Benefits of a Traditional Advisor Over A Robo-Advisor

If you are looking for a financial advisor, you will discover that you have two options. You can either work with a traditional human advisor, or you can choose a robo-advisor.

The main benefit of a robo-advisor is saving money. The fees for robo-advisors tend to be lower (although not that much lower) than they are for human advisors.

So, why consider working with a human advisor? Here are a few reasons.

1. Get patient, thorough answers to your financial questions.

A robo-advisor can provide you with investment advice, but it can offer you little else. One thing it cannot do is sit down with you and walk you through your financial concerns.

With a traditional advisor, you can have an actual conversation about your investment needs and goals.

When your advisor provides you with a set of options, you can ask questions about each of them and receive detailed answers.

Ultimately, you will be a lot better-informed and you will feel more comfortable and confident moving forward with your investments after you have talked to a human being.

2. Work with a human being that understands and cares about your goals.

Another thing that a robo-advisor can never do is empathize with you. A robo-advisor does not even know you exist.

A human being is capable of building an emotional connection with you and actually caring about your financial well-being. When you walk in the door and sit down for a one-on-one meeting, you are real to them.

When you input details about your finances and goals on a robo-advisor app or website, there is no thought process at work in the background.

But when you tell a traditional professional about what you want to accomplish, that person is going to try and relate to you by forming a picture in their mind about where you are now and where you could be with the right investments on your side.

A person who cares about your success will make every effort to help you get there. A robo-advisor will never go the extra mile for you, but a human professional may do just that.

3. Get insights and explore strategies a robo-advisor might never present.

A robo-advisor can only give you so many ideas for how to invest. But a human being can connect you with far more potential investments.

If you are looking for the broadest range of possibilities, it makes sense to work with a human being, because that person will never exceed the limits of their programming—unlike a robo-advisor.

4. Work with someone who specializes in your situation.

Just as a human can offer more breadth than a robo-advisor, a human can also offer more depth.

Say, for example, that you have a unique income situation. Maybe you are self-employed.

A robo-advisor may be programmed to help you pursue your goals along this financial path, but almost certainly cannot navigate the many complex hurdles of investing as a self-employed person.

But you can find a human financial advisor who is intimately familiar with the ins and outs of self-employment and can help you overcome both common and uncommon obstacles which may arise as you invest in your future.

If you have another non-traditional situation—like you own a growing company, you invest in real estate, you recently lost everything through declaring bankruptcy, or you won a huge windfall through the lottery—these too are situations where nothing can match specialized service from a human advisor.

5. Take advantage of broader financial perspective.

Something else which no robo-advisor has is life experience. A robo-advisor has never needed to work a job, pay the bills, feed a family, send a child to college, or save for retirement.

But that means that a robo-advise has no broader financial perspective. It isn’t well-acquainted with the pitfalls which a person may fall into, common mistakes that result from emotional decision-making, and so forth.

When you sit down and talk to a real, live human being, however, you are chatting with someone who, like you, is trying to build a financial future.

That person gets how an investment fits into your broader financial situation, and how your finances fit into your life overall.

Based on their own experiences and those of other clients they have worked with, they are more likely to be able to catch a mistake before you make one, or point out an opportunity you might not spot on your own.

This is, again, especially likely if you choose a financial advisor who specializes in working with customers who have similar backgrounds, occupations, and goals as you do.

6. Build a working relationship. 

Finally, one more thing you will never have with a robo-advisor is a relationship of rapport and trust.

A robo-advisor will never ask you how your job is going or how your kids are. It will never connect to you on a human level, answering a complicated question fast when you need it, or addressing a potential concern the moment it arises. It will never demonstrate that it knows how to support you in a crisis.

If you find an advisor who is an excellent fit for you, chances are good you will embark on a long-term working relationship.

Instead of stressing about your investments, you can instead look forward to sitting down with the experienced professional you trust to guide you on your financial journey.

We Can Connect You With the Traditional Financial Advisor That Can Help You Toward Your Goals

With the rise of robo-advisors, many investors know where to locate apps to help them invest. 

But if you decide to take advantage of the knowledge, experience and dedication of a human professional, how do you go about connecting with a traditional advisor?

We wanted to make it easier for people to find experienced financial advisors in their areas who specialize in their specific needs.

To be matched now with a financial advisor now who can help you achieve your financial goals, click below.