Financial Planners & Investment Advisors NAICS 523940

Sep 25, 2025 - Americans Using AI for Financial Advice

• Americans are increasingly turning to AI for personal finance help, using tools to find unclaimed money, manage budgets, and improve financial literacy, according to a recent survey by Intuit Credit Karma. The study found that 65% of US adults who use AI have asked it for financial advice, with adoption particularly strong among younger generations including 82% of Gen Z and Millennials. Many users see positive results: about 80% say following AI advice has improved their finances, whether by helping them save, track spending, or uncover overlooked resources. Risks remain significant, though. More than half (52%) admit that AI-driven guidance has also led them to make financial mistakes, often due to flawed, generic, or misleading responses. Financial experts caution that AI should be treated as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for professional advice, particularly when navigating complex financial decisions.
• Markets revenue for US banking giants have soared due to stock market volatility resulting from the whipsaw trade policies of the Trump administration. Banking’s Big Five - JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and US Bank - have earned a total of $34 billion this year in markets revenue, a 17% increase. Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs have sent the stock market into a price roller coaster and banks are cashing in on that trading revenue. Goldman Sachs alone has seen a 22% increase in trading revenue in Q2, mostly in equities financing (loaning money to hedge funds to support their trading activities). There has also been an uptick in IPO activity in Q2, which had declined across industries earlier in the year because of the economic uncertainty. In addition, M&A activity has picked up, according to industry experts, after a global 12% decrease in the first half of 2025.

• Most American investors have a gloomy outlook on the US stock market, with low expectations for the next three months, according to a survey by Charles Schwab. The investment bank’s quarterly report on trader/client sentiment shows 57% have a bearish outlook in Q2, up from 32% in Q1, due to market volatility and a rocky political environment. Investors won’t remain idle, though, and plan to navigate an up and down market. About 61% of investors plan to buy stocks when things dip and almost half of respondents are adding money to their portfolios and plan to invest in individual stocks. The risk of a recession jumped 30 points to 63% and investors expect high inflation throughout the year. Investors feel most bullish about the energy and utilities industries (cited by about half of those surveyed) and are more bearish on real estate holdings and discretionary consumer spending.
• Portfolio management and investment advisor wages for nonsupervisory employees increased 3.4% year over year in January 2025 (per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics) as bonus packages became more generous than they were in 2022-23. Bonus pools are critical compensation elements to investment bankers and account for a significant portion of total compensation. The overall bonus pool spiked to $42.7 billion in 2021 (per the New York State Comptroller) before it course-corrected to more standard levels. The bonus pool was estimated to grow 7% in 2024 to around $36.1 billion. A recent survey of investment banker pay by recruiter Prospect Park Partners found junior associates with a starting salary of $110K can earn up to 50% of base salary in bonuses. At the VP and up level, bankers can earn bonuses equal to or higher than their base salary, with the average bonus being $1.7 million.