Younger people who are saving for retirement prefer human financial advisers to automated advice, a new study found.
Millennials aren’t as enamoured with technology as some might think.
A survey from online marketplace LendEDU found that 46 per cent of people between the ages of 18 and 34 who are saving for retirement use a financial adviser. In comparison, only 24 per cent of the 500 surveyed have used a robo-advice platform.
The findings are just the latest of various studies suggesting that when it comes to financial advice, people still prefer face-to-face advice.
But the unpopularity of robo-advice could also be due to many just not knowing what a robo-advice platform is.
Around 75 per cent of respondents said they have never used an automated wealth management service, but 62 per cent of those said it was because they had never heard of robo-advice before.
Even so, millennials do not seem to trust automated wealth platforms. Of those surveyed, 51 per cent think a robo-adviser is more likely to make a mistake while managing money, while only 48 per cent think a traditional adviser is more likely to make an error.
Respondents also thought that a human adviser is more likely to get them a better return on their investment -- 68 per cent compared to 31 per cent who thought a robo-advice platform would give them better returns.
While some might expect the advanced technology of robo-advice to be a selling point, the study from LendEDU implies it isn’t.
Only 9 per cent of those using a traditional adviser said they appreciated the human touch, while only 12 per cent of those using a robo-advice platform said they enjoyed the technology.
“The difference is minimal, and technology, one of the huge selling-points of robo-advisors, is really not all too preferred to having the human touch guide your investment strategy,” the company said.
This article first appeared on www.roboadvicenews.com
