Overview
- Altruist unveiled Hazel, an AI planning tool that the company says can create personalized tax strategies within minutes by analyzing tax returns, meeting notes and payslips, and testing what‑if scenarios.
- U.S. wealth stocks slumped, with Raymond James down 8.8% for its worst day since 2020, Charles Schwab off 7.4%, and LPL Financial lower by 8.3%.
- UK names were hit hard as St James’s Place fell 12.7%, AJ Bell dropped 4.8%, Quilter declined 5.1%, and Aberdeen and Schroders also traded lower.
- European peers weakened as well, including Julius Baer, while financial data groups such as S&P Global and MSCI registered losses.
- Executives at firms like AJ Bell and Quilter emphasized existing AI deployments and the value of adviser relationships, as analysts warned of possible fee compression and unusually high uncertainty over the next 12–24 months.