DIY Investing vs Digital Advice

DIY, Digital Advice, or an Investment Advisor? Here’s how to decide.

Some people choose to manage their own money, while others prefer to leave it to financial experts. Choosing between the two really depends on your comfort and experience with investing. Understanding the differences between how digital or robo-advice compares with do-it-yourself (DIY) investing, can also help you decide which approach you would be most comfortable with.

DIY Investing (Online Brokerage)

When you take a DIY approach to investing, you decide for yourself what investments to add to your portfolio. You have to calculate how much risk you are willing to take, analyze which stocks, bonds, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may do well, and buy the right combination of investments to properly diversify and match them to your risk objectives.

If you are confident choosing your own investments, Qtrade Direct Investing^® has easy-to-use online and mobile trading platforms, low commissions, and independent research tools. And if you need help, you can count on outstanding client support. Qtrade Direct Investing^® has consistently been ranked among the top online brokerages across all major rankings including The Globe and Mail, Surviscor and MoneySense. 

Determining if DIY Investing is for you:

Do-It-Yourself investing has risen in popularity over the past decade, with many online discount brokers offering low fees and commissions for trading. But it takes the right kind of mindset to be truly effective DIY Investor. These are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you have the time it takes to conduct your own investment research and manage your own investments?
• Do you know exactly what investment(s) you want in your portfolio? Do you know your comfort and tolerance for risk and market ups and downs?
• Are you comfortable conducting all of your investment decisions via the internet/online?
• Are you not willing to pay for the value and advice that a licensed investment professional and their associates can provide?
• Are you prepared to handle unexpected declines in the value of your own investment decisions?

If you answered an enthusiastic yes to all of these questions, then DIY Investing might be right for you and we can help get you started with Qtrade Investor.  

If you answered no to any of these questions, then DIY investing might not necessarily be the best choice for you. You may want to consider Digital Advice or an Investment Advisor for your investing needs.

Digital Advice (RoboAdvice)

Digital or Robo-Advice like Qtrade Guided Portfolios® can be a great option regardless of investing knowledge or experience.  If you don’t want to spend time researching investments or monitoring markets Qtrade Guided Portfolios is a fully automated online service that you don’t need to monitor or manage. Simply take the investing questionnaire to set your goals, invest your funds and let Qtrade Guided Portfolios do the rest.

Qtrade Guided Portfolios recommends the optimum blend of investments based on your needs. As markets shift, Qtrade Guided Portfolios will continuously monitor and rebalance your portfolio when necessary, maintaining your target asset allocation and keeping you on track.

Using an Investment Advisor:

Integris Financial Planning, partnered with Aviso Wealth, has a team of dedicated Investment Advisors who work with you to help you reach your financial goals and dreams with investment options suitable and tailored to your unique financial needs. Our Investment Advisors have plenty of scope to add value in both the management of investments and the larger realm of financial planning.

When is Investing with a Financial Expert or Investment Advisor Best?

• You have a complicated financial situation.
• You need tax, estate planning, retirement, or business succession advice.
• You enjoy the comfort of having someone to call to discuss your financial situation. You want someone to consult with about specific investment strategies.
• You don’t have a lot of investing knowledge/experience or the time to commit to managing your investments.
• You’re seeking guidance with more niché investing or complicated insurance strategies.
• You have a reasonably large amount of money, keeping in mind that good advice becomes cost-effective when its cost is spread over a reasonably large portfolio.
• You want a fee for service or commissioned pay model for your investment management.
• You want a detailed and comprehensive financial plan.
• You’re willing to pay a bit more for personalized service from an expert Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) can help develop and implement your financial plan. Which would take into consideration: retirement planning, asset protection, estate planning, tax planning, developing a strategy for claiming CPP & OAS, educational planning, and insurance planning.

When it comes to investing, your options are unlimited

Whether you fall into the DIY, robo-advisor or Investment Advisor categories, there can definitely be some overlap. For example, many Investment Advisors are lowering their fees and offering both human contact and digital investment management. In fact, you might allocate part of your investment dollars for DIY investing and consider robo-advisors vs. Investment Advisors for the rest. The hybrid robo-advisor plus Investment Advisor option is becoming more and more popular as an investment option.

Bottom line, it’s up to you! If you are an experienced investor and prefer to make your own decisions, DIY investing may be the right choice for you. If you want the convenience of an online investment portfolio that’s managed by a team of accredited portfolio managers, a robo-advisor like Qtrade Guided Portfolios® may be a great option. If your situation is complicated, or you don’t have the time to commit to managing your investments, our team of experts is here for you – call us and we’d be happy to provide a free consultation to help you suss out what type of investor you are.