John O’Connell Quoted in The Adviser Times: Wealth management has got junior advisors’ first 90 days covered. What happens on day 91?

John O’Connell was recently featured in The Adviser Times for an article on what AI does to junior advisor training. His core concern is that the “grunt work” new advisors used to cut their teeth on, researching client questions, drafting emails, prepping meeting notes, was never busywork. It was the reps. Building out a 529 plan taught a junior advisor the business, and if AI simply writes the email, that learning experience goes away. John isn’t convinced firms have figured out how to train new staff as AI absorbs those entry-level tasks, especially given the rate of change. His advice is to give new recruits an AI acceptable-use policy before they start, pairing a list of approved tools with clear guardrails on when AI is and isn’t acceptable, since a firm that prides itself on financial planning shouldn’t have AI doing the planning.