I am seeing articles, blogs and tweets about Robo Advisors as if the model they are talking about is the only definition, so wrong!!! The term of art will end up meaning as many things as Financial Advisor has ended up meaning and being a Robo advisor will be for many a badge of honor the clients gravitate towards!
Just one small example of this is an article in FP penned by Mike Cohn last Tuesday about Americans now worrying about on line tax filing where he states,
A majority of Americans continue to be concerned about the privacy and safety of their personal and financial data when filing their tax returns online.
According to a new survey commissioned by Taxsoftware.com, 70% expressed concerns about the safety of their data when using desktop computers to file their state and federal tax forms. In addition, 68% said they are concerned when using their iPads or tablets, while 69% are concerned when using their smartphones.
All of the results indicate dramatically higher concerns than when the survey was originally conducted in 2012. Three years ago, 52% of the survey respondents expressed concerns with using desktop computers, 42 percent when using iPads or tablets, and 54 percent when using smartphones.”
Think I am arguing against my own point….ohhhh contraire. The Robo advisor that is the future is expressing the danger of being a DO IT YOURSELFER in the on line Tax, direct to market Brokerage and all the other self serve tools in the world without a coach to help them do it safely will stand out. A big part of that Robo Advisor mission statement will be what also separates the winners form the losers in the next great race for clients.
The advisor is now tasked with both knowing his business and bricks and mortar operations but also the “Secure Cloud” operating platforms that people are just becoming aware of!
The Cloud is one thing……..The Secure Cloud is completely different and advisors that figure that out and use that as an acquisition tool when competing will be the right kind of Robo advisor! In the old days while competing for a client you might have needed to do Alpha and Beta comparisons and Morningstar report reviews. In my opinion in the new world the tools to separate the prospect from the current advisor will be as simple as asking, “So let me understand this, he told you to e-mail your RMD statement to you? or “she let you use drop box to send that document with your social security number on it?”
You cant stop the coming of technology but that doesn’t mean you need to narrowly define it or fall victim to it!
The Tax What if Doctor;-)