Ship AI

AI for financial advisors and RIA firms. Less paperwork per client.

Ship AI Studio builds AI workflows for financial advisors at independent RIA and wealth management firms with 10 to 500 people. It prepares onboarding paperwork, meeting notes, and service requests for your team to approve. Advisers keep every advice decision. Start with a $1,500, one-week AI Assessment that ends with a fixed build scope or a clear no.

Independent RIAs · Hybrid advisory firms · Multi-adviser practices

Published prices
AI Assessment
$1,500for one week
AI Build Sprint
$5,000for two weeks
AI Operations
$999a month

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The fix · Independent RIA firmsReadout
#WorkflowWorthCall
01New client onboardingHours per new accountBuild first
02Meeting notes and follow-upAdviser time per meetingBuild
03Client service requestsReply time per requestLater
04Advice and suitabilityStays with a personClear no

Advisers make every advice and suitability decision. The system prepares the file.

Where the hours go in independent ria firms.

Three workflows we look at first. Each one is slow, repeated every week, and safe to hand to a system with a person approving.

  1. 01 · Hours per new account

    New client onboarding

    Today
    Operations re-reads each account packet, chases the missing signature, and retypes the rest into the CRM and the custodian forms.
    With the system
    Fields are pulled from the forms, conflicts are flagged, and one request for the missing pieces is drafted for the client.
    Your part
    Operations works from one review list. No account opens until a person checks the packet.
  2. 02 · Adviser time per meeting

    Meeting notes and follow-up

    Today
    After each review meeting, the adviser writes notes from memory, creates tasks by hand, and drafts the follow-up email late in the day.
    With the system
    Notes, tasks, and a follow-up email are drafted from the adviser's notes, or a recording the client agreed to, and the client file.
    Your part
    The adviser edits and approves the email and the notes before they are saved or sent.
  3. 03 · Reply time per request

    Client service requests

    Today
    Address changes, distribution requests, and document requests arrive by email and wait in a shared inbox.
    With the system
    Each request is matched to the client, the right form is prepared, and anything unclear is flagged.
    Your part
    A person checks and submits every form. Money movement always waits for approval.

What the $1,500 AI Assessment does.

One week on one workflow. For an RIA, the week usually starts with onboarding or meeting follow-up. We sit with operations and one adviser, look at the CRM and custodian steps, and count the hours.

  • A map of where leads, hours, and paperwork get stuck today
  • What it is worth, in dollars
  • Workflow or agent: which one fits, and what it needs access to
  • A ranked plan with the tools, checks, and approval points
  • A fixed Build Sprint scope, or a clear reason not to build

Credited in full toward a Build Sprint that starts within 30 days.

About the Assessment
  1. Day 1

    Kickoff call

    We pick the one workflow or agent to review.

  2. Days 2–3

    Watch the work

    Short interviews and a look at the tools and data it touches.

  3. Day 4

    Put a number on it

    What leaks, in dollars and hours, and what must wait for a person.

  4. Day 5

    Readout

    Your ranked plan, and a fixed Build Sprint scope or a clear no.

See how ChatGPT and Google see your firm.

Add your website. Six questions. A free report in two minutes.

Optional. We check if AI agents can read it.

The controls you will ask about.

We describe what we build, not a certification we hold. Your compliance team reviews the rules and the log before go-live.

We build on the tools you already use: the CRM, custodian portals, planning software, document storage, and email you already use, such as Redtail, Wealthbox, Salesforce, or Orion. The Assessment confirms which ones we can reach and how.

What your compliance officer will ask before you use AI
  1. A person approves

    Anything that goes out in your name, changes a record, or moves money waits for your yes.

  2. Every action on record

    Each draft, edit, and approval is logged with its source, so your chief compliance officer can review it.

  3. Scoped data access

    The system reads only the records the job needs. Nothing is copied out to train a model.

Santos Hernandez was the founding product hire and later VP Data at ZBD: $0 to $12M ARR, the EU's first MiCAR approval, and money transmitter licenses in 26 states and D.C. Before that: American Express, Bank of America, Vanguard, Wells Fargo, and Discover. The person you talk to builds it.

Meet the founder

Last updated October 27, 2026 · Santos Hernandez, Founder & CEO

Questions and short answers.

01How much does AI cost for an RIA firm?

With Ship AI Studio, the first step is the AI Assessment: $1,500 for one week. A Build Sprint is $5,000 flat for one workflow or agent, live in two weeks. AI Operations is $999 a month to keep it running. The Assessment fee is credited in full toward a Build Sprint that starts within 30 days.

02What do we get from the $1,500 AI Assessment?

In one week we review one workflow with your team. You get a map of where the hours go, what the fix is worth in dollars, whether a workflow or an agent fits, a ranked plan with the approval points, and a fixed Build Sprint scope or a clear reason not to build.

03Will AI give advice to our clients?

No. The system drafts paperwork, notes, and emails for your team. Advisers make every advice decision, and nothing goes to a client until a person approves it.

04What will our chief compliance officer see?

The approval rules, the list of systems the workflow reads, and a sample of the log before go-live. Your compliance team signs off on the controls. We do not claim a certification we do not hold.

05Which tools do you work with?

We build on the tools you already use: the CRM, custodian portals, planning software, document storage, and email you already use, such as Redtail, Wealthbox, Salesforce, or Orion. The Assessment confirms which ones we can reach and how.

06We are a 12-person firm. Is that too small?

No. We work with firms of 10 to 500 people. Under 10, there is usually not enough repeat work to pay for a build.

07Do you guarantee results?

No. The Assessment puts a dollar number on the workflow before you spend more. If the number is too small to pay for a build, the readout says so and you stop there.

Start with onboarding or meeting follow-up.

A free 15-minute call with Santos. Bring the workflow that costs your team the most each week.

  • $1,500 Assessment, credited toward a build
  • $5,000 flat, live in two weeks
  • A person approves every step that matters

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