Good Cop, Bad Cop? The Financial Advisor
Imagine that you are an investment seeker. Your are financially stable, neither too young nor too old, and ambitious. You see opportunities to grow your personal fortune in a way that is both sustainable and useful for your lifestyle choices. Whether investing to ensure that lavish vacation every year, or perhaps to start your own side business, you know the time is right to get your investment on! What would you do?
INTRODUCTION
Possibly the first choice would be to go to your preferred advisor who could possibly be from a bank, or also an independent financial advisor. Right? This advisor would first check your individual needs and personal environment, only then to support you in gaining the best knowledge regarding investment opportunities. He presents you products which fit your personal life situation. But you as a customer still need time, as these decisions aren’t just made on a whim. You aren't yet sure about the final investment decision. Eventually, asking a friend who’s in a similar situation would help you decide, having now more than one informant. Living in the modern age, you might also look within the world wide web about the possibilities – or maybe you should ask another advisor and compare their opinions?
The Significant Word 'Opinion'
The advice regarding your financial investment is based on trusted opinions. These can be influenced by personal preferences and knowledge. It would be impossible for one person to have in-depth knowledge about all options. Additionally, the background of commission arises. Certain products have a higher commission compared to others. As a customer, you do not know how much this affects the advice.
Good Cop or Bad Cop?
Advisor: Bad Guy?
Financial advisors nowadays can only use the available resources in the environment they know. It is the desire of most to guarantee the best option for the customer. However, subjectivity cannot be instantaneously deleted from a mindset, since we are all humans (yes, logical and calculated advisors too). Therefore, the blame should not be shifted on the shoulders of the advisor, but rather the system in which the advisor is placed!
The More Opinions, the Better
As already mentioned in the beginning, in order to have a feeling of security and trust, we as humans like having more than one opinion. If a high number of opinions would be collected, influencing factors such as commissions for certain products or personal preferences and knowledge cannot impact the overall statement or ultimate decision. However, this solution can be resource-intensive in an advisor’s office. Finnoq is already working on a solution to provide statements for customers based on the opinion of a decentralized community. Stay tuned!