August 27, 2018 | Article
The evolution of digital advice products – and consumer appetite for them – has been among the most debated topics in the financial services industry during the past five years. The Cerulli Edge—U.S. Retail Investor Edition1 report explored these topics by separating investor households into:
- Online Enthusiasts, those who would welcome a purely digital advisory relationship
- Traditionalists, those who prefer to rely on the services of a human advisor
As a Financial Advisor, being able to adapt with changing and developing technologies is important. Not only can it help you relate to younger investors, but it also helps you stay up-to-date with changes that could potentially affect the industry as a whole. The report indicates that even investors in these scenarios that originally believed they would prefer online only engagement frequently end up seeking traditional human advisors to round out their guidance needs. By integrating solutions that seamlessly move between digital and human advice, Advisors can maximize their addressable markets and investor satisfaction. Implementing new technologies can also be a differentiating factor for your practice.
In addition, the research shows that higher net worth investors have been more aggressive in adding to their total number of advisory relationships, including digital, as a form of provider diversification. However, it’s still important to keep in mind that if you’re focusing on the Traditionalist segment, personalized attention as a differentiating factor becomes more evident.
Being flexible between the two approaches offers you the opportunity to strengthen your client relationships and grow your practice. As digital advice progresses into the mainstream, a key implication will ultimately be offering a greater value proposition for a traditionally focused relationship to new clients than pure digital advice providers.
RoboWholesaler is a solution that was created to help Financial Advisors looking for ways to save time and enhance their productivity. With their time spent more efficiently, they’re able to work with their clients more closely and grow their businesses. The RoboWholesaler app is now available for free in the App Store and Google Play. It offers you a fast, easy way to review fund performance rankings, get up-to-date fund fact sheets for top-performing funds and at-a-glance summaries of key fund information.
1“The Cerulli Edge: U.S. Retail Investor Edition.” Cerulli Associates.