The American College of Financial Services is launching an artificial intelligence-based planning tool that is based on its Retirement Income Certified Professional curriculum.
Jared Trexler, senior vice president and chief marketing and strategy officer at the college, previewed the planning tool for ThinkAdvisor during the inaugural Horizons conference in San Diego. It provides advisors who have earned the RICP designation with a variety of key use cases, ranging from straightforward search capabilities to detailed planning capabilities tailored to individual clients’ circumstances.
“This tool stands out because it is based entirely on academically rigorous inputs and a very focused application of AI,” Trexler said. “It’s completely unbiased, and it will be consistently updated to make sure the planning outputs remain accurate and relevant.”
Over the course of 2025, the tool will be expanded to cover the college’s other designation programs, including the new Tax Planning Certified Professional designation, which has become the fastest-growing program in the organization’s nearly 100-year history. Eventually, Trexler said, all of the individual AI tools will be integrated into a subscription-based service that will be available to all advisors, not just American College credential holders.
The Horizons event, focused on the future of retirement planning, also saw the college launch a new consumer-facing retirement education program aimed at helping the public learn the basics of retirement planning and saving effectively for the future.
As Trexler discussed, the course aims to address the knowledge gap that research, such as the college’s Retirement Income Literacy Study, finds among American consumers when it comes to retirement planning.
Dubbed “The Retirement Course,” the program is free. It focuses on such topics as income strategies, goal-setting, health care, housing options and the psychological aspects of retirement. It is designed specifically for mass affluent individuals, ages 50 to 67, with a household annual income over $75,000 and investable assets of at least $100,000.
“These individuals tend to have complex retirement income sources and needs,” Trexler explained. “They are typically within a few years of retirement, yet still have enough time to adjust their strategies for optimal retirement outcomes. The course provides unbiased, non-commercial educational content, ensuring that learners receive accurate, reliable information without a sales pitch.”
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