Questions advisors actually ask.
Plain answers about the digital twin, validation, privacy, and getting started. If your question isn't here, start a free trial or email us directly.
What is Wallace Understudy?
Wallace Understudy is a digital twin of a financial advisor: software that captures how you actually run your practice, validated against what you really do. Like an understudy, it learns the role by watching you, steps in when you're out, and takes over when you step back. One living playbook does three jobs: it trains the team, it keeps the practice continuous, and it hands the practice off intact when someone steps back.
What is a digital twin of an advisor?
It's a captured, validated version of your operating methodology: how you segment clients, when you rebalance, how you frame tax decisions, what cadence each household gets, and the reasoning behind each rule. Your team can ask it anything, and it answers from the rules you approved and the sources you enable, citing each one. You stay the decision-maker; the twin carries your judgment, it doesn't replace it.
How is this different from an AI notetaker or advisor copilot?
A notetaker remembers the meeting. Wallace knows the method, and checks it against what you actually did. Meeting assistants capture moments; Wallace captures and validates a methodology, then hands it to whoever runs the book next.
What does "validated" mean?
Anyone can write down what they think they do. On the Digital Twin plan, Wallace replays your recent months against the rules you approved and grades adherence, then keeps watching for drift and asks: did the rule change, or did you slip? It's not a flattering self-portrait; it's checked against your actual behavior. On Playbook, every rule still shows where it came from and how confident the capture is.
What data does it need, and where does my data go?
Three kinds of input, handled three ways. Client files, meaning CRM exports, custodian and transaction records, emails and notes, are read and analyzed on your own computer and are never uploaded; only the de-identified pattern leaves your machine, never a name or an account number. Meeting transcripts are scrubbed of names, account numbers and balances on your machine before anything is sent, and the transcript itself is never stored. Your firm's own documents, the procedures, checklists and policy manuals, are uploaded and stored, because quoting them back word for word is the point. Wallace keeps the playbook, not your client roster. See our Data and AI practices for the details.
Will the AI make things up?
It is built not to. When the playbook doesn't cover a question, it is instructed to say "not covered" and route the gap back to the advisor rather than guess. Every citation is checked against the rules and passages actually served, so a made-up receipt never reaches the answer. No AI system is perfect, which is why every answer shows its source for you to check.
How long does it take to set up?
Once you're set up, about ten minutes gets your first playbook compiled: drag in a document, then a short interview fills in what it can't explain. If you can send an email, you can build your digital twin.
Who is it for?
Independent advisors and RIAs of any size. Solo advisors use it to get the practice out of their head before they hire, name a continuity partner, or plan a sale. Multi-advisor firms use it to onboard junior advisors, stop routing every hard question to one person, and make sure the practice survives a departure or a handoff. Same product, three jobs; you pick the one that matters most right now.
Does Wallace take custody or discretion?
No. Wallace has no custody and no discretion. People approve every action. The playbook documents and measures; it doesn't take action.
Does it keep itself up to date?
Yes. Every time you add material the playbook recompiles itself, and a weekly email you can switch on tells you what needs your attention: rules your recent activity no longer matches, questions your team asked that it couldn't answer, and documents that changed since the last compile. Drift checks run on Digital Twin and above, where your client data is.
How much does it cost?
Two tiers you can buy today, per Understudy per month, seats included: Playbook at $199 and Digital Twin at $599. Each Understudy models one advisor. Enterprise, from $999, is by agreement and coming soon. There's no setup fee and no long-term contract, and you can start on Playbook with a free trial and no sales call. See how pricing works for what each tier includes.
Do I need any other Wallace product, or a custodian connection?
No. Wallace Understudy is a standalone product. It works with whatever custodian, CRM, planning tool, and notetaker you already use, and there is nothing to connect to start: you drag in exports you already have. You do not need a Wallace Finance account or any other Wallace product.
Is this a compliance tool?
Wallace documents and measures how closely your practice follows its own stated process. Many firms find that useful alongside their compliance and continuity programs, but it is not a compliance, supervision, or surveillance system, and it doesn't guarantee any regulatory outcome.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Playbook comes with a 14-day free trial and no sales call. We take a payment method up front and nothing is charged until day 15, when your Playbook plan starts unless you cancel. We email you a reminder before the trial ends, and you can change plans or cancel any time from the billing portal in Settings.
What happens to my twin if I cancel?
Your twin is yours. You can download your twin and erase it from Wallace's systems at any time. If you cancel, your content stays available for ninety days so you can take it with you, and on request we will export it for you. After that, we delete your firm's records and confirm in writing on request. Your methodology is an asset you own, not a subscription you rent.
Does it work for a solo advisor?
Yes. A solo practice has the most concentrated key-person risk of all, because everything lives in one head. A solo advisor can build the playbook now and give access to a future hire, a continuity partner, or a successor when the time comes.
Which AI notetakers does it work with?
Any notetaker that lets you export a transcript or summary, including Jump, Zocks, Hazel, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. The transcript is scrubbed of names, account numbers, and balances on your own computer, the method in it becomes suggested rules, and nothing enters your playbook until you approve it. Your notetaker remembers the meeting; your understudy turns it into method your team can use.
Does it replace my business continuity plan?
No. Your business continuity plan names who takes over. Your understudy makes that person able to do it, by giving them your method and not just your files. On the Digital Twin plan it also produces a continuity annex your successor can read on day one. Keep your BCP; the understudy fills the part it can't.
Which AI providers do you use, and is my data used for training?
Two AI providers, each through its commercial API: Anthropic's Claude models compile the playbook and answer questions, and OpenAI models read and index the firm documents you choose to store. The service runs on Supabase, Vercel, and Amazon Web Services, all in the United States. Every subprocessor is listed in our Data Protection and Security Addendum. Your content is not used to train AI models, and client files never reach any AI provider, because they are read on your own computer and only de-identified patterns leave it.
The judgment shouldn't live in one head.
Your team runs on it today. It's there when you step back.