How good is too good? Make planning software that throws all of its power and complexity in your face, and it may come off as unintuitive and off-putting. Lean too hard into being user friendly, and it may appear to be simple or unsophisticated at first blush.

"That's a really tight rope to walk. Because normally you start off with a simplified initial solution, and then what did people say, 'can you make it do this and they could do that?' Then you start adding these advanced features, and all that does is make the entry level user have a more complicated experience. Can I compress for the new user, and then expand gently with them to expose the advanced features without overwhelming them?"

That's one of the many gems Canadian wealthtech OG and NaviPlan mastermind Mark Evans dropped on me this week as we discussed his latest innovation, Conquest Planning, finally breaking into the U.S. and U.K. markets after being born from a whiteboard session in 2018.

A who's who of investors stuffed about $18 million into the Conquest coffers during a Series A funding round, and now Evans is ready to once again change how advisors work with an AI-supported tool. The full story explains it all. But needless to say, Evans' excitement about crafting advisor tech hasn't waned since taking NaviPlan from nothing to something in the early 90s.

And speaking of AI, well, everyone is speaking of AI. Sick of hearing about ChatGPT yet? I hope not. Because it is very much here to stay and will be the focus of a fresh feature dropping here on Financial Planning early next week. 

It feels like every conversation I've had in 2023 somehow steers toward the generative AI. So I've spent the last month or so talking to some smart folks who touch the wealth management industry from different angles to get their 2 cents on the tech that sparks think pieces quicker than it can help college students cheat on their homework.

Is it a miracle, meme or menace in wealth management? I guess we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, Microsoft is just hoping it's the thing that finally makes Bing happen.

We get it, Microsoft. You REALLY want us to use Bing. And Edge. And, you know what, just chill.

Anything else on your mind? Drop me a line at [email protected]. Have a great rest of the week! 

Regards,
Justin

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