Cetera financial advisors soon may be able to read their clients’ minds.
Cetera Financial Group, a network of independent financial advisory firms, is launching a new software program to enable its affiliated advisors to detect minute facial clues to better map a client’s financial future, Cetera announced Wednesday.
The facial recognition program is called Decipher and works with any device that has a web camera. The client or prospect watches a series of videos about financial situations and his or her emotional responses, telegraphed through facial expressions, are analyzed.
The information that is gained is reported to the client and the advisor and used as a basis to explore the client’s emotions about money. The information is designed to be used by the advisor to form a deeper relationship with the client, says Cetera.
The software program is the first of its kind in the financial industry, according to Robert Moore, CEO of Cetera Financial Group.
“Decipher is transformative for the advice industry. It takes the relationship with the advisor to the next level,” Moore says. “A lot of information is conveyed nonverbally. This is a tool for relationship building that will help the advisor really know what is in the best interests of the client.”
Decipher is available to any advisor and client who wants to use it. It will not be used to create a financial plan, but rather is designed for the advisor to get a better understanding of the client and provide insights into the client’s needs and concerns.
Family members can also be brought into the process.
“This greater understanding of clients’ unspoken (and frequently unconscious) attitudes and emotional responses regarding financial goals and concerns is expected to provide advisors with enhanced opportunities to expand their client base by reaching prospects in new and more meaningful ways while also deepening engagement with existing clients,” Cetera says.
The software will help Cetera advisors meet the new requirements of the DOL fiduciary rule that mandates advisors put the best interests of their clients first, says Moore. It will enable advisors to discover more about their clients and prospects in a shorter amount of time and “will enable them to translate those insights into actionable steps that directly support the achievement of clients' financial goals.”