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Kitces post argues entry-level planner hires still pay off despite AI

Daniel Yerger of MY Wealth Planners says firms that hand junior work to AI give up a structured path for new planners.

At a glance

  1. Yerger, founder of the RIA MY Wealth Planners, calls the scarcity of genuine entry-level roles the "Christmas Tree Problem".
  2. Many AI platforms are presently subsidized by investor capital, he writes, so today's pricing may prove temporary.
  3. For a firm pricing a seat license against a hire, the sample 10-year track's link between advancement and pay is the detail that addresses retention.

Firms that stop hiring entry-level planners because AI can draft a plan may end up worse off, Daniel Yerger argues in a guest post for Kitces — Nerd's Eye View. Yerger, founder of the RIA MY Wealth Planners, calls the scarcity of genuine entry-level roles the "Christmas Tree Problem". With few jobs at the bottom, associate planners with more than three years of experience are undersupplied, and pay runs above what many firms can sustain.

He cites Kitces Research on Advisor Productivity, which found firms adopting more technology do not cut their reliance on human capital; they tend to do more for existing clients, often without adjusting fees. Many AI platforms are presently subsidized by investor capital, he writes, so today's pricing may prove temporary.

For a firm pricing a seat license against a hire, the sample 10-year track's link between advancement and pay is the detail that addresses retention. Yerger offers eight tasks new planners can own while they develop — validating AI-generated meeting notes, auditing client touchpoints and servicing smaller relationships — and a 10-year track from Planning Analyst to Lead Planner.

Reported by the Practice management desk from Kitces — Nerd's Eye View. Published . Corrections

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Kitces post argues entry-level planner hires still pay off…