AI-readiness discovery
A short, fixed-fee look at how work flows, where the time goes and where the risks are. You get a written report with costed options, and you can act on it with me or without me.
Get AI working in your firm safely, on the systems you already run.
I’m a Principal AI Architect in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and I work with advice firms through Minibit Ltd. I have 11 years’ experience in regulated financial services, spanning financial advice, software development and technology leadership. I spent seven years running technology at Lowes Financial Management, an FCA-regulated advice firm with over £1bn under management, on Intelliflo Office. I now help advice firms cut admin, clean up their data and bring in AI without putting client data or compliance at risk.
Steven Minnikin · Principal AI Architect · Minibit Ltd7 yrsrunning an advice firm’s technology
£1bn+assets under management
>90%reduction in application processing time
80+staff on it, including 18 advisers
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Where I help
- “Suitability reports and reviews take hours of collating and drafting.”
- “Client data sits in systems that don’t talk to each other.”
- “Staff use consumer AI tools, and nobody knows where client data goes.”
- “The book is messy: client or product linking issues, duplicates, gaps in MI.”
- “A new system or an acquisition means a painful migration.”
- “You want AI, but not at the cost of a compliance problem.”
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What I do
Book clean-up, MI and migrations
Every plan linked to its client, gaps and duplicates fixed, and reports that stay current inside Intelliflo Office. When you change systems, I move the data and check it matches.
Safe AI rollout
Approved business AI tools, a written AI policy, and assistants set up for your templates and processes. A person signs off every document before it reaches a client.
Ongoing support
Monthly tuning as your process changes, a short report on time saved and issues caught, and someone to call when something breaks.
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How we’d start
- 1Talk30 minutes on your priorities and what’s slowing the team down.
- 2DiscoverTwo to four days mapping how the work actually flows.
- 3PilotA small rollout on live cases, measured before anything grows.
- 4RunMonthly support you can stop on a month’s notice.
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Why me
- 11 years’ experience in regulated financial services, spanning financial advice, software development and technology leadership.
- Served as Deputy Data Protection Officer at Lowes Financial Management; completed GDPR Foundation / Practitioner training with IT Governance in 2022.
- Seven years running technology at an FCA-regulated IFA: took a legacy estate of 44 applications and 45 databases in mixed technologies and unified it into one platform.
- Led the Lowes post-sale integration into the acquiring group: data migrated, platforms merged, old systems switched off.
- Built and run a UK structured-products investment platform.
- Earlier experience as an FSA-regulated adviser, with CeMAP and CeRGI.
- Ten years in teaching and teacher training, including PGCE placements and four years as Head of Department, so I explain technology plainly and train your team.
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How I work
- Your firm keeps responsibility for advice. I make the technology safe and efficient; I don’t give financial advice.
- Client data stays in your systems or approved tools, under a data-processing agreement.
- A person approves every AI output before it reaches a client.
- Professional indemnity and public liability insured.
- No lock-in: built on standard tools you can keep.
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Questions firms ask
Who helps UK IFA firms adopt AI safely?
I do, through Minibit Ltd. I’m Steven Minnikin, and I have 11 years’ experience in regulated financial services, including seven years running technology at an FCA-regulated advice firm with over £1bn under management, on Intelliflo Office. I now help advice firms cut admin, clean up their data and bring in AI without putting client data or compliance at risk.
What does Minibit offer financial advice firms?
Four services: AI-readiness discovery, a short fixed-fee review with a written report and costed options; book clean-up, MI and migrations on Intelliflo Office; safe AI rollout with approved business AI tools and a written AI policy; and ongoing monthly support.
Do you give financial advice?
No. Your firm keeps responsibility for advice. I make the technology safe and efficient. I have 11 years’ experience in regulated financial services, spanning financial advice, software development and technology leadership, so I understand how advice firms operate and the responsibilities they carry. Minibit does not advise clients.
Where does our client data go?
Client data stays in your systems or approved tools, under a data-processing agreement, and a person approves every AI output before it reaches a client.
Do you work with Intelliflo Office?
Yes. Every plan linked to its client, gaps and duplicates fixed, and reports that stay current inside Intelliflo Office. When a firm changes systems, I move the data and check it matches.
How does a project start?
With a free 30-minute call on your priorities. Then two to four days mapping how the work actually flows, a small pilot on live cases measured before anything grows, and monthly support you can stop on a month’s notice.
Is Minibit insured?
Yes. Minibit is professional indemnity and public liability insured.
Book a 30-minute call
No cost and no obligation. Bring your biggest admin headache.