RoboAdvisors have become popular recently. They provide a way for you to input what your goals are and the RoboAdvisor will come up with a plan just for you (and a million other people just like you). They are popular because they’re pretty easy to get started and their fees are very cheap, far cheaper than personal advisor. And they do a good job for what they do. I had a conversation with my hair stylist yesterday about why you might want a “person” to be your advisor.

In the middle of the conversation, another stylist came over to get advice on what color to use on her client. She said her client wanted highlights, but thought her ends (her last highlight color) were too light, she wanted darker highlights this time. The stylist was confused because the ends were the color that she would have picked for the client also.

My stylist said that perhaps the ends were the right color, but there was too much of that color. He pointed out that sometimes when clients say a color is too light, it’s really just that they want less of that color, not a darker color. My stylist pointed out a way to help the client get more information so she could make the right decision. The other stylist walked away to review the choices with her client.

After the other stylist left, I said “And THAT is why a RoboAdvisor isn’t the best solution for everyone. Sometimes, a client misunderstands what the issues are. A robot can’t have that discussion with you.”

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