Repetition in Advice Delivery Slows Down More Than Time

Operational inefficiency is easy to overlook when advice is still being delivered. But in the context of Consumer Duty, legacy workflows that rely on repetition and patchwork systems no longer meet expectations. As the FCA intensifies its focus on demonstrable value, and research begins to document the impact of AI in knowledge work, the cost of data duplication is no longer just about lost time. It’s about lost potential.

What Data Duplication Can Signal in a Modern Advice Firm

Duplication of data is often treated as an operational quirk, built on fragmented systems. But it increasingly reflects how many firms struggle to scale advice delivery while staying compliant. According to NextWealth, over 50% of advice firms have offboarded clients in the past year, many due to capacity constraints, not because demand has fallen.

The FCA’s 2025 review of ongoing advice services, based on submissions from 22 major UK firms, revealed that 83% of suitability reviews were delivered as agreed. In 15% of cases, clients declined or failed to respond. In fewer than 2%, firms made no attempt. While the delivery rate appears high, the FCA’s concern was not just with completion, but with a firms' ability to demonstrate delivery, justify ongoing charges, and ensure clients continue receiving value.

This expectation of clear, traceable service delivery puts pressure on systems that rely on duplicated effort. Rekeying data across fragmented tools or copying and pasting between templates increases the chance of inconsistencies. Furthermore, these manual patterns don’t just slow teams down, they introduce ambiguity. When reviews are audited, fragmented records make it harder to evidence timing, relevance, and scope. Consistent re-entry of data is not just inefficient; it assists in undermining a firm's ability to comply with regulatory expectations that demand visible, structured, & client-specific service trails.

AI As a Teammate

A recent field experiment from Harvard and the Wharton School, The Cybernetic Teammate, introduces new insight on the role of AI as a work partner. In a live commercial environment at Procter & Gamble, researchers found that individuals using generative AI tools not only matched the output of two-person teams, they also demonstrated higher emotional engagement, greater functional versatility, and better integration of technical and business knowledge.

AI doesn’t just reduce time spent on repetitive tasks. It expands what a single professional can do. It allows a paraplanner to write with the confidence of a technical specialist. It allows an adviser to test strategy while producing structured, compliant outputs. It supports the emotional motivation of a team, even when working alone.

This isn't hypothetical. One firm at NextWealth Live reported that using AI for report generation and note-taking increased adviser capacity from 100 to 150 clients. One effect of how automation is supporting people.

How Firms Can Add More Structure

For firms ready to evolve, reducing duplication begins with recognising where it lives. Fact-finds are still manually input. Reports are still assembled outside of systems. Teams still check work that systems could flag in real-time.

This fragmentation creates a hidden risk: without the strongest structural integrity in how data flows from client conversations to formal advice, firms cannot scale compliance. And it makes it difficult to personalise advice at volume.

Tools like Automwrite help resolve that fragmentation by absorbing structured data, checking for conflicts, and producing documents that reflect your firm’s tone, regulatory obligations, and brand standards. It helps to elevate work from tactical execution to strategic delivery, aligning documentation with intent and freeing advisers to lead on value, not formatting.

Compliance, Confidence, and a New Standard of Evidence

The FCA’s review called out both poor and good practice. Vague service agreements, unclear oversight, and inadequate monitoring weaken a firm’s ability to prove delivery. In contrast, firms that stopped fees for unengaged clients, maintained clear scheduling, and recorded suitability conversations as personal recommendations were recognised as meeting the moment.

With Consumer Duty now framing suitability as a living obligation, manual systems and repeated checks don’t just delay advice, they weaken it.

Final Thoughts

AI’s role in advice isn’t about speed and turn around times alone. It supports better thinking, strengthens consistency across outputs, and provides a clearer link between what’s known about the client's circumstances and what’s delivered. AI helps remove friction in managing data. When advice flows from structured data, not from manual patchwork, it becomes easier to deliver, easier to prove, and easier to trust.