Afterburner AI has signed a partnership with Link Financial Group to equip Link's national network of financial advisers with technology designed to reduce administrative workloads and enhance client service delivery.
The agreement will see hundreds of advisers, loan writers and administrators across Link's network gain access to Afterburner's suite of automation tools.
Operational efficiencies
Afterburner's platform automates tasks such as mortgage recommendations, drafting mortgage applications, financial statement analysis, completion of bank handover forms, compliance documentation, and preparation of client communications. Historically, these processes have accounted for up to 80% of advisers' weekly working hours. With Afterburner's tools, activities that once took between 10 minutes and two hours can now be completed in a matter of seconds.
Financial professionals have already used Afterburner's tools more than 500,000 times to generate credit applications, automate bank documentation and complete compliance requirements. The company reports estimated time savings of approximately 6,000 hours across its user base. Specific tasks have seen reductions in processing time, such as financial statement analysis falling from 60 minutes to 60 seconds and drafting a mortgage recommendation dropping from 30 minutes to 5 seconds.
Expanding demand
The partnership comes as advisers respond to signs of increasing economic activity and the expected rise in demand for mortgage lending, insurance, retirement savings and other financial services.
"As we see green shoots emerge in the economy, demand for mortgage and business lending, insurance, KiwiSaver and holistic wealth financial advice will increase. The partnership with Link Financial Group is a milestone we're proud of. It augments the work advisers are doing by providing them with market-leading technology that has changed the game for our own team," said Geoff Christopher, Co-Founder, Afterburner.
The technology aims to allow smaller advisory practices to compete with larger firms by simplifying compliance and service delivery. Afterburner's platform also responds to industry pressures, with regulatory bodies requiring improved compliance standards amid ongoing adviser capacity constraints. The company says its tools enable advisers to focus on client outcomes, rather than on repetitive data entry and administrative compliance.
Client focus
Josh Bronkhorst, CEO of Link Financial Group, says the adoption of Afterburner's technology will support the network's commitment to client-centric service.
"Our advisers are professionals who joined this industry to help Kiwis achieve their financial goals, not spend their days filling out forms.
This partnership enables our network to spend significantly more time delivering quality financial advice and building meaningful client relationships. As we look ahead to increased demand for financial services, having the right technology infrastructure isn't optional. It's essential for delivering the service standards our clients deserve," said Bronkhorst.
Product roadmap
Afterburner is preparing to launch its Generation 2.0 feature release, which will offer integration with new data sources such as iOS call-recording, voice memos and video meeting transcriptions. The new version will introduce a unified data lake for audio, video, and documentation. It will also automate the drafting of expert-level communications, further reducing the time advisers spend on correspondence with clients and banks.
The adoption of Afterburner is increasing, with the company expanding its reach from mortgage broking into life insurance, investments and broader wealth management advice.
"This is about liberating the Link Financial Group network to do what they do best and positioning them at the forefront of AI adoption globally. We do believe, though, that the 'why' is the most important aspect of any AI development project, and we're very clear on ours: empowering financial advice professionals to deliver better outcomes for their clients," said Christopher.