Online Investing and Money Advice

Money Magazine has published an article discussing the “future of financial advice.” I agree with some of the guidance in the article. A lot of it I disagree with, at least for baby boomers planning for retirement.

The flaw in most articles about sources of investing and retirement advice is that the usual suspects are identified and discussed. By “usual suspects” I mean those who have at least one foot firmly planted in the conventional world of Wall Street investing. These folks love to tell you which stocks, mutual funds and exchange traded funds are best for you. They then proceed to sell them to you.

What they don’t like to talk about is whether the conventional wisdom of investing still makes sense for a retirement nest egg, if it ever did.

If an article about sources of investing  for retirement planning fails to mention contrarians such as Zvi Bodie or planning theories such as consumption smoothing, the article is a failure in my opinion.

This recent Money article is helpful in its discussion of Financial Engines. This is a tool that I use to provide feedback on the likely retirement income outcomes from our DIY investing strategies. That is valuable for any self-guided investor.

If you are extremely wealthy – with retirement secure from no-risk investments – then I see no problem with hiring a Wall Street veteran to take risks for you in the market.

For the rest of us, no thanks.

Here is the article for your skeptical reading pleasure: The future of financial advice: Web-based money management

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