to companies. So how did your career evolve? Did you always want to be in financial services? And, you know, what are you most passionate about in this Fintech space that you are in now.

Yelena Melamed [00:21:16]:

That's a great question. So I, I can't say that I Specifically decided to close my eyes and said financial services is the place for me. But I I think I was always intrigued About the complexity of financial services and have always in my career wanted to have something creative. And that cross section is incredibly complicated in building products in financial services, and It's incredibly addictive. And so, I have, I had started as an engineer. And I can't say that I was the best engineer, but I started as an engineer and I think it's been great and why I stayed as long as I've stayed is Fidelity has been incredibly Be generous in helping me evolve my career in so many different dimensions where, you know, starting as more Software focused and learning, and then continuing to chase the why. You know, why am I being asked to build this? Pushed me into a career as a as an analyst. From there, I still didn't have enough of the why.

Yelena Melamed [00:22:30]:

And then why is, Why is this a problem? Pushed me into product. And that's been an incredible journey. And I think the majority of my career has been in product because that is an incredible way to Interact with those for whom you're trying to solve problems. Apply creative hunches and partner with them To figure out how a problem might be solved and then really lean in on technology and the role of the possible to get it Oh, into the market and see how the market reacts to it and continue to partner with customers and prospects alike.

Joanna Ehresman [00:23:10]:

I can see how that merges both the the art and the science, right, that that speak to you. That that's so fascinating. And especially the connection to the end consumer. I can imagine we were talking about we've talked about our why of getting into this industry or more, Like, what has kept us here, and it's seeing the end impact. Right? That bringing the right financial advice to the right people can have. I can imagine You get to experience that as you're talking with, you know, advisers who are helping end clients and okay. So 1 question we like to ask Everyone who's a guest on Women's Share is, what's the best career advice you have received?

Yelena Melamed [00:23:50]:

That's a great question. I think probably the most invaluable, career advice that I received and it was early in my career is Don't just do the job you're hired to do, do the job you want. And it's, it's such a simple and it's such a powerful mind shift. That's not just kind of propelled me professionally. It is something that instill, I think, a sense of purpose and a lot of passion around the work I do. So it's this ongoing curiosity and desire to discover and to do and to solve. I think that's probably the best advice.

Leah Alter [00:24:30]:

That is fantastic advice. Fantastic advice. And, you know, I think that There are and back to your even to the comment you made about looking for creativity and and being creative in the space. I think that there is a lot of opportunity. I think when people think about corporate structure, they don't think that there's a lot of Flexibility and creativity in developing a career based on what you're passionate about versus a role that needs to be filled, and I think there's a lot of opportunity to intersect those 2. And on that same on that same point, what advice would you pass along to other women who might be starting their careers in financial services or specifically Fintech, which we know technology in general is a space that's it's really dominated by men. Any advice you would you would pass along to another woman?

Yelena Melamed [00:25:31]:

It's hard, but exciting. I I think Probably some themes. Confidence. Believe in yourself and your ability. Don't be intimidated. You bring, very unique perspective and skill set That's very valuable. Think about what the population looks like. And if you're one of the builders, You're going to be serving a majority of the population.

Yelena Melamed [00:26:04]:

So be confident. I think another is, I think this probably echoes a little bit of what we're doing here is network, build a strong professional network, Find mentors, allies, those who can support you in your career development. I have. I think that's been a tremendous Part of what I've been able to achieve because of those partnerships. Be curious. Continue learning. It's a lifelong commitment no matter what you do. Financial services, industry and technology Very dynamic, staying informed about what's happening, how technology is evolving, AI, or anything, whatever is the latest trend that is going to propel you to be that at that next role, to do that next thing.

Yelena Melamed [00:26:53]:

I think lastly, I think probably advocate for yourself. I think don't hesitate to, to seek that career advancement, to look for Opportunities speak up when necessary, take on challenging projects, showcase your skillset, showcase that you can do or learn But you probably can and will.

Leah Alter [00:27:14]:

Oh, gosh. I love all of those. That is, like, what the show is is all about, and those are some, really good pieces of advice. This has been so great, Yelena. Thank you so much for on. We wanna give you an opportunity to share a little with our listeners on where they can go to learn more about Catchlights.

Yelena Melamed [00:27:34]:

Well, thank you for having me. This has been so much And, I'd love to, have your listeners discover more, about Catchlight. You can find more information on catchlight.ai. We'd love to chat with anyone who's interested, irrelevant of the size of the business you're in, whether it is during an individual practice or in an enterprise. We have, some diverse solutions that's all for, that growth and prospecting and some of the data Focus that we talked about earlier. So, again, thank you for having me on.

Joanna Ehresman [00:28:07]:

And it's great to think that there are powerhouse women like Yelena behind this product. So there

Yelena Melamed [00:28:12]:

you go.

Joanna Ehresman [00:28:12]:

Yes. Yes. So thank you. Yes. Thank you. This has been a fantastic conversation. And thank you, our listener, for Being here today, if ours is a mission that you want to share in, we ask that you subscribe to this, podcast on your favorite platform. And with that, I am Joanna Erisman.

Leah Alter [00:28:32]:

And I'm Leah Alter, and we'll catch you on the next episode of Women's