TradePMR by Robinhood announced Robinhood Cortex for Advisors, an AI embedded directly into the Fusion platform at no added cost for advisors, alongside a range of other insights.
Artificial intelligence and its impact on financial advisors dominated conversations and keynote presentations at SYNERGY26 in Washington, D.C.
Advisors in attendance got a firsthand look at how TradePMR by Robinhood is working to bring the technology directly to RIAs with Robinhood Cortex for Advisors, a new AI tool coming to Fusion. They also heard from industry leaders in software development, compliance, and personal finance about the impact AI is having on the wealth management industry.
By the close of the three-day event, advisors had a better idea of the possibilities—and limitations—of AI. Perhaps more importantly, they had the opportunity to discuss their ideas and concerns with other leaders facing similar challenges.
Here are some of the announcements, takeaways, and conversations that brought AI to life at SYNERGY26.
Robinhood Cortex for Advisors
TradePMR by Robinhood kicked off the AI conversation with a major announcement: Robinhood Cortex for Advisors is coming to the Fusion platform.
The solution is designed to surface actionable insights and help advisors reduce the time and money they spend on third-party software. The underlying AI powering Robinhood Cortex for Advisors has already been deployed across nearly one million retail Robinhood investors and comes at no additional charge to advisors using Fusion.
Instead of swiveling between different technology systems, advisors can use Robinhood Cortex for Advisors to scale without adding operational drag, said Abhishek Fatehpuria, VP of Product Management at Robinhood.
“We envision a platform where your data moves naturally, all of your workflows connect into each other, and intelligence shows up exactly where you expect it,” Fatehpuria said.
Robinhood Cortex for Advisors is built to deliver insights across portfolio positions, surface tax optimization opportunities, and streamline meeting prep and recap. It could help advisors analyze market activity and household positioning, make benchmark comparisons, or even synthesize allocation trends into clear commentary that addresses client inquiries in the moment.
When it comes to tax optimization, advisors could use the AI to uncover actions that may benefit a client’s overall strategy without the need for manual reviews across multiple accounts.
“This is the type of magic that happens when intelligence is found inside of your workflows,” said Fatehpuria.
Industry Leaders on the State of AI
In addition to the Robinhood Cortex for Advisors preview, SYNERGY26 attendees learned about the current state of AI, presented by leaders and commentators in software development, compliance, and consumer technology.
As AI makes repetitive, daily tasks easier to accomplish, advisors will have to fight complacency if they want to succeed, said Joanna Stern, author of I Am Not a Robot and the founder of The New Things.
“You need to use [AI] to move faster and spark ideas,” she said, “but keep your human judgment in the loop.”
Working alongside AI can be an opportunity to improve outcomes under certain circumstances, Stern added, pointing to data that showed AI-assisted doctors performed better than a human-only or an AI-only diagnostician. But full replacement of human expertise—especially when making an important decision—is an area that AI has yet to chip away at.
In fact, the general conclusion was that AI in the wealth management industry is currently “middle-to-middle” rather than end-to-end.
Advisors are growing increasingly comfortable with using AI to take notes or fill forms, said Chirag Gandhi, Co-founder and CEO of software developer Mili, partly because the threshold for accuracy is lower and there is less friction to adoption.
“We don't like the positioning of 'doing more with less,'” he said, of AI. “It's much more about doing way more with more. You still need your team to verify, make sure everything is correct, but now you can do a lot more with your practice.”
Those growth opportunities come with a long list of responsibilities for advisors—and partly why human verification and expertise are so vital to sound financial advice
“AI is a tool,” said Gandhi. “You wouldn't have said 10 years back, 'I recommended this model because my spreadsheet said so.' You wouldn't blame the spreadsheet. Or 'I made the trade because the calculator said it worked.' That wouldn't have worked.”
“If you think about it as a tool in the process, and not the process itself,” he said, “that changes how you approach the relationship with it.”
For advisors who are wondering where to start, or how to continue developing their AI-enabled workflows, administering a “friendly survey” can help leaders better understand where new technology is being used and under what circumstances, said Korrine Kohm, Head of Wealth Management at compliance consulting firm altPilot Group.
The survey serves dual purposes. Firms can get a better handle on where new technology is being used in their business, Kohm said, which can be vital for audits and reviews. But it may also help lower costs.
Firms may even find that there’s a popular tool in their business and decide to buy an enterprise-level license, she added, which can help drive AI adoption and help improve efficiency as best practices are shared within the organization.
As SYNERGY26 came to a close, Stern reminded attendees that initiative cannot be replicated by an algorithm; there’s little substitute for the care and trust that advisors have built and nurtured between themselves and their clients.
Advisors were encouraged to lean into what makes them unique. “If you don't have a passion for the area you're in,” Stern concluded, “you're not going anywhere.”
It’s a reminder of why independent financial advice can be so powerful.
Ready to learn more about how AI from TradePMR by Robinhood can help your RIA?
About TradePMR
For more than two decades, TradePMR by Robinhood has worked with growth-minded independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), providing innovative technology tools and support designed to transform their businesses. The brokerage and custodian services provider (Member FINRA/SIPC), based in Clearwater, Fla., works to streamline investment advisors' operations through comprehensive custodial, operational, and trading support. For more information, visit www.TradePMR.com.
TradePMR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc.
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TradePMR," "TradePMR, Inc.," and "TradePMR by Robinhood" are trade names used by Trade-PMR, Inc.
Robinhood Cortex for Advisor features use generative artificial intelligence and are provided for informational purposes only. They shouldn’t be viewed as research or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold a security or asset. Robinhood Cortex for Advisors does not provide tax advice. For specific questions regarding your tax situation, consult a tax professional.
All third parties mentioned and TradePMR are unaffiliated.
