The headlines are everywhere…

• “AI Revolution in 2021: 5 Industries That Are Thriving With Artificial Intelligence.” ¹
• “In 2021, approximately 3 million robots roam around our factories.” ³
• “14 to 80 million U.S. jobs are at risk of being automated.” ²

Will Technology Take Over?

For years, maybe even decades (that last quote is from 1940), there’s been a common thread within society that frames technology as a force that’s unstoppable in its desire to take people’s jobs and leave the human workforce obsolete.

While undoubtedly new technology has replaced some labor intensive and menial jobs, the reality is that many of these claims are simply untrue.

Man and Machine Working Together

Technology drives industries to evolve and become more efficient at the things they do, but sometimes it’s more about finding a balance between man and machine than supplanting one with the other.

Tesla founder Elon Musk has admitted that he pushed Tesla automation too much, too soon and had to pull back on that effort. In fact, human worker flexibility remains a critical step in manufacturing.³

High-tech body armour that makes you super strong and tireless called an exoskeleton, sounds like something out of a superhero movie. Yet the equipment is increasingly being worn in real life around the world. And one manufacturer – California’s SuitX – expects it to go mainstream.⁴

How Our Firm Views It

At Mariner, we strive for a symbiosis between humans and technology to deliver our services. Almost every major strategic decision at the firm is made with technology in mind as it ultimately enables us to stay at the cutting edge of the wealth advisory space and serve our clients better. For our advisors, even the utilization of spreadsheets and financial calculators have given way to more advanced software platforms that can provide a full range of services and analysis for clients. Working in tandem with these tools, advisors are better able to provide clients with advice that’s custom tailored to their specific situation.

How We Use MarinerGPS

MarinerGPS is the primary tool that our advisors use to track client’s cash flow and net worth in real time, while also allowing them to explore the potential impact that certain transactions may have on a client’s long-term goals. While other advisory firms may focus their client meetings and presentations around investment returns provided in a static binder, MarinerGPS allows our advisors to work collaboratively with clients. Advisors can run different interactive scenarios to determine outcomes for a client at a meeting, making their financial picture come alive right in front of them.

Looking to retire at 60 but really wanting to purchase that cabin on the lake for summer weekends? Talk to your advisor. They can use MarinerGPS to determine the immediate and long- term impact a purchase like this will have on your success in later years.

Analyzing different price points, property tax implications and mortgage details are simply a click away, providing better information for the client to act on. To complement that technology, advisors can use their personal experience and knowledge of a client’s overall situation to recommend a certain amount of days to rent that cabin out in the spring and fall to help find optimal income and tax efficiency.

Utilizing data points and goals unique to each client, our advisors can use MarinerGPS to aggregate a multitude of information about a given client’s household. This enables the advisor and client to make more informed financial and lifestyle decisions, all accessible 24/7.

For a client setting up an estate plan, this ongoing access means that placing a copy of their will, trust and various power of attorney documents in the secure online vault within MarinerGPS, enables both the client and the advisor to review those documents in real time to determine the need for changes or amendments. When it comes to tracking long-term investment volatility, clients are assigned a risk score within MarinerGPS. This helps advisors to when developing your overall wealth strategy, which includes investments.

The end result of these technological offerings is a wealth advisor that’s able to offer clients even better advice than they could working through scenarios on their own, completed in significantly less time for both the advisor and client. At Mariner, no advisor is going to lose their job to technology. We work on the forefront of technological implementation to make our advisors better at what they do, providing them with the tools they need to provide clients with informed, customized advice.

¹ “AI Revolution in 2021: 5 Industries That Are Thriving With Artificial Intelligence.”
² “19 Statistics About Jobs Lost to Automation”
³ “Why Tesla Auto Plants Won’t Go 100% Robots Anytime Soon”
⁴ “The ‘Iron Man’ Body Armour Many of Us May Soon Be Wearing”

The views expressed are for commentary purposes only and do not take into account any individual personal, financial, or tax considerations. It is not intended to be personal legal or investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any security or engage in a particular investment strategy.

Mariner is the marketing name for the financial services businesses of Mariner Wealth Advisors, LLC and its subsidiaries. Investment advisory services are provided through the brands Mariner Wealth, Mariner Independent, Mariner Institutional, Mariner Ultra, and Mariner Workplace, each of which is a business name of the registered investment advisory entities of Mariner. For additional information about each of the registered investment advisory entities of Mariner, including fees and services, please contact Mariner or refer to each entity’s Form ADV Part 2A, which is available on the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. Registration of an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.