"Shrimp farming craze" arrives, AI takes jobs, wealth managers panic?

Cailian Press, March 12 (Editor: Wang Wei)

Since the start of spring, along with the market heat, a new “shrimp farming craze” has emerged. Whether on social media or on the streets, it seems everyone is talking about how to “get in the water.”

Behind this trend reflects the public’s anxiety and desire for AI empowerment. While people dream of a bountiful harvest by the shrimp ponds, a profound transformation is also taking place in wealth management: can AI replace financial advisors and wealth managers?

Faced with this critical question, we might find some clues in a recent tender announcement.

In January of this year, CaiZhao.com announced the shortlisted candidates for the Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank’s wealth business growth intelligent agent procurement project. Ant Blockchain Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was the primary candidate, with a tax-inclusive bid of 2.8 million yuan.

According to CaiZhao.com, this procurement aims to build a customer management intelligent agent for wealth services. The development includes customer insight intelligent agents, asset allocation intelligent agents, necessary supporting tool models, as well as knowledge engineering and system integration (including software products, customized system development and implementation services, and financial data supply).

Is AI bridging the gap in wealth services?

The wind of AI has finally blown into the wealth management industry.

Recently, third-party organization Yingmi Fund’s investment advisory platform—QieMan—completed a major upgrade of its AI assistant, XiaoGu. From the “Wealth Management + AI” 1.0 tool application stage, it has advanced to the “AI Native” 2.0 service model, achieving a dual leap from “AI tools” to “AI investment advisors” and from “shallow technological empowerment” to “full-scenario wealth management services,” redefining the product form of intelligent investment advisory.

“Previously, a customized investment diagnosis report for a client took half a day or even two days for the research team, limiting service to only high-net-worth clients. Now, with the capabilities of AI large models and Yingmi QieMan MCP, report production efficiency has increased more than fivefold, enabling all clients with needs to receive portfolio diagnostics and asset allocation services. The proportion of clients opening accounts and making deposits has also doubled,” said a user.

Industry insiders believe that technology is effectively bridging the gap in wealth services. With AI, an investment advisor can leverage a “digital team” to deeply serve middle- and low-asset clients who were previously hard to reach, allowing them to enjoy professional analysis and portfolio backtesting once reserved for high-net-worth clients. As service radius is extended infinitely by technology, traditional financial managers and advisors relying solely on information asymmetry and basic services will inevitably feel the chill.

The irreplaceable “temperature”: from selling products to being oneself

However, when talking with several wealth managers, many said they currently have “no such concerns” and frankly stated, “AI doesn’t understand clients.”

The answer may lie precisely in AI’s shortcomings. A senior wealth manager shared his insights: “What we recommend to clients isn’t products, but perspectives and thinking.” He emphasized that, compared to peers, it’s not about recommending products that increase the most, but about professional integrity and ethics. This trust-based, companionship-driven relationship, built on shared experiences, is something cold algorithms cannot replicate.

“In the era of AI, what we should do more is return to our inner selves,” pointed out an industry observer. “When AI handles 80% of standardized tasks, wealth managers should upgrade from ‘information transmitters’ to ‘empathetic advisors.’”

During market downturns, spending half an hour chatting with clients to stabilize their emotions can retain their trust better than any precise net value backtest. When clients’ children go to school or parents fall ill, a simple greeting and genuine help are worth far more than a perfect asset allocation report. As one industry insider said, don’t sell positions, but sell your profession and identity—creating differentiated labels in niche fields. High-net-worth clients are more willing to pay for rarity and irreplaceability.

AI can replace “tools,” but not “people.” Future wealth managers may no longer need to manually produce tedious data reports, but they must understand the market better, grasp human nature, and know how to build deep emotional connections with clients.

The most direct data from Choice shows that in recent years, the number of securities practitioners has been declining, while the number of investment advisors has been gradually increasing, as shown below:

Data source: Choice, compiled by Cailian Press

Industry insiders say the industry is undergoing a “dewatering” transformation: the old model of relying on a large number of people to open accounts is no longer viable. Repetitive and easily standardized tasks are being phased out, while those requiring professional judgment and deep service are becoming more valuable. This confirms the logic of the AI era—technology eliminates “tools,” but highlights the value of “real people” who understand clients and can accompany them.

Lin Jiecai, Senior Vice President of Yingmi Fund, said that there are two camps regarding the use of OpenClaw: one is the “wild” camp where individuals deploy it themselves, and the other is the “formal” camp where companies deploy it uniformly. It is used in scenarios like research analysis, content generation, and data tracking.

“The main current issue is the scope of OpenClaw authorization. Excessive permissions can lead to information security and operational risks, which is why there’s a shift from the ‘wild’ to the ‘formal’ camp,” Lin Jiecai further explained. “Our company has standardized OpenClaw deployment and usage for employees, requiring all work-related applications to use the company’s unified deployment of OpenClaw.”