1. OCTOBER 2015 Southwest Florida BUSINESS TODAY Page 9
IN BUSINESS SINCE
1986
Selling your business is our business
SAND DOLLAR REAL ESTATE
BUSINESS DEPOT
Buyers are looking for profitable businesses to purchase
Call now for a private discussion about the marketability
of your business and how we can help.
LARRY STEINBORN, Broker
BizDepot@aol.com
6309 Corporate Ct. #205, Fort Myers, FL 33919
(239) 433-1343
1949
THE POWER
OF MORE THAN
65 YEARS OF
PRACTICING LAW
IN SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA.
Fort Myers: 239.334.2195 • Cape Coral:239.542.3148
www.PaveseLaw.com
2005
The growth of technology in the financial services
industry has led to the rise of “robo-advisors,” other-
wise known as digital investment advisors. A robo-ad-
visor is essentially a software program that records your
personal financial information, processes it and creates
your investment portfolio. Just as technology can im-
pact how we shop, how we plan for a vacation, and who
we date, it can now impact how we invest. Firms that
are unable to create a strong online presence will be at
risk to Internet-based firms when their older client base
declines and the millennial investors swell in numbers.
Investment firms in Southwest Florida are booming
with activity due to the demographic makeup of the re-
gion, but once that changes, it’s very possible that there
will be a transition to online firms. It’s important to note
that while technology appears more efficient and less
expensive, it should not be considered as a substitute
for an in-person advisory firm, nor the single source of
financial advice.Acombination of high-touch and high-
tech interface is much more powerful.
Boutique advisory firms with a human-based advi-
sory staff face two challenges: (1) how to stand out in
the online world, and (2) how to convince the public
that their firm offers more value than an impersonal
robot that only understands numbers and algorithms.
What are the benefits to using a digital based advi-
sory firm such as Acorns or Blooom? It’s cost effec-
tive for clients with modest-sized portfolios, there’s
little hassle involved, and you ultimately make your
own investment decisions – with a little help from
your robo-advisor. And, for those clients who travel
back and forth between Florida and a home up north,
their “advisor” is always with them.
Here is what you should
not expect if you decide to
use a digital-based advisory
firm vs. an advisory firm
staffed by humans with a
fiduciary responsibility.
Don’t expect the robo-ad-
visor to work in your best
interest. Don’t expect to
spend two hours discussing
your portfolio options with
it at your behest. Don’t ex-
pect to be able to call it at
10 p.m. because you are in
a panic and need to make
a transfer to your bank ac-
count the next day.
When investors trade
comfort for convenience, they’re giving up a lot more
than that 10-minute drive to meet with their advisor.
Robo-advisors aren’t 100 percent accurate either.
Many financial software programs assume that the
future is similar to the past, which could mean a vital
mistake or decline in a client’s investment portfolio if
the trend isn’t similar. Furthermore, digital advisors
tend not to select individual equity and bond holdings,
thus missing out on unique opportunities. Therefore,
it is apparent that intangibles such as human qualities
and a fiduciary duty provide more value to investors
who want to know they can talk to a real person who
understand their concerns and who has their best in-
terests at heart.
So how impactful has the robo-advisor been on the
industry and our firm in particular? Our firm strives
to stay current with the ever-evolving state of tech-
nology and has had positive results. Our associates
are all accessible by email at any time of the day or
night. Our website is regularly updated with presen-
tations and information about the industry. Our firm
provides educational resources, such as presentations
and checklists for new Florida residents and indus-
try articles available on our LinkedIn page. Between
our technology and the combined experience of our
team, we can manage clients of all financial classes
and make each of them a personal priority. Our firm
also understands the field of behavioral finance, and
works with clients to try to help them avoid making
an irrational financial decision, such as selling stocks
at the bottom of a bear market.
The important thing in any industry is to evolve
with technology. We can’t become lazy and let tech-
nology live our lives for us. We believe firmly in
keeping up with our fellow competitors, but we will
never lose the personal touch that makes our invest-
ment firm so unique.
As long as investment companies keep up with
industry standards and use technology as a tool, not
a crutch, then we will not be made obsolete by a soft-
ware program that remembers your finances – but not
your family.
Noelle Matthews joined Andrew Hill Investment
Advisors in May 2015 as investment associate. She is
responsible for supporting the firm’s client relations,
marketing and event management, and is currently
working on obtaining her series 65 license.
Staying ahead of the digital advisory firm
BY NOELLE
MATTHEWS
Guest Columnist
Editor’s note: Part 1 of 2
If an entrepreneur’s greatest asset is a com-
bination of hard work and ingenuity, I’d argue
software is a close second. When I first started
Atilus alongside my friend and business partner,
Harry Casimir, the web and software landscape
was VERY different then it is today. Back then,
“high speed” Internet was a basic cable connec-
tion or DSL (at 1MB down!). Now fiber, gigabit,
and 20 times that on a mobile device is common.
My cell phone is literally 10 times more powerful
than the computer I had when we started.
And just as Internet speed and the tech land-
scape has rapidly progressed, so too has business
software – notably inexpensive, cloud-based
solutions that can help you build your business,
organize your team, and handle the day-to-day
monotony of running your company.
In the second part of this column (to appear
in the November issue), I’ll list the top five tools
I feel every entrepreneur should be looking at to
assist their business. But first I’d like to quickly
talk about cloud software, also known as “soft-
ware as a service” or SAAS.
When you’re considering a tool for your busi-
ness, it’s important to know whether or not it
stores any data “in the cloud” or is a SAAS tool.
Both basically mean that some (or all) data is
stored somewhere else – not on your computer –
but on a number of computers on the web. There
are pros and cons, and they’re important to un-
derstand these before you make a decision. For
the purposes of this column, all of the software
I’ll be mentioning is SAAS or cloud-based.
Pros:
• Generally can be
used from anywhere.
• Backups are (usu-
ally) inherent in the tools’
use.
• Updates are auto-
matic.
• Lower upfront costs.
• Easier to setup on a
new machine if your, or
your employee’s, com-
puter goes down.
Cons:
• May not be available
if you don’t have an Inter-
net connection.
• The lifetime cost may be more than a com-
parable non-cloud/downloaded and installed so-
lution.
• Updates are automatic (you’re at the mercy
of the development company’s direction and de-
sires).
• Your data may not be encrypted (people can
look at your data on insecure connections, or if
the software is hacked, they may be able to see
your company’s private information).
Zach Katkin is the co-founder & CEO of the
Bonita Springs-based web development and In-
ternet marketing firm Atilus. He is a certified
Google professional, author and lover of tech-
nology. He helps Atilus stay out ahead of online
marketing trends and loves driving results for its
clients.
Entrepreneurs should look to cloud
BY ZACH KATKIN
Guest Columnist
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the
National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders
(NAGGL) recently announced the release of the Business
Smart Toolkit, a ready-to-use workshop toolkit that helps new
and aspiring entrepreneurs launch and build businesses that
are credit ready.
“Wecan’twaitforaspiringentrepreneurstocometous;we
need to reach out to them where they are,” said SBAAdmin-
istrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. “The Business Smart Toolkit
allows us to work more effectively alongside local partners in
underserved communities to ensure that all Americans have
access to the government and private resources available to
support their entrepreneurial dreams. Minority firms are a fast
growing segment of the U.S. economy, generating $1 trillion
in economic output, yet they typically encounter higher bor-
rowing costs, receive smaller loans and face more rejections.
I applaud NAGGL for joining the SBA to focus on expand-
ing lending to underserved communities to ensure that all key
drivers of the U.S. economy are able to contribute at their full
potential.”
The toolkit is designed to “train the trainer,” such as trusted
community leaders who have the ability and the desire to edu-
cate new and potential business owners through a series of
workshops in collaboration with the SBA’s field offices and
NAGGL members. The toolkit is intended to educate and en-
able small business owners – from those looking to open their
first small business to established business owners hoping to
expand and grow. It contains a variety of small business and
financial literacy topics that include business start-up basics,
the essentials of becoming credit-ready, and resources for
small business education and support.
Download the toolkit at sba.gov/offices/headquarters/oed/
resources/1475961.
SBA, NAGGL launch toolkit
for underserved communities