In South Africa’s competitive financial planning landscape, women face specific challenges, including home and family responsibilities, building their practices and advising clients. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming these challenges by offering unique solutions.
How AI supercharges financial planning practices
AI can become your Thought Partner. You can brief an AI on a specific decision you need to make, and it will guide you through a series of questions to help you organise your thoughts and ensure you’ve considered everything regarding your client’s situation. You can even
instruct it to ask the right questions upfront, and once you’ve answered those, it’ll analyse your responses and pose the next round of questions. This method speeds up your decision-making with more clarity.
Conversational AI is a game-changer for women financial planners – it’s like having a strategic partner on call 24/7. AI engages with you in real-time, asking targeted questions about your practice, your clients, your goals – and then gives tailored insights based on your replies.
How AI guides practice growth in South Africa
Growing a financial planning practice in South Africa isn’t simple. You’re juggling decisions about hiring, marketing and adopting new tech, while managing tight budgets. Conversational AI gets to the heart of your specific situation. Here’s a prompt that’s works well:
“Act as a business strategist for my South African financial planning practice. Ask me five questions to assess my current practice – including size, opportunities and challenges such as time constraints or budget limitations. Wait for my responses, then ask five follow-up questions based on my answers to better understand my business goals. Once I’ve answered those, provide a 90-day growth plan focused on one key strategy (eg marketing, hiring or tech adoption), with actionable steps and rand-based cost estimates.”
AI might ask:
- How many active clients do you currently serve? What is your average annual revenue in rand?
- What are your biggest time or resource constraints while growing your practice?
- What services or client segments are currently most profitable or show the most growth potential?
- What marketing or client acquisition methods have you tried in the past? What were the results?
- What are your short-term goals for the next six months – more clients, more revenue, improved efficiency or something else?
How to structure your responses to get the most out of AI
Be specific with numbers. Say, “I currently serve 40 clients, generate R1.2-million annually. My aim is to reach R2-million within a year.”
Mention what has or hasn’t worked. Example: “I’ve tried social media ads with a R5 000 budget, but got very few quality leads.”
Define your goals clearly. Say, “I want to add 10 new clients in the next 90 days, ideally young professionals in Cape Town.”
AI engages with you in real-time, asking targeted questions about your practice, your clients, your goals – and then gives tailored insights based on your replies.
How AI crafts investment strategies for high-net-worth clients in South Africa
High-net-worth clients expect sharp, tailored strategies – ones that balance growth, risk and local tax laws. It can be overwhelming. AI simplifies this by helping you, the planner, clarify your thinking before you write a proposal. AI is not making the decisions or building the strategy for you. It drafts a proposal, but only after you’ve developed a bespoke plan. You’re paid to think like a human. AI improves your thinking. Try this prompt:
“Act as an investment advisor for a high-net-worth South African client. Ask me three questions to analyse the client’s net worth in rand, income, risk tolerance, investment goals (growth, income or preservation), time horizon and tax considerations like capital gains or estate duties. After my responses, ask five follow-up questions based on my answers to better understand the client’s goals and portfolios I prefer to propose to clients.
“Once I’ve answered those, recommend a diversified investment strategy, including asset allocation and specific investment types (JSE equities, bonds or alternatives), optimised for South African regulations and tax laws.”
Advice for South African planners
Start small. Choose tools that prioritise client data security.
- Test the prompts I’ve shared. The more information you give when you answer the questions, the better the results.
- Build your own prompt library – tweak and reuse for different clients.
- Share prompt ideas with colleagues and learn from what others are doing.
What’s the biggest benefit for women planners embracing AI?
It’s confidence.
AI doesn’t replace your expertise – it amplifies it. It gives you clarity in the overwhelming moments, whether you’re pitching a R10-million client or considering a second office. Conversational AI is reshaping how South African women financial planners make decisions. By asking the right questions, it empowers you to lead with empathy and precision.
