Practical writing on AI, automation, and regulation for financial advice firms and other regulated service businesses.https://cordrey.co/en-gbhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-ceo-led-ai-gets-three-times-the-roi/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-ceo-led-ai-gets-three-times-the-roi/Firms where the CEO personally owns AI strategy are 3x more likely to report established ROI. What that finding means for financial advice businesses planning their next move.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTstrategy-governancechange-managementimplementationrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-modular-infrastructure-is-a-trap-for-fintechs/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-modular-infrastructure-is-a-trap-for-fintechs/The collapse of Parker Card shows what happens when a fintech's entire operation depends on third-party APIs and cloud vendors who have no obligation to stay when things get hard.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligenceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/a-realistic-roadmap-to-becoming-an-ai-enabled-advice-firm-in/https://cordrey.co/journal/a-realistic-roadmap-to-becoming-an-ai-enabled-advice-firm-in/A practical 12-month plan for financial advice firms to integrate AI into operations, with staged milestones, honest caveats, and FCA expectations in view.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsautomationimplementationchange-managementfinancial-advicefcaLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/anthropics-strategic-breathing-room-and-what-it-means-for-ai/https://cordrey.co/journal/anthropics-strategic-breathing-room-and-what-it-means-for-ai/Anthropic recently restored access to its Fable model after a significant regulatory negotiation. Here is what that episode reveals about AI adoption risk for financial services firms.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligencelarge-language-modelsvendor-selectionrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-custom-silicon-in-ai-what-it-means-for-your-busi/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-custom-silicon-in-ai-what-it-means-for-your-busi/OpenAI's custom Jalapeno inference chip signals a structural shift in how AI compute is owned and priced. For smaller businesses, the consequences arrive later but matter more.Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtools-platformsautomationai-agentscost-managementdata-governanceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/1075-insights-what-are-the-new-rules-of-fintech-marketing-fi/https://cordrey.co/journal/1075-insights-what-are-the-new-rules-of-fintech-marketing-fi/As fintech products converge and customer acquisition costs climb, the firms winning attention are competing on brand and storytelling. Here is what that shift means for advice and wealth businesses.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligencefinancial-advicewealth-managementchange-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/a-step-by-step-guide-to-implementing-automation-in-your-advi/https://cordrey.co/journal/a-step-by-step-guide-to-implementing-automation-in-your-advi/How to identify what to automate, choose the right tools, and build a governance framework that keeps your firm compliant and in control.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsautomationimplementationchange-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-agentic-ai-in-financial-services/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-agentic-ai-in-financial-services/Autonomous AI agents are arriving in financial services workflows faster than governance frameworks are. Here is what firms need to understand before they deploy.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTai-foundationsai-agentsrisk-managementfinancial-adviceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-automate-fee-reconciliation-across-multiple-platforms/https://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-automate-fee-reconciliation-across-multiple-platforms/Fee reconciliation across multiple platforms is one of the most error-prone tasks in an advice firm. Here is how automation can replace the spreadsheet without replacing your compliance obligations.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsautomationfinancial-advicecompliance-monitoringLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-local-ai-deployment-why-businesses-need-to-take/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-rise-of-local-ai-deployment-why-businesses-need-to-take/When a government can pull a live AI model from commercial use overnight, cloud-only AI becomes a continuity risk. Here is what local deployment options actually look like for a financial services firm.Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsrisk-managementdata-governancevendor-selectionimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-automate-client-onboarding-without-losing-the-human-t/https://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-automate-client-onboarding-without-losing-the-human-t/Advisers spend around 15 hours per client on onboarding, with more than half of that not client-facing. Here is how to automate the admin without hollowing out the relationship.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsclient-onboardingautomationchange-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-role-of-ai-in-financial-services-a-guide-for-advisers/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-role-of-ai-in-financial-services-a-guide-for-advisers/AI is already inside the tools your firm uses. The question is whether you're using it deliberately or leaving value and risk unmanaged on the table.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTai-foundationsrisk-managementcompliance-monitoringlarge-language-modelsfcadoraLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-automating-a-bad-process-makes-everything-worse/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-automating-a-bad-process-makes-everything-worse/Before you automate anything, you need to know whether the process itself is worth keeping. Speed and scale applied to a broken workflow don't fix it, they replicate it faster.Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsautomationimplementationchange-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-next-wave-of-enterprise-ai/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-next-wave-of-enterprise-ai/Enterprise AI is shifting from cheap experimentation to cost-conscious deployment. Here is what the OpenAI and Microsoft announcements this week mean for professional services firms.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTstrategy-governancelarge-language-modelsai-agentsrisk-managementcost-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-leverage-claude-for-small-business-in-a-wealth-manage/https://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-leverage-claude-for-small-business-in-a-wealth-manage/Anthropic launched 15 ready-to-run agentic workflows for tools most small advice firms already use. Here is what that means in practice, and where the FCA guardrails sit.Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtools-platformsgdprfcaai-agentswealth-managementvendor-selectionLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/intelliflo-vs-xplan-vs-plannr-a-comparison-of-automation-pla/https://cordrey.co/journal/intelliflo-vs-xplan-vs-plannr-a-comparison-of-automation-pla/A plain comparison of Intelliflo, Xplan, and Plannr for UK financial advice firms: what each does well, where each falls short, and how to choose between them.Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtools-platformsvendor-selectionimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/intelligent-routing-strategies-for-multi-agent-ai-systems-an/https://cordrey.co/journal/intelligent-routing-strategies-for-multi-agent-ai-systems-an/Most multi-agent AI pilots fail before reaching production. This article explains what routing is, why it matters for compliance, and how to judge whether your firm is ready.Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationseu-ai-actgdprai-agentscompliance-monitoringrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-ai-token-shortage-begins/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-ai-token-shortage-begins/Flat-rate AI subscriptions are giving way to usage-based billing. Here is what that means for a financial advice firm running AI tools today.Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTmarket-intelligencecost-managementvendor-selectionimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/automating-client-onboarding-a-step-by-step-guide-for-ifas/https://cordrey.co/journal/automating-client-onboarding-a-step-by-step-guide-for-ifas/Advisers spend around 15 hours per client on onboarding, and more than half of that time isn't client-facing. Here's how to change that systematically.Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsclient-onboardingautomationcompliance-monitoringLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-uk-financial-services-firms-are-reluctant-to-adopt-ai/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-uk-financial-services-firms-are-reluctant-to-adopt-ai/Regulatory uncertainty, cybersecurity liability, and the gap between AI capability and organisational readiness are keeping many UK advice firms on the sidelines. Here's what that costs.Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTstrategy-governancegdprrisk-managementcompliance-monitoringimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-automate-suitability-report-drafting-without-breachin/https://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-automate-suitability-report-drafting-without-breachin/How advice firms can use AI to draft suitability reports faster, while keeping the human oversight and audit trails that Consumer Duty actually requires.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsgdprconsumer-dutyautomationfinancial-advicecompliance-monitoringLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/the-realistic-limits-of-todays-ai-explained-without-hype/https://cordrey.co/journal/the-realistic-limits-of-todays-ai-explained-without-hype/What current AI can and cannot do reliably, and how financial advice firms can make better decisions by understanding the difference between genuine capability and vendor promise.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTai-foundationslarge-language-modelsvendor-selectionfinancial-advicewealth-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/what-your-adviser-should-know-about-ai-and-your-investments/https://cordrey.co/journal/what-your-adviser-should-know-about-ai-and-your-investments/How AI is being used in investment management, what that means for your portfolio, and the questions worth asking your adviser at your next review.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTclient-perspectivefinancial-advicerisk-managementwealth-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/a-plain-english-guide-to-large-language-models-for-business/https://cordrey.co/journal/a-plain-english-guide-to-large-language-models-for-business/Get an introduction to large language models and their applications in business, explained in plain EnglishFri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTai-foundationslarge-language-modelsfinancial-adviceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-build-an-internal-ai-assistant-your-compliance-team-w/https://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-build-an-internal-ai-assistant-your-compliance-team-w/How to design an internal AI assistant for a financial advice firm that meets FCA expectations, keeps client data secure, and earns sign-off from your compliance team.Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/what-the-fca-and-bank-of-england-joint-ai-statement-means-fo/https://cordrey.co/journal/what-the-fca-and-bank-of-england-joint-ai-statement-means-fo/The FCA, Bank of England, and HM Treasury published a joint statement on 15 May 2026 on frontier AI models and cyber resilience.Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulation-compliancefcarisk-managementcompliance-monitoringLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-spot-ai-washing-in-software-you-already-pay-for/https://cordrey.co/journal/how-to-spot-ai-washing-in-software-you-already-pay-for/Every platform you use has added an AI feature in the last 18 months. Most of them are not worth your attention. Here is how to tell the difference.Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTtools-platformsvendor-selectionimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-most-ai-pilots-in-advice-firms-never-make-it-to-production/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-most-ai-pilots-in-advice-firms-never-make-it-to-production/The reason your automation project stalled has nothing to do with the technology. Here is what actually goes wrong and how to fix it.Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsimplementationchange-managementrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/why-only-12-percent-of-firms-using-ai-tools-see-real-business-impact/https://cordrey.co/journal/why-only-12-percent-of-firms-using-ai-tools-see-real-business-impact/Most firms that adopt AI tools see no measurable return. The gap between the 12 percent who do and the rest comes down to three operational decisions made early.Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsimplementationcost-managementrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/what-deepfake-fraud-means-for-fca-regulated-firms-and-how-to/https://cordrey.co/journal/what-deepfake-fraud-means-for-fca-regulated-firms-and-how-to/Deepfake voice fraud is accelerating fast. Here is how advice firms should redesign verification workflows before the next attempt hits.Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTregulation-compliancefcacompliance-monitoringrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/ai-ready-definition-small-business/https://cordrey.co/journal/ai-ready-definition-small-business/Most firms chase technical readiness when the real blocker is a simpler one: knowing what problem you're actually trying to solve.Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTstrategy-governanceautomationimplementationchange-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/automation-audit-what-it-involves/https://cordrey.co/journal/automation-audit-what-it-involves/A plain account of what happens during an automation audit, what it costs, and how to run a basic version yourself in under an hour.Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsautomationcost-managementimplementationLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/data-bottleneck-not-ai-model/https://cordrey.co/journal/data-bottleneck-not-ai-model/Firms stall on AI projects not because the technology is immature, but because their data is fragmented, inconsistent, and never designed for machine consumption.Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTautomation-operationsdata-governanceimplementationrisk-managementLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/zapier-make-n8n-wealth-management/https://cordrey.co/journal/zapier-make-n8n-wealth-management/A direct comparison of Zapier, Make, and n8n for IFAs and wealth managers — covering cost, compliance fit, data residency, and where each platform breaks.Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTtools-platformsgdprvendor-selectionautomationcompliance-monitoringdata-governanceLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/five-ai-terms-sme-owners-should-know/https://cordrey.co/journal/five-ai-terms-sme-owners-should-know/On the words that vendors use to sell you things, and what they actually mean when the jargon is stripped away.Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTai-foundationslarge-language-modelsai-agentsvendor-selectionLiam Cordreyhttps://cordrey.co/journal/already-have-a-tool-that-does-this/https://cordrey.co/journal/already-have-a-tool-that-does-this/On why the honest first answer to most AI questions is that you already have a tool that does this.Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTtools-platformscost-managementimplementationautomationLiam Cordrey