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Why is AI sociopathic?

While human financial advisors give clients recommendations using a behavioral lens, since people don’t always make rational or unbiased financial decisions, AI can easily argue on both sides of an argument because neither side has any weight to it.

How is AI used by financial advisors at the moment?

Nearly 40% of human financial advisors use generative-AI tools for the job, according to a report from data-analytics firm Escalent, which added that this was mostly for boosting productivity, generating content, and for marketing functions.

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Examples include Canadian startup Conquest Planning using a financial-planning software with an AI architecture known as a blackboard system for storing information about tax rules, cash-flow mechanics, retirement-account structures, fiduciary rules, and more, according to the article, which added that another example would be Los Angeles-based wealth manager Arynton Hardy, who uses AI regularly to save time on data entry, portfolio monitoring, and other back-office tasks.

How can AI be made more useful for giving financial advice?

A method to make AI more empathetic to the client is by making it ask simple questions like “How are you doing?” before dispensing personalized financial advice, according to Andrew Lo, a professor of finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management and the director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering, who co-authored the report.

The AI could also use audio or video from the client to identify emotional cues, like stress or fear, in their voice or facial expressions, he added.

“We think we’re about two or three years away before we can demonstrate a piece of software that by SEC regulatory guidelines will satisfy fiduciary duty,” the article quoted him as saying.

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Unrealized capital gains tax proposals may be floating back into the zeitgeist as the Harris presidential campaign marches on, but for some, the noise around it is much ado about nothing.

“I don’t think this unrealized thing is going to have much momentum because it is a very onerous process to come up with those numbers,” Raymond James chief investment officer Larry Adam told Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast (see video above or listen here).

“You start putting biases of what you think [something] is worth versus the reality,” said Adam. “That becomes a very difficult equation to really put into a place.”

We’ve seen unrealized capital gains tax proposals before, but they’ve met plenty of resistance.

Most recently, the Biden administration proposed an unrealized capital gains tax for those with a net worth of over $100 million. The proposal could affect more than 10,600 people in the US, according to estimates.

But, unlike a capital gains tax, which is imposed on a sold item, deploying an unrealized capital gains tax is a trickier move.

Stifel chief Washington strategist Brian Gardner said in a recent client note that under an unrealized capital gains tax system, “ranking illiquid assets would not only be complicated but controversial,” adding that there would also need to be a way to provide taxpayers with “rebates for future losses.”

While analysts scratch their heads about the subject, an unrealized capital gains tax also has plenty of tomato throwers. Donald Trump called it “beyond socialism,” telling a crowd of small-business owners, “You will be forced to sell your restaurant immediately.”

Trump’s onetime US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, concurred.

“Frankly, I think it’s a ridiculous proposal,” Ross said on Opening Bid.

Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk also had negative statements to share on the topic, proclaiming an unrealized capital gains tax would lead to “bread lines and ugly shoes.”

While Trump and Musk might deliver their messages to pack a wallop and make voters think, concerns aren’t necessarily unfounded.

Raymond James’s Adam has considered tax proposals made by both candidates, and thinks that regardless of the administration in office, higher taxes could impact households by almost $2,000. “[It] could be a big impact and a drag on the economy,” he said.

Both Harris and Trump face challenges given the expiration of a significant portion of the 2017 tax cuts at the end of 2025. Trump has proposed an additional extension of provisions from 2017 and potentially more tax cuts.

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Harris proposed expanding the child tax credit and supported no increase in the capital gains tax, while taxing those making over $400,000 annually more.

While the presidential race is anyone’s game at this point, Adam isn’t that worried about an unrealized capital gains tax and the potential market losses. “[There’s] a low probability of it passing,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to mark to market every single year for your taxes.”

Three times each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.

In the below Opening Bid episode, former Trump nominee to the Federal Reserve Judy Shelton shares her outlook for the economy.

Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

On August 30, 2024, President Brian Hole sold 1,187 shares of Willis Lease Finance Corp (NASDAQ:WLFC), as reported in a recent SEC Filing. Following this transaction, the insider now owns 96,589 shares of the company.

Willis Lease Finance Corp specializes in the leasing of spare commercial aircraft engines, aircraft, and other aircraft-related equipment to airlines, aircraft engine manufacturers, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul providers worldwide.

Over the past year, Brian Hole has engaged in multiple transactions involving the company’s stock, selling a total of 24,570 shares and purchasing none. This recent sale is part of a broader trend observed within the company, where there have been 82 insider sells and no insider buys over the past year.

Shares of Willis Lease Finance Corp were priced at $106.17 on the day of the transaction. The company currently holds a market cap of approximately $772.655 million. The price-earnings ratio stands at 8.41, which is below the industry median of 17.98.

According to the GF Value, the intrinsic value estimate for Willis Lease Finance Corp is $63.35 per share, making the stock significantly overvalued with a price-to-GF-Value ratio of 1.68.

The GF Value is calculated based on historical trading multiples, a GuruFocus adjustment factor, and future business performance estimates provided by Morningstar analysts.

This sale by the insider might be of interest to current and potential investors, providing insight into insider confidence and valuation perspectives at Willis Lease Finance Corp.

This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.