--- title: "Give your AI your firm's compliance language so drafts reach review in better shape" description: "Store approved language, required disclosures, prohibited phrases, and templates in files so AI drafts client communications compliance can review faster." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-for-financial-advisors" date: "2026-01-28" modified: "2026-09-25" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Real estate - Real estate - [Real estate](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - Work - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Prepare your six-question brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prepare-your-six-question-brief) - Build - [Site build, content library with SEO, signal desk](https://scalewithsearch.com/work) - For your business - Trades and home services - [Auto body and collision shops](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/auto-body-and-collision-shops) - [Foundation and home repair contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/foundation-and-home-repair) - 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You need to send market commentary to 200 clients. ChatGPT could draft it, but generic market language does not pass at your firm. Compliance requires specific disclosures, prohibits certain predictions, and reviews everything before it goes out. So you write it yourself. It takes two hours. Compliance returns it because you wrote "guaranteed" where you meant "historically consistent." You revise, they approve, and you send it three days after the market event. AI could help you write faster. It does not know your firm's rules, your approved language, or which topics need pre-approval. This page shows how to write those rules into files that the assistant reads before it drafts. ## Why a generic assistant fails an advisor ChatGPT writes generic financial content. "Diversification reduces risk." "Consider your time horizon." It sounds professional, but it does not follow your firm's rules. Your firm has required disclosures, prohibited phrases, topics that need a supervisor's approval, and disclaimers that must appear. A generic assistant knows none of them. You also cannot paste client portfolio data into a chat tool on a hunch. Account numbers, holdings, and personal financial information are regulated data. Many firms restrict which AI tools staff may use at all. Check your firm's policy first. ## Where client data goes Some guides say a desktop assistant keeps client data on your computer. That is wrong for Claude Code. Anthropic's data usage page states that Claude Code runs locally but sends prompts and model outputs over the network ([Claude Code: Data usage](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/data-usage), checked 2026.09.25). A client file that the assistant reads goes to the model provider. Plan the files with that in view. The compliance language, templates, and firm knowledge can go into the files. Client profiles use household IDs and planning facts only. Account numbers, balances tied to names, and identity documents stay in your CRM and custodial systems. ## What the assistant needs to know Compliance language comes first: required disclaimers, prohibited statements, and pre-approval triggers. It also records what you may say about market direction, performance, and risk, and the standard disclosure text for each communication type. Client context comes second: risk profile, investment objectives, account types, and life stage, under a household ID. Communication templates come third: approved email formats, the market commentary structure, and the client meeting agenda that passed review before. Firm knowledge comes fourth: investment philosophy, planning process, service model, product offerings, fee structure, and typical client profiles. Topic expertise comes fifth: your specialties, such as retirement planning, tax-efficient investing, estate planning, or business owner services. ## Build the files Claude Code reads a file named `CLAUDE.md` when a session starts. Put the firm rules there and link the detail files. ```text ## Compliance rules (source: firm compliance manual v2026.2, owner: CCO) Prohibited: "guaranteed," "risk-free," "can't lose," any return forecast Replace "guaranteed" with approved wording from language/approved.md Required: disclosure block D-1 on every market commentary Pre-approval: any mention of a specific security, performance figures, or testimonials Output: every draft goes to the compliance review queue. Never mark a draft final. ## Client files clients/HH-0231.md: household ID only; no account numbers, no SSNs ``` The practice files hold compliance requirements, communication standards, disclaimer text, specialty areas, and investment philosophy. They also describe the service model: what clients get, when they hear from you, and how. Each household file holds risk profile, goals, account types, life stage, and planning priorities. The rules file tells the assistant what your firm expects. It does not enforce those rules. A prohibited word can still appear in a draft, so review stays mandatory. [ChatGPT custom instructions are not hard constraints](/articles/chatgpt-custom-instructions-not-hard-constraints) explains the difference between an instruction and a control. The same difference holds for a rules file. ## Before and after ### Market commentary Before: two hours to write, with half the time spent on approved language. After: you prompt, "Draft market commentary on the Fed rate decision from a long-term planning perspective." The assistant uses approved language, adds disclosure D-1, follows the commentary template, and keeps the firm's tone. You review it and send it to compliance. Time the next three commentaries against your old average, and record the review rejections too. ### Client review prep Before: each review meeting needs about 30 minutes of preparation: goals, progress, agenda notes. After: you prompt, "Review prep for HH-0231: retirement timeline and college funding progress." The assistant reads the household's goals and risk profile, proposes talking points, and fills your agenda template. You pull the current figures from the custodian and verify them. ### A new client question Before: a prospect asks about your approach to tax-efficient investing. You write the explanation from scratch, careful about compliant wording on tax strategies. After: you prompt, "Draft a reply about our tax-efficient investing approach for a high-income professional." The assistant uses your written philosophy, adds the required disclaimers, and names your usual strategies. You review and route it for approval. ### The quarterly newsletter Before: hours of work for the market update, the planning tip, firm news, and disclaimers, then review, revision, and more review. After: you prompt, "Draft the Q1 newsletter: rebalancing discipline and Roth conversion planning." The assistant follows the newsletter template, uses pre-approved language on standard topics, and includes each required disclosure. Time the first draft against the last newsletter to see what the file saves. ## What the setup contains The setup is Claude Code with a folder of Markdown files, such as an Obsidian vault. It holds `CLAUDE.md` configured for an advisory practice, household file templates, the compliance language files, and communication templates. Claude Code needs a paid Claude plan or an API account; the free plan does not include it ([Claude Code: Advanced setup](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup), checked 2026.09.25). Your firm may require an enterprise account with specific data terms. After setup, you can: - keep household profiles under IDs where the assistant can read them; - keep compliance requirements and approved language in one maintained place; - build templates that pass review more often; - draw on firm knowledge for faster content; - use AI writing help inside your firm's supervision process. ## Test the language file Run three checks before the first real draft. 1. Ask for commentary that predicts next quarter's market return. Pass: the assistant declines the forecast and cites the prohibited list. Fail: tighten the rule and retest. 2. Ask for a newsletter section. Pass: disclosure D-1 appears word for word. Fail: paste the disclosure into a template the assistant must fill, not rewrite. 3. Ask for review prep on a household ID. Pass: no account number or name appears. Fail: find where the identifier entered the folder and remove it. Search the drafts for the prohibited words before each submission to compliance. A plain text search takes seconds and catches what the model missed. ## Keep the approved language current Compliance manuals change. A disclosure block gets a new version, a phrase moves from allowed to prohibited, or a new topic joins the pre-approval list. A language file that lags the manual sends drafts to review with last year's wording. Give the file an owner and a version line, as the example above does. When compliance issues a change, the owner updates the file the same week and records the manual version and the date. Each quarter, ask the assistant to list the disclosures it holds and their versions, then compare the list with the current manual. A mismatch means a draft went out under stale language, and it tells you which drafts to check. ## Review, retention, and limits Broker-dealer communications fall under FINRA Rule 2210, Communications with the Public ([FINRA Rule 2210](https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/rulebooks/finra-rules/2210), checked 2026.09.25). Registered investment advisers fall under the SEC Marketing Rule, Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act. The SEC adopted it on 2020-12-22, with a compliance date of 2022-11-04 ([SEC: Investment Adviser Marketing](https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/small-business-compliance-guides/investment-adviser-marketing), checked 2026.09.25). Your compliance department decides how each applies to AI-drafted content, and how drafts and final versions are retained. An AI draft is still a firm communication once it is sent. The assistant drafts. A registered person reviews, compliance approves where required, and only then does anything reach a client. [Who approves what an AI agent sends](/articles/who-approves-what-an-ai-agent-sends) shows how to write that chain down. The [client data guide](/articles/client-data-in-ai-agent-memory) lists the questions to settle before any household file exists. 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