OCBC rolls out gen AI skills training programme for wealth advisors

It is now live in Singapore and will be rolled out in Malaysia and Hong Kong at a later date.

OCBC has rolled out a generative AI-powered skills training programme for its wealth advisors in Singapore.

The six-month programme will deploy gen AI to coach OCBC’s 900-strong wealth advisor force in the city. Competencies include investment advisory, client management, product mastery, and wealth planning.

The programme was developed over 12 months, using large language models (LLMs) guided by OCBC’s anonymised insights on customer behaviors to generate training scenarios.

The programme will be rolled out in Malaysia and Hong Kong at a later stage, with training content localised to the specific needs of wealth advisors in each market.

Amongst scenarios include creating an investment portfolio that addresses customers’ long-term needs, identifying a customer’s risk profile, selling more sophistical financial products, or adjusting investment strategies.

Following each session, supervisors were given a gap analysis report detailing the wealth advisor’s level of competency and where they may need to improve.

Previous wealth advisory skills training was conducted solely in-person, on a one-on-one basis, and dependent on a supervisor’s availability, OCBC said. It could take up to three weeks to secure a training session, and supervisors typically have to coach up to 10 staff.

OCBC said that the use of gen AI removes bias and emotions that can influence the coaching.

Wealth advisors who have undergone three months of training are said to have demonstrated a high level of customer engagement, securing double the number of weekly client appointments, the bank said.

They also recorded a 50% uplift in revenue compared to the three months prior, said OCBC.