If this year has taught us anything it’s that, for better or worse, the world is moving online.

Now, not only can you order groceries and have them delivered to your doorstep, but you can have virtual visits with your physician or therapist. 

Online appointments are revolutionizing the healthcare industry and making personalized care more accessible than ever. 

Virtual visits eliminate travel time and are often more convenient for the patient. They also open up a more diverse group of providers for the patient to choose from and therefore increase the likelihood that people will get the help that they need. 

In short, telehealth is able to break down boundaries and potentially even make the healthcare system more efficient in the process. 

But the virtual renaissance hasn’t stopped with groceries and physicians. The financial planning industry is also utilizing virtual meetings to provide financial wellness in a more efficient and inclusive way. 

What’s wrong with traditional Financial Advisors?

Well, there’s nothing inherently wrong with in-person financial advisors. In fact, for people with lots of assets, and a complicated financial situation, a traditional advisor may be the right choice.

However, the model for most traditional financial advice usually isn’t conducive to helping young professionals. These are a few of the roadblocks that young people run into when attempting to find personalized financial advice:

1. Often times advisors have a minimum asset requirement, so young professionals may not even qualify for planning help.
2. It’s difficult to know who to trust with your money, so people wind up choosing someone that their parents or friends have used, without actually knowing their qualifications. Because of this, you could risk being pressured into products that aren’t the right fit for you or have high commissions 
3. Young investors can often feel like their being “talked down to” by in-person advisors, and have a difficult time asking questions when they feel like they need help. 

Is there another way for young people to invest?

The financial technology industry has been pushing robo-advisors as the answer to traditional financial advice. These online platforms offer a low-cost, low-effort way to invest, and have attracted the assets of millions of people around the world. 

The basic premise behind a Robo-advisor is that, after a quick risk tolerance assessment (via an online questionnaire), the system picks an investment portfolio to fit your perceived goals. Once this is defined, all of the money that you contribute to your account is invested accordingly. 

These platforms make investing simple and inexpensive and have slick online dashboards to track your investments over time. However, they do have one drawback, which is the fact that you’re essentially on your own when it comes to deciding how much to invest, what type of account you should choose, or any other financial planning question that you may have. 

This makes them a great option for people who have some investment knowledge but may not be ideal for a new investor, or someone who wants access to a professional for help making non-investment financial decisions. 

Let’s be honest. For a young professional, investing is only one small part of your financial picture. You want someone to go to when you are deciding whether you should buy a house or pay down your debt, or to help you plan for your new kid’s college expenses. 

Virtual Financial Advice: Blending traditional service with online investments

Thankfully, there is now a third class of investment companies that are being created to fill the gap in the financial planning industry. 

Virtual advisors are offering online investment services similar to Robo-advisors, but are pairing them with virtual advice from real financial advisors. 

This way, you’re able to experience the ease of online investing, while also having access to real professionals who can answer all of your financial planning questions and help bring up issues that you may not have thought of. 

InvestRx® Virtual Financial Advice for Healthcare Professionals

At InvestRx® our goal is to combine the personal service of a traditional advisor, with the ease and efficiency of online investing. That’s why we offer a complimentary Diagnostic Call with every new account opening. 

We also believe that every person, regardless of whether or not you have money to invest, should have a financial plan. If you don’t have a plan for your money, you have no way of knowing whether or not you’re on track to reach your goals. 

That’s why we offer a standalone service called the Financial Roadmap. In this service, you get a one-on-one video call with one of our financial advisors where you talk about your financial situation, along with your goals and roadblocks. 

Then, your advisor will put together a custom plan with tangible steps to help you reach your goals. We’ll send you that plan along with a recording of your advisor talking you through their recommendations. 

This entire service only costs $249, and will put you on the path to financial success. 

All types of investing and investment strategies involve risk including the potential loss of principal. Dollar-cost averaging does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in declining markets. Dollar-cost averaging involves continuous investment in securities regardless of the fluctuating price levels of such securities. Investors should consider their financial ability to continue making purchases through periods of low and high price levels.