This is where tech companies always have the upper hand (we have seen it in banking, particularly).
Start-ups ask what they can do within the rules, while older businesses are held back by waiting for the FCA to tell them what they are allowed to do. That moment never comes.
What the robo-advisers and rise of generic advice services tell you is that people are moving with the times.
Not everyone wants face-to-face advice where you are locked in to meetings at a set time and place; some people may be perfectly happy to have advice done remotely at their own convenience.
That is the beauty of the internet – it offers flexibility. And financial advisers have to be able to offer that too; bringing their services to people when they want it and need it.
And, as I have said many times before, quality always wins – it means offering what people want, when they need it.
With the rise of tech comes the rise of data, allowing you to make better decisions based on real information.
The future is digital. We either embrace it or we wither.
Bitcoin ‘millionaires’
As Bitcoin rises again, and more people talk about it becoming mainstream, I have one question: where are the millionaires?
Where are these supposed people that have made fortunes from it? Not those that run trading websites, but the actual investors.
They do not seem to exist, and I think we all know why.
Credit where credit’s due
I have been writing for Financial Adviser in one form or another for nigh on 15 years now.
What have I learned about financial advisers in that time?
They are a pedantic and sometimes surly lot. They can be slow to see change in the industry, and rightly, often feel put upon.
But really, they care deeply and passionately about looking after other people’s money.
And for that, they do not get enough credit. Happy Christmas.
James Coney is money editor of The Times and The Sunday Times
@jimconey
