Mallowstreet has unveiled ‘SOFI’, a sophisticated AI tool aimed at improving efficiency in meetings for wealth and asset managers, in a major innovation for the financial services sector.
Advanced AI Tool ‘SOFI’ Launched by Mallowstreet to Revolutionise Wealth and Asset Management
LONDON – Mallowstreet, the B-Corp financial services business, has officially launched ‘SOFI’, an AI tool meticulously designed over three years to significantly enhance meeting efficiencies for wealth and asset managers. Announced on 27 September, SOFI aims to save time, check messaging, improve delivery, monitor performance, and capture questions, ultimately understanding the intricacies of the financial services industry.
Developed utilising thousands of hours of industry-specific data, this innovative tool employs applied Machine Learning technologies and AI to tackle one of the most challenging aspects of the pensions sector: meeting efficiency. SOFI is a cornerstone of Mallowstreet’s ambitious suite of new products designed to leverage AI for solving complex problems within the industry.
At its heart, SOFI employs six analytical lenses—risk, return, liquidity, time horizon, portfolio fit, and ESG—to generate a diverse array of metrics from meeting conversations. The tool’s abilities extend far beyond presenting efficiency metrics; it allows users to pose bespoke queries and receive immediate feedback, leveraging the AI’s nuanced understanding of conversations within the financial sector.
Stuart Breyer, CEO of Mallowstreet, emphasised the dual importance of identifying specific problems and assessing whether technology can feasibly address them when incorporating AI into business processes. “Firstly, ask yourself what problem you want to solve – and be specific. Identify the pain point in your business process that is repetitive, time-consuming, and doesn’t add value. Secondly, look at whether technology could actually help you to crack the problem you want to solve,” Breyer stated.
He further explained the widespread challenge of time management, particularly in the context of frequent and sometimes superfluous meetings. “We built SOFI to help with this, using meeting efficiency as our specific ‘use case.’ The follow-up from meetings can be time-consuming at best (and painful at worst), and I think everyone can agree we attend meetings that we probably didn’t need to go to,” he added.
SOFI stands out by automating the summarisation of meetings, highlighting key discussion points, flagging actionable items, noting questions and answers, and even generating minutes if required. This reduces the burden of meeting follow-ups and permits participants to remain more engaged without the need for extensive note-taking.
The uniqueness of SOFI lies in Mallowstreet’s calibration of its models using thousands of hours of financial services industry data. This tailored approach ensures highly accurate output that interprets discussions reliably for all stakeholders involved.
“What continues to blow my mind about AI is not just the power and speed of innovation, but how AI will transform the way we work and interact with clients. However, it’s essential to note that one AI solution isn’t going to solve every problem,” Breyer remarked. He clarified that SOFI was crafted to improve the overall quality of meeting outputs, from checking messaging and monitoring performance to capturing critical questions.
Since its inception, SOFI has undergone rapid updates—25 refinements within 10 months. Starting with processing 20 meetings per month in January, the tool now supports over 30 clients analysing more than 400 meetings monthly, with usage growing about 20% each month. There are projections of processing thousands of client meetings every month in the near future.
Since its industry-wide rollout in early 2024, SOFI has garnered adoption from a wide range of businesses including asset managers, pension funds, investment consultancies, manager research teams, local government authority pension funds, and wealth managers spanning the UK, EU, and US.
Mallowstreet asserts that SOFI’s deployment allows professionals to focus on their core competencies, ensuring clients’ financial futures are meticulously managed with detailed and reliable meeting notes.
As businesses increasingly see the potential of AI-driven tools like SOFI, the landscape of wealth and asset management could experience substantive changes driven by efficiency and enhanced client interactions.
Source: Noah Wire Services
