Who needs a financial advisor when you have AI?

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report
Episode Title: Who needs a financial advisor when you have AI?
Date: February 12, 2026
Host: Sabri Benishour (in for David Brancaccio)
Reporters/Guests: Nova Sappho, Chad Bown (Peterson Institute for International Economics), various industry experts

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Episode Overview

In this edition, Marketplace explores the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence in the finance sector, particularly around financial advising and tax planning. The conversation then pivots to U.S. trade policy and its international ripple effects, especially the evolving relationships among the U.S., Canada, China, and other trading partners. The episode surfaces concerns about economic realignment, the limits of AI in financial planning, and the precarious reliability of global trade allies.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. AI in Finance: Are Financial Advisors at Risk?

[00:47–03:14]

• AI's Rising Impact

  • New AI tools, like those from the startup Altruist, now automate complex tasks such as tax planning, which have traditionally required professional advisors.
  • This new tech can analyze documents (tax forms, pay stubs, notes) and generate personalized tax guidance.

• Market Reaction

  • Recent advancements in AI have spooked investors—shares of brokerages (Charles Schwab, Raymond James, Ameriprise) have dropped 5-10% over five days in response to fears of AI-driven disruption.

• Expert Insights

  • Thomas Schuster (IDC Financial Insights):
    • "The AI is reducing the cost of intelligence." [01:38]
    • "When intelligence gets cheaper, you know, the margins shift, we within the ecosystem. And so it is by definition, I think, highly disruptive." [01:45]
  • Despite the panic, some analysts remain skeptical about the magnitude of the threat:
    • Sean Dunlop (Morningstar):
      • Notes that uptake of so-called “robo-advice” has been slow, with only 2–4% penetration.
      • "I don't think that's a bad analog as we look forward at what the impact of AI is going to be." [02:24]
  • Isabella Loiza (MIT):
    • "In financial services, you need a lot of human capabilities like opinion, empathy, hope." [02:41]
    • AI will likely augment, not eliminate, the need for human advisors.

• Notable Quote:

  • Nova Sappho: "Good luck getting those [human capabilities] from AI." [02:48]

Memorable Moment:
Discussion of AI lacking empathy and human judgment, suggesting a continued role for people in financial advising.

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2. Trade Tensions and Global Economic Shifts

[04:01–07:40]

• USMCA Uncertainty & U.S. Tariffs

  • President Trump is considering canceling the USMCA trade deal and is against opening a major U.S.-Canada bridge. The U.S. House passed a largely symbolic resolution to limit presidential power to tariff Canada, though it’s unlikely to be veto-proof.

• Allies Pivot to China

  • Canada, the EU, and the UK are seeking deeper trade relations with China, India, and South America, spurred by U.S. protectionism.
  • Chad Bown (Peterson Institute):
    • On the Canada–China electric vehicles agreement:
      • "It's an agreement by the Canadians to buy more of what the Chinese are really good at making right now, which is electric vehicles that the United States has essentially said we're not going to buy any of those." [05:04]
    • The current deal isn't huge (49,000 EVs), but signals a possible broader pivot with significant implications for North American automotive integration.

• Motivations: Political or Economic?

  • "There’s really strong economic arguments here," says Bown, noting the necessity for smaller economies like Canada to access foreign markets if the U.S. withdraws.
  • U.S. messaging that it’s "no longer open" forces partners to diversify or risk economic stagnation.

• Reliability of Trade Partners

  • On China’s dependability:
    • "Absolutely not. And I think many of these countries are now wide eyed and realize the risks of engaging with China. Even prior to the pandemic, they did acts of economic coercion to countries in Europe to Brazil, cutting off... significant products for them." [06:59]
  • The U.S. imposing tariffs restricts international solidarity to confront China collectively.

• Notable Quotes:

  • Sabri Benishour: "If this were part of a broader sign that Canada is saying, you know, we need to be more aligned with countries outside of North America, then that could have potentially really big implications for American based auto production." [05:47]
  • Bown: "A lot of these countries like Canada are really, really small in an economic sense. They need access to foreign markets to achieve scale in industries like automobiles to make their companies competitive." [06:15]

Memorable Moment:
Bown’s warning about the risks for U.S. allies relying more on China: “Absolutely not," referring to China's unreliability as a trade partner. [06:59]

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Notable Quotes & Attribution

• "The AI is reducing the cost of intelligence." — Sabri Benishour quoting Thomas Schuster, [01:38]
• "When intelligence gets cheaper, you know, the margins shift... and so it is by definition, I think, highly disruptive." — Thomas Schuster, [01:45]
• "You're looking at... somewhere between 2 and 4% penetration of robo advice solutions." — Sean Dunlop, [02:24]
• "In financial services, you need a lot of human capabilities like opinion, empathy, hope." — Isabella Loiza, [02:41]
• "Good luck getting those from AI." — Nova Sappho, [02:48]
• "It's an agreement by the Canadians to buy more of what the Chinese are really good at making right now, which is electric vehicles that the United States has essentially said we're not going to buy any of those." — Chad Bown, [05:04]
• "Absolutely not. And I think many of these countries are now wide eyed and realize the risks of engaging with China." — Chad Bown, [06:59]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• AI disrupts financial advice: 00:47–03:14
• U.S. trade tension and global pivots: 04:01–07:40

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Summary Flow & Tone

Marketplace maintains its signature brisk, informative tone—delivering complex economic trends with clarity and measured analysis. The brisk examination of AI’s limitations alongside its disruptions is pragmatic rather than alarmist. Conversation about trade shifts blends economic analysis with pointed political context, expressed with a mix of skepticism and realism.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

You’ll get a snapshot of how AI is reshaping finance—including its real limitations—and a grounded look at global trade uncertainty stemming from U.S. policy, with expert insights into both the risks and overreactions in play. The episode balances headline-grabbing change with deeper analysis, capturing both the hype cycles and the enduring realities underneath.

Transcript

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[Sabri Benishour]

AI sends another tremor through stocks From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Benishour in for David Brancaccio. AI has been coming for one industry after another recently. Last week, new AI tools threatened to make software firms obsolete. Their shares sank. Then it was insurance brokers. Same story. The latest example is in finance, specifically brokerages that help people invest and do financial planning. A new AI tool from a startup called Altruist promises to automate tax planning. Shares of Charles Schwab, Raymond James Ameriprise are all down 5 to 10% in the past five days. Marketplace's Nova Sappho has more.

[Nova Sappho]

The new AI application from Altruist is set to ingest documents like tax forms, pay stubs and notes, and spit out tax planning advice. Traditionally a function of a financial advisor.

[Sabri Benishour]

The AI is reducing the cost of intelligence.

[Nova Sappho]

Thomas Schuster is research director at IDC Financial Insights.

[Sabri Benishour]

When intelligence gets cheaper, you know, the margins shift, we within the ecosystem. And so it is by definition, I think, highly disruptive.

[Nova Sappho]

So which companies might get walloped? Sean Dunlop at Morningstar says it's hard to say. Investors have been looking to see what firms they think might be exposed to AI disruption, and that has been pretty wide ranging. But it's not clear firms are facing a serious threat at all, in part because we've seen this movie before. Financial advisors have offered automated options for at least a decade, but clients haven't used them much, says Dunlop. You're looking at, you know, somewhere between 2 and 4% penetration of robo advice solutions. I don't think that's a bad analog as we look forward at what the impact of AI is going to be. Such low uptake is no surprise to Isabella Loiza of MIT, who's researched AI's impact on the financial industry.

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In financial services, you need A lot of human capabilities like opinion, empathy, hope.

[Nova Sappho]

Good luck getting those from AI. Loiza expects AI to augment the work of financial advisors, not replace them. I'm novasafo for Marketplace.

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[Sabri Benishour]

President Trump is considering canceling the USMCA trade deal that he brokered in his first term to replace nafta. This is according to to Bloomberg. He's also opposed to opening an almost finished bridge connecting Canada and Detroit. Yesterday, the House pushed back, at least symbolically, passing a resolution that would limit President Trump's ability to place tariffs on Canada. It is not likely to survive a veto. Canada, meanwhile, has tried to pivot and expand its trade relationship with China. So are the EU and the UK who are also looking to India and South America. For more, we've got Chad Baum, senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Good morning.

[Chad Bown]

Hi Sabri.

[Sabri Benishour]

So you know, we have seen this very clear pivot to China from some US Allies. High profile visits by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, British PM Keir Starmer. Is this pivot translating into something economically real or is it more symbolic?

[Chad Bown]

I think there definitely is symbolism. I wouldn't say it's economically huge. You know, especially on the Canadian side. It's an agreement by the Canadians to buy more of what the Chinese are really good at making right now, which is electric vehicles that the United States has essentially said we're not going to buy any of those. So it is something that's actually quite symbolically important.

[Sabri Benishour]

If Canada does allow a bunch of Chinese electric vehicles in, does that mean anything for the US Or US Based electric vehicles, vehicle makers?

[Chad Bown]

By itself, this is only 49,000 electric vehicles. So this is not a huge number. But the North American automobile industry is hugely integrated. So if this were part of a broader sign that Canada is saying, you know, we need to be more aligned with countries outside of North America, then that could have potentially really big implications for American based auto production.

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Yeah.

[Sabri Benishour]

Is this all in response to politics, you know, the president's comments about Greenland, Canada becoming the 51st state, or are these responses to kind of hard edged economics?

[Chad Bown]

I think there's really strong economic arguments here. President Trump over the last year has essentially told all of our trading partners and allies that the United States is no longer open to a lot of what they make and want to sell. A lot of these countries like Canada are really, really small in an economic sense. They need access to foreign markets to achieve scale in industries like automobiles to make their companies competitive. And if the United States is no longer open, they're going to need to find alternative markets too. And sometimes that's going to be a China or other countries out there.

[Sabri Benishour]

If part of the idea of countries warming up to China is their experience that the US Seems less reliable, is China more reliable?

[Chad Bown]

Absolutely not. And I think many of these countries are now wide eyed and realize the risks of engaging with China. Even prior to the pandemic, they did acts of economic coercion to countries in Europe to Brazil, cutting off, you know, their exports of significant products for them. But when they the United States is extraordinarily busy hitting those other partner countries with tariffs. That doesn't give them any space and opportunity to figure out how to collaborate together on the bigger problem that is China.

[Sabri Benishour]

Chad Bown is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Thank you so much.

[Chad Bown]

Thanks, Sabri.

[Sabri Benishour]

In New York, I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace Morning Report from apm. American Public Media.

[Nova Sappho]

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