Quentin McCormick CFPTM , director at Pavis Financial Management in Liverpool, said so called robo-advisers, also sometimes referred to as automated advice services, might be suitable for some people needing financial help.
There has been a growing debate over robo-advice in the past year or so.
A number of Financial Planners have launched their own versions of automated advice. Keith Churchouse CFPTM has launched SaidSo, Chris Williams CFPTM heads up Wealth Horizon and Alastair Rush set up Fiver A Day.
Asked by sister publication Financial Planner magazine whether artificial intelligence can ever replace a human Financial Planner, Mr McCormick said: “Yes, it can and to a degree it will.”
He said: “There are people out there who are more than happy to paddle their own canoe and robo advice might suit them.
“There are also plenty of people who want face-to-face advice.”
So, could his own company make a move towards automated advice?
He said: “I don’t see Pavis becoming a robo-adviser but we shall embrace technology to ensure efficiency.
“We already use online risk assessment tools with clients and electronic fact finds.
“This saves time as clients complete these at their leisure and we spend client meetings discussing important issues rather than filling in forms.”
See a full interview with Mr McCormick HERE.
Earlier this week an Aegon UK survey suggested nrly three quarters of advisers remain unsure of what truly constitutes robo-advice.
Some 73% who responded said it was poorly defined, while 52% doubted that it will become mainstream in future.
Steven Cameron, regulatory strategy director at Aegon, said: “Financial advisers say they are unclear what constitutes robo-advice, and as part of the Financial Advice Market Review, we’d like to see the regulator set out very clear definitions in customer language of what constitutes advice as well as guidance and where digital support sits within this.”
Some 63% of advisers said they would trust the outcome of an online questionnaire that examined answers to questions regarding attitude to investment risk and investment goals and then used an algorithm to recommend investment options.
Yet, just 24% of UK consumers said they trust financial advice from digital sources, according to research.
Mr Cameron said: “Technology has positively disrupted many business models but when it comes to financial services, there are still a number of challenges to overcome.”