Is a machine man enough to handle your finances?

 

Can a robo-advisor be trusted with your money? Many will strongly recommend since the chances of an online algorithm-based platform's advice to be biased towards high-commission products will be low and recommendations will be based only on analysis. But many will argue that there will be no personal touch. After all, you can't expect an online financial planner to empathize if you lose your job. It will throw numbers and monthly targets and send out alerts if you fall behind. On the other hand, a wealth manager will cost you Rs 25,000- Rs 50,000, depending on the level of customization you seek, intensity of work (read, course correction and investment advice) and the total value of your assets they have to manage. A robo-advisor will do a free analysis and charge you Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 for a comprehensive service, which will include portfolio analysis and corrections, earmarking investments for life goals such as retirement, buying a home and a car, among other things. There are pros and cons in the quality of advice you get from automated online financial planning programs and the good-old wealth planner. Here's a quick man-versus-machine comparison to help you choose better. Algorithms vs personal care If the advice is based on pure mathematics, it is free from prejudice and biases. The online advisory is a data driven business without human interference and analytics enables users towards their goals and decision making. "Unlike traditional advisory , our advice is transparent and quantifiable," says Nitin B Vyakaranam, CEO, ArthaYantra, an online robo-advisory firm. The website, based on the customer's inputs, analyzes 40 different aspects of the portfolio such as income, expenses, insurance, debt, investment quality , etc., to gives a Personal Finance Quotient Score. Also, an automated program, based on the data fed to it, can specialize in all aspects of financial advisory. A human planner, on the contrary, may have limited specializations.