How One Investment Firm is Using AI to Cut Software Costs

Brokerage stocks were among the latest stocks to sell off last week on fears artificial intelligence would replace the financial institutions’ role as investment advisers. While those worries may be overblown, it’s easy to see why traders are skittish. 

Take the case of IDX Advisors, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based asset management firm with around 10 employees. IDX previously used financial analytics and forecasting applications from Morningstar and FactSet as part of its investment research. But last year, IDX dumped those apps and used Anthropic’s Claude Code to develop alternatives that use its own in-house data. 

Ben McMillan, founder and chief investment officer at IDX, said the move has led to $150,000 in annual cost savings for his firm, which generates under $5 million in revenue annually. 

"In the era of AI, advantage belongs to open, flexible platforms like FactSet that unite system-of-record infrastructure, financial services–specific workflows, and a broad range of user experiences,” Patrick Starling, SVP of enterprise AI at FactSet, said in an emailed statement. A Morningstar spokesperson didn’t have a comment.

IDX’s experience shows the impact AI coding tools can have in specialized industries where businesses may have little to no experience in developing software. While IDX has plenty of in-house programming expertise, its developers are wholly focused on using AI for financial analytics and forecasting, McMillan said.