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“I don’t need one.” That’s what affluent millennials are saying.
Researchers at Phoenix Marketing found that just over half of the investors they spoke to (among those under 35 with $1million or more in investible assets) said they were comfortable managing their wealth with their smartphones, and nearly 60% were very comfortable managing their wealth with online tools.
“They take on responsibility for themselves, because they’ve been operating that way, with access to information at their fingertips, empowered by data,” the report states. “It’s just a different mindset and that’s going to force traditional wealth management to change how they operate.”
Translation: They don’t see the benefit of what advisors have to offer.
Given that 93.6% of the financial planning process is the behavioral management of the client, I must pose a question:
How will these millennials manage their own emotions and behavioral biases so as not to sabotage their financial plan?
When the market is “down”, one person’s core behavior may tell them it is a buying opportunity and the other person may be very cautious and want to sell. Which strategy is right and which is wrong? It depends on the financial personality of the individual, as well as, many other factors.
Being empowered by data is certainly important but that is only one piece of the puzzle. And we all have biases on data. So we can pick and choose what data we want to support our theories.
What if your financial advisor could know exactly how you felt in every market turn and help you maintain your financial plan based on objective data? And then give you specific action steps so that you don’t operate from your biases?
This “behavioral coaching” provided by a financial advisor adds 150 basis points a year to a client’s account value based on Vanguard Alpha Advisor Research in 2015.
Technology, behavioral discovery processes, and financial planning can be successfully integrated into wealth management. When it is done right, the shocking truth about financial advisors is that you DO need one!