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

Cailian Press, March 12 (Editor: Wang Wei) Since the beginning of spring, along with the market heat, a new “shrimp farming trend” has emerged. Whether on social media or on the streets, it seems everyone is talking about how to “get into the water.”

Behind this craze, it reflects the public’s anxiety and desire for AI empowerment. While people dream of a bumper 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 fundamental question, we might find some clues in a recent tender announcement.

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

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

Does AI Bridge the Gap in Wealth Services?

The influence of AI has finally reached the wealth management industry.

Recently, third-party firm Yingmi Fund’s platform—QieMan—completed a major upgrade of its AI assistant, XiaoGu. From the initial “Wealth Management + AI” 1.0 tool application stage, it has upgraded to an “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.

“In the past, a customized investment diagnostic 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 us to provide holdings diagnostics and asset allocation services to all clients in need, and the proportion of clients opening accounts and depositing funds has doubled,” said a user.

Industry insiders believe that technology has actually bridged 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 “Warmth”: From Selling Products to Being Yourself

However, when Cailian Press spoke with several wealth managers, they all said they currently have “no such concern,” and frankly stated, “AI doesn’t understand clients.”

The answer may lie precisely in AI’s shortcomings. A senior wealth manager shared his insight: “What we recommend to clients isn’t products, but viewpoints and thinking.” He emphasized that, compared to peers, it’s not about which recommended product performs best, 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 ‘warm advisors.’”

During market downturns, spending half an hour chatting with clients to stabilize their emotions can retain their trust more effectively than any precise net value backtest. When a client’s child advances to school or a parent falls ill, your greeting and genuine help are worth far more than a perfect asset allocation report. As one industry insider said, don’t sell a position, but sell a profession and a label—creating a differentiated niche in the profession. High-net-worth clients are more willing to pay for rarity and irreplaceability.

AI can replace the “tool person,” but not the “human.” 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 evidence, according to Choice data, shows that in recent years, the number of securities practitioners has declined, while the number of investment advisors has gradually increased, as shown below:

Data source: Choice, compiled by Cailian Press

Industry insiders say the industry is undergoing a “water squeezing” transformation: the old model of relying on mass recruitment no longer works. Repetitive, easily standardized tasks are being phased out, while genuine, judgment-based, in-depth advisory services are becoming more valuable. This confirms the logic of the AI era—technology eliminates “tool persons,” but highlights the value of those 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” deployment by individuals, and the other is the “formal” deployment by companies under unified standards. They are applied in scenarios such as research analysis, content generation, and data tracking.

“Currently, the main issue is the authorization boundary for OpenClaw. Excessive permissions can lead to information security and operational risks, which is why there’s a shift from wild deployment to formal deployment,” 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 OpenClaw deployment.”

(Cailian Press, Wang Wei)