Expat financial advisor in Madagascar part 2 – Part one is here.
What is the difference between a local financial advisor and an online advisor?
To understand this, you must continue reading, we will go over each type and give you a clear idea of what you will need in Madagascar.
Local financial advisors
The difference between a local financial advisor and other types of financial advisors is actually the difference between a professional service approach and a product-specific approach. Of course, a wealth of local experience is an advantage.
Having a local financial advisor provides one key benefit. Selecting a local financial advisor allows you to meet with someone who will advise you on the rules for a particular location.
National firms cannot afford this. Even if you are comfortable doing business online, there will inevitably be times when you want to meet and speak honestly with the person who is giving you advice.
Other financial consulting companies usually distribute their workload among separate departments. Your “advisor” is most likely an account manager who acts as a buffer between you and some of the other people in the back office who are actually doing the work.
Your “planning” probably comes from the planning department; your investment analysis most likely comes from an analyst who is far from what really matters in your life, and those who actually implement the strategy usually see you as just a bunch of “purchases” and “sales” that they make each shopping day. You simply won’t be able to meet with a real “advisor” because these responsibilities have been divided among several people in different offices.
On the other hand, you should be able to meet with a consultant if you choose an independent service-oriented consulting firm. Again, hiring a local financial advisor is optional, but for most people there are many benefits to having in-person meetings.
Most “consultants” to large financial companies, such as banks, will receive some or all of the compensation for selling you a product, be it stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance policies, or annuities.
This creates an inevitable conflict of interest. The securities laws in this country recognize this fact and require these “advisors” to be at a lower level. This is called the “suitability” standard, which means they only need to consider whether the products they sell are suitable for your broad investment profile.
The highest standard is the “fiduciary” standard. An independent consultant, whether online or local, who agrees to abide by this standard is required by law to always put you first.
These consultants never sell products, take commissions, or do anything else that might cause a conflict of interest. They weigh all the factors in your situation before making any recommendations. Their advice is 100% objective. Whether you hire a local financial advisor or not, what really matters is that he is objective and puts his clients first. Speaking of online financial advisors, let’s talk a little about them.
Online financial advisors
This is what we can offer you, just fill in this form and see your funds being properly managed.
This is by far the best option. The concept of having a financial advisor on the Internet is a relatively new concept.
This is a model that has successfully proven itself in all developed countries. Generations X and Y are used to interacting with people on the Internet. Whether you share selfies with friends and family on Facebook and Instagram, or via Skype video calls, we are open to daily online communication with those who matter to us.
So here’s the question: if your friends and family are online, why isn’t your financial advisor?
Here are some of the benefits of an online financial advisor that will give you an idea of the benefits of a financial advisor who uses technology and wants to contact you.
Cheaper prices
One of the biggest benefits of having an online financial advisor is cost. Financial advisors and other service professionals typically own and rent trendy offices in upmarket locations. The luxurious offices you see can certainly make a good first impression, but they are also very expensive. And you pay for it. With an online financial advisor, your office is your own couch and laptop.
We do not need to rent fancy offices – we need a beautiful site with useful information, it will be cheaper than the services of a bank or local financial consultants!
If you are currently working with another financial planner, we highly recommend that you review and compare the commissions you pay with ours.
We can provide you with quality advice from the comfort of your own home and we are quite confident that we can do it cheaper.
Real person
When people hear about online financial advisors, they immediately imagine robots. It doesn’t sound good anyway, because no one wants to trust a robot with their funds.
There are also articles showing the disadvantages of the “robo-advisor”. An advisor robot will not be able to help you when the markets are crashing or when you need to demand your Plan B.
With us you can be sure that you are working with a real person who has real families and real qualifications in the field of financial planning.
It is important to note that you are working with people who have work experience and understand that working with money is a very emotional thing that requires a human factor.
The comfort of your own home
Today we all value comfort and time, because time is money. You can talk to a financial advisor online from the comfort of your home! You don’t have to get in your car and try to find parking.
No need to board crowded public transport. We can meet you wherever you have time, in a taxi, in the kitchen while eating, in the office, on the beach in the Maldives or if you need advice. If you have a gadget that can be connected to wi-fi, we can advise you.
Online documentation
Financial planning requires a LOT of documents. Those who receive basic financial planning advice will easily have over 200 pages of documentation with the advice provided.
There will be many documents that will also require your signature. Where do you keep all this documentation? Especially if you love to travel?
As an online finance consultant, we are taking advantage of technological advances. Therefore, we can safely send you all these documents online by email.
But the most interesting thing is that you can put your electronic signature! Use a few clicks to sign documents to flip your superuser, customize attachments, and implement Plan B.
All of these documents will be securely posted on an online portal that only you and your online financial advisor have access to.
Many people can approach this with skepticism, which also has its own explanation. It’s a relatively new concept and it’s hard for people to get used to some of the things that can also be done on an online platform, but it’s a great tool that saves you time and benefits in the first place.
Have you already chosen what type of financial advisor do you need?
Pained by financial indecision? Want to invest with Adam?
Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters, with over 336.6 million answers views on Quora.com and a widely sold book on Amazon
