Move over, X. This might be the real everything app.

Anthropic released Claude for Financial Advisors yesterday, a suite of AI tools designed to help wealth managers with research, portfolio oversight, administrative tasks and more. Essentially, it’s an AI layer that connects Claude to the disparate programs and tools advisors already use, including platforms and data providers from BlackRock to Charles Schwab, Addepar, Envestnet, iCapital, Orion, Wealthbox, Wealth.com and Zocks.

The launch marks the latest move from Anthropic to embed itself in the financial services industry. Earlier this year, the company released 10 AI agents designed for financial workflows, including building pitchbooks, screening Know Your Customer (KYC) files maintained for compliance and reviewing financial statements. Major institutions including Goldman Sachs and Citi have deployed the technology across their operations.

All Aboard

Charles Schwab will be the platform’s debut custodian, and it aims to bring Claude for Financial Advisors to the more than 16,000 RIAs it serves. “Anthropic is building AI at the frontier of what’s possible,” Jon Beatty, head of Schwab Advisor Services, said in a statement. “Bringing this solution directly to our clients, purpose-built for the environment they operate in, is how we help advisors claim the next frontier of advice.”

Anthropic’s statement announcing the new product included a whopping 18 comments from a who’s who of wealth management. “I don’t want my CFPs spending hours every week laboring over CRM updates and task assignments,” said Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz. “I want them talking to clients and engaged in the planning itself, because that’s the part clients truly value.” Dynasty Financial Partners CEO Shirl Penney said, “This is the moment the industry stops adapting to AI and starts running on it.”

If You Build It, They Will Come. Anthropic isn’t alone in its Wall Street pursuits. Just last week, OpenAI released ChatGPT for Financial Services, which caters to investment bankers and equity researchers. And it’s no mystery why AI firms are increasingly cozying up to wealth management firms: They spend a lot of money on building out their AI capabilities, and they plan on spending even more. Cerulli expects AI spending per firm to reach nearly $500,000 this year, more than double last year’s total.

In the here and now, meanwhile, Monday’s announcement was nothing if not timely. Anthropic is no doubt eager to remind people of the benefits of artificial intelligence after a spree of headlines warning that unfettered development of the technology may pose an existential threat to the human race.

Pooled employer plans are getting more PEP in their step every day.

Established under the Secure Act of 2019, PEPs allow multiple unrelated employers to participate in a single retirement plan while delegating most administrative and fiduciary responsibilities to the pooled plan provider. Seven years on, the pooled employer plan marketplace shows both signs of maturity and room for improvement, with multiple providers now boasting over $5 billion in assets. The most recent to pass that milestone was The Standard, whose research shows 83% of participating employers are satisfied with their experience. Financial advisors agreed that PEPs have become a helpful tool, especially for resource-strapped business owners. Not all plans are created equal, though, so it’s important for clients to do their homework before signing up.

“Business owners and HR like the idea of offering retirement benefits, but they wear so many hats these days that running a plan can feel like a big lift,” said Steve Chappell, assistant vice president of retirement plan sales at The Standard. “Going with a PEP isn’t for everyone, but it solves a lot of those concerns.”

Pros and Cons

Employers have a duty to monitor the work of their PEP provider, but they are otherwise freed from the burdens of investment selection, plan documentation, participant communications and more. Financial advisors told Advisor Upside this framework has mostly served clients well.

“Many business owners value flexibility and simplicity, which these plans can provide,” said Georgia Lord, head of financial planning at Corbett Road Wealth Management. “There is less customization when it relates to the plan design and investment offerings, though, and vesting schedules are typically standardized across the pool. In one case, a business owner decided they wanted more investment flexibility, and getting out of the plan was a hassle, so that’s something to keep in mind.”

In general, advisors agreed, PEPs are well-suited for clients whose primary goal is simplicity and ease of use, assuming the pricing is reasonable. Those who are more concerned about control and customization are likely better served by a traditional 401(k) plan.

“Another thing that employers find attractive in PEPs is the elimination of the mandatory annual audit that’s required when you exceed 100 employees,” said Rodney Loesch, partner at LifeGoals Strategies Group. That alone can save HR staff 40 or 50 hours of work each year.

Shop Around. There’s a phrase in the registered investment advisor mergers and acquisitions world that can be applied to pooled plans: If you’ve met one RIA, you’ve met one RIA. No two are the same.

“There are 300-plus providers out there, and they’ve all got a different approach, fee structure and investment philosophy,” Chappell said. “We’ve also helped some of the biggest RIAs create an in-house PEP that utilizes their own investment philosophy, for example, so that’s an approach to keep in mind, as well.”

Crypto, prediction markets, meme stocks, oh my.

In recent years, investors have been inundated with risky but attractive trends. While plenty of them may have long-term investment potential when paired with a disciplined approach, others can disappear just as quickly as they emerge. (Remember NFTs?) New research finds that younger investors are considerably more willing to take on the risks associated with market innovations than their older counterparts.

While just 8% of US-based investors overall describe themselves as “first movers” when it comes to new and emerging investment trends, that figure jumps to 15% for Gen Z and 12% for millennials, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study.

“Younger adults are coming of age in an environment where change is constant and opportunities arise quickly,” John Roberts, chief field officer at Northwestern Mutual, said in a statement.

Risky Business

Age alone doesn’t determine risk tolerance, but it can play a major role in how an investor’s risk capacity interacts with their risk literacy. Risk capacity is how much risk your life can absorb, and 25-year-olds have more of it than they’re likely to ever have again, thanks to decades of paychecks ahead and a long time for markets to recover from any downturns, said Matthew Chancey of Tax Alpha Companies. Risk literacy, on the other hand, is knowing what risk feels like, and that comes from living through cycles.

“Young investors have maximum capacity and minimum literacy,” Chancey said. “Older investors are the exact reverse.”

But with younger clients, a financial advisor’s job isn’t to talk them out of every new investment idea or emerging trend, said Jacob Cuthbert of Educo Advisor Group:

• “Curiosity can be a good thing,” Cuthbert said. “Our job is to help them understand what they own, why they own it, what role it plays in their financial plan and what could happen if the investment doesn’t work out as expected.”
• Speculative investing should be kept to under 5% of your portfolio, said Kassi Fetters, founder of Artica Financial Services. “Clients should have the autonomy to invest in new opportunities or products if they want to,” she added. “However, it’s important that the majority of a client’s investing that is for retirement is done in proven diversified investments that have a track record.”

Buyer’s Remorse? It’s also important to remember that by the time retail investors are excited about an investment, the pros may have a leg up and the masses may already be buying. “By the time a trend has an app, ‘first’ is a feeling, not a position,” Chancey said.