TECHNOLOGY nearly always ends up with an investment strategy that uses low-cost , passive funds that track general market movements rather than seeking to select stocks and shares that might deliver superior returns . There is indisputable value to this , but it simply doesn ’ t address the broader needs of the customer , which will only be flushed out through a discussion with someone knowledgeable .”
Finimize ’ s Yumika Brewster concurs : “ I don ’ t think that robo-advisors will ever replace people who want to be hands on and involved . It might cannibalise other passive forms of investment , but what I think our retail investor audience finds exciting is understanding what ’ s going on , making sense of it and seeing the opportunity come out of it .”
‘ Human advisers will not become obsolete – far from it ’ Instead , technology will continue to play a supplementary role in investment decisions but there will be little crossover between the occasional and institutional ends of the investing spectrum . Hollands continues : “ Human advisers will not become obsolete – far from it . But the way they deliver that advice and interact with clients will – and is – changing . For example , even within traditional , face-to-face wealth management businesses , the pandemic forced firms to adopt virtual meetings . It accelerated the pace of change by several years . While many of their clients now prefer to return to meeting in person , the alternative of virtual meetings continues to be part of the way business is done , because of convenience .
“ Likewise , wealthier clients who want a very tailored and personalised experience rightly expect to be able to access information on their investment portfolios 24 / 7 through apps and online portals . Better use of technology like this , cutting out the mundane and manual processes , can mean traditional wealth managers focus more of their time on advice and relationships and less on administration .
“ We don ’ t see digitally led services competing with traditional wealth management , other than at the margins . The latter services are predominantly aimed at high-net-wealth individuals with more complex tax affairs , who require a more bespoke approach to the management of their investments . What the emerging generation of digitally led , hybrid services can bring to the table is the democratisation of ‘ advice ’. It widens access to wealth management for the broader population because technology can improve efficiency , affordability and is scalable . We think this is powerful and exciting , because it will bring a benefit to society as well as a commercial reward for the firms who are successful .”