Hey everyone, how’s it going? I’m a former XP Investimentos employee; for three years, I led the team managing the investment funds section of the XP app and the Advisor's Hub.
XP Investimentos is the biggest broker in Brazil, something like a mix beetwen RobinHood and Charles Swab and it was a truly dream come true to work there.
I had the chance to see firsthand how priorities are set, how the decision-makers operate, and how the client was often sidelined in favor of prioritizing revenue or cost-cutting.
Working with investment funds felt a bit odd because there were actually products I didn't like... It gave me a strange feeling to be building a platform I didn't 100% believe in myself. Pretty wild, right? If you think that the US has some shity Funds, imagine how it is in Brazil... We have mono stock funds with 3% fee. Yes: One Stock only and 3% fee.
Over time, I realized that the financial market runs on information asymmetry: those with information navigate better and make a profit, while those without it make poor decisions and become revenue for the big players.
I think AI is here to democratize this by triggering a massive boom in access to information. Now, you can use AI to ask questions, do research without feeling self-conscious, and find higher-quality information without relying on your financial advisor, for instance.
I don't think anyone should delegate their investments entirely to an AI, but there is certainly great potential for using it to research and gather information.
A less obvious impact is the reduction in the cost of service! Let me explain:
Previously, an investment advisor might have been able to serve 100 clients, for example; now, with AI, they can handle 150. What happens then? They can expand their market and serve more people meaning supply increases! If supply increases, they can charge lower fees and serve a broader audience, which will ultimately democratize certain types of investment services.
Advisors will be able to serve more clients while maintaining high quality. Am I being naive here or does that make sense? What do you all think?