Financial advisors need to rethink their business strategy as more consumers look to Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon for financial direction, says the consulting firm Accenture in a new report.
Almost half of American adults are willing to get financial advice from these web giants, the study finds.
“[Financial advice] is a prime candidate for disruption through automation and other innovative technologies. The roles of professional investment advisers may need to be reshaped so that they provide value-added services,” the study warns.
While 46 percent of adults are interested in finding financial advice on the web, 40 percent are focused less on price and more on quality personal attention from providers who exercise a fiduciary duty in putting their customers first. Unlike the first group, these “quality seekers” put a high premium on data protection, Accenture says.
The remaining 15 percent put price first.
“While they operate well in a digital environment, they also place value on one-to-one engagement,” the Accenture report says.
For the largest group, dominated by Gen X and Gen Y consumers aged 21 to 41, Accenture says financial advisers need to determine where automated services should stop and where humans need to intervene.
“This can ensure traditional measures of service remain a top priority while enabling investment advisory firms to reach a higher number of customers more cost effectively,” the study advises.
To ease growing concerns by customers about the dangers of hacking, advisors need to explain to customers the benefits of providing personal financial information to them, Accenture says.