Investors put trust in human touch over '˜robo-advice'

Almost three quarters of investors would trust an independent financial adviser (IFA) to make an investment decision on their behalf compared with just 12 per cent who would trust a 'robo-adviser', a new survey has revealed.

Minerva Lending director Ross Andrews. Picture: Contributed

The study by fixed-rate bond provider Minerva Lending also suggests that robo-advice companies and firms offering software-based investment management tools have yet to win the faith of more experienced, or higher net worth, investors.

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Some 77 per cent of the 1,000 people polled with £50,000 or more to invest said they trust their own judgement when making investment decisions, while 72 per cent said the same of advice provided by an IFA.

Just 12 per cent of active investors said they would trust a robo-adviser to make an investment decision on their behalf and 22 per cent a standalone piece of software.

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Also ranking highly as an advice source when making investment decisions is personal contact, namely “word of mouth” from family and friends. Three in five active investors polled said they would make investment decisions on the back of this.

Minerva director Ross Andrews said: “IFAs should be genuinely encouraged that nearly three-quarters of active investors would trust them to make investment decisions on their behalf.

“For robo-advisers and software-based investment management tools, the survey results are less uplifting. It seems that far more people with bigger sums to invest trust manual decision-making processes, whether by themselves or an IFA.”

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