Vanguard boss says indexing has changed the role of financial advice

I interviewed Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb earlier this week for our sister blog, The Evidence-Based Investor, and he had some fascinating things to say about the future of financial advice.

Here are the bullet points:

What advice is not about:

“It’s no longer about great stock tips or picking the right funds to beat the market.”

What advice is about:

“It’s about giving investors the appropriate asset allocation and diversification, keeping them on track to reach their goals, and having important conversations with them along the way.”

Robo-advice:

“Robo-advice is here to stay and it will put a downward pressure on the price of advice. Advisers must adapt.”

Use of technology:

“As portfolio construction is becoming commoditised, the best advisers are adopting fin-tech elements into their own practices.”

The future’s bright for advisers who adapt:

“Advisers who demonstrate the value they add above and beyond straight technology offerings will have tremendous opportunities.”

“About 10,000 Baby Boomers in the US will retire every day between now and 2029. They will face complicated, emotional questions, many of which can’t be answered adequately though a computer model.”

You can read the full article here.