Will the Web Replace Your Financial Advisor in 2013?
Finance expert Mike Periu on the emerging shift from small businesses using financial advisors to less expensive, web-based investment guidance.
Many small-business owners need financial advice because they just don’t have the time to take away from their businesses (and perhaps the discipline) to make a proper financial plan and execute it. There are two types of financial advisors: fee-only advisors which charge a fee for their advice and commissions-based advisors which don’t charge you a fee but make commissions on the financial products they sell. Fee-only is the type that can give you more assurance that your interests are aligned as they don’t have an incentive to pick one financial product over another. But now several online services have emerged which offer fee-only advice from financial experts at a fraction of the cost of what traditional financial advisors charge. These web-based services don’t provide the facetime you would normally expect from someone giving you financial advice, but you are assigned an advisor in most cases with whom you can communicate over email. They also use the same sophisticated tools that financial advisors use to determine a plan of action for you.
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A little about Mike Periu
Periu founded Proximo, LLC nearly 15 years ago. The company provides small business education and training services with an emphasis on finance and technology.
Periu teaches empowerment through entrepreneurship and economic opportunity. He regularly appears on television and radio talking about these subjects.
Periu also writes for leading blogs about finance. These include: American Express OpenForum, Yahoo! Finanzas and the Huffington Post.
Periu studied Finance and International Business at Georgetown University. He is a Board member at the Council for Economic Education.
