The prospect of robo-advisers replacing human financial advisers “looks to be a long way off”, researchers said after polling 2,000 people about their ability to make investment decisions.
According to True Potential, which provides technology to financial advisers and regularly polls consumers about their savings, the vast majority of consumers lack the confidence to make investments without professional advice.
Asked how confident they would be using only automated solutions to invest, 71% of respondents said they would not be confident.
Just under 10% said they would feel confident using robo-advice with no help from a financial adviser.
The firm said the research also uncovered “a fundamental misunderstanding” among consumers about the basics of investment and further highlighted the need for professional advice. Respondents were asked what they would do in terms of investment if stock markets dropped this year and only 9% said they would make the “financially rational decision” to invest more as share prices fell.
A third of consumers, meanwhile, would take the “inadvisable approach” of ceasing or cutting down their investments until markets recovered.
The majority (60%) of respondents said they would take no action, therefore missing out on the opportunity to take advantage of rock bottom share prices, True Potential’s
David Harrison, managing partner, said.
“Without financial advice, many savers and investors would make the wrong choices with their money and suffer the consequences further down the line.”
True Potential’s four-year Savings Gap campaign has polled over 26,000 people to date.
Last year 65% of consumers surveyed said they would limit investments made via robo-advice to £1000.
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