More Americans Admit They Need Professional Financial Services


‘Having your head in the clouds’ is not a bad thing when it comes to financial planning.

Current economic conditions, including inflation, interest rate hikes, and the looming threat of recession are causing people to make financial planning a priority. More – and younger – Americans are searching for financial advice in a variety of places and contexts, including online. Additionally, financial advisors are also using cloud-based tools to meet the growing demand for financial advice.

Sixty-nine percent of Americans say they are concerned about their current financial situation, according to a recent Harris Poll survey commissioned by intelliflo. 

The poll found high percentages of people who are concerned with their current financial situation:  

  • 64% of Gen Z, ages 18 – 25 
  • 81% of Millennials, ages 26 – 41 
  • 75% of Gen X, ages 42 – 57 

All age groups admitted they need professional financial help: 

  • 80% of Gen Z
  • 84% of Millennials 
  • 70% of Gen X 
  • 63% of Boomers, ages 58-76 

Individual online tools 

There is a multitude of personal online tools, each designed to help with a critical piece of the financial planning puzzle. These online tools can help track finances, do taxes, provide information about finance-related resources, and access credit scores. They can also manage transactions, create and review budgets, track and manage investments, provide life insurance, and more. 

With so many online resources, why do people still seek professional financial advice?  

Those who have additional considerations, such as living and working abroad or retiring altogether, can add foreign taxation, differing currencies, social security and/or pension payments, and investment income and losses to the list. 

Individual apps can provide good information about personal budgeting, paying down debt, investment options, etc., but those online tools don’t provide users with an understanding of how to put all the information together to create a personalized, long-term financial plan. 

Additionally, hidden fees and questionable sales advice can catch individuals off-guard. Without professional, trustworthy financial advice, funds can be eroded by poor management, high commissions, and unregulated investments. 

Financial advisors plus cloud-based tools 

A certified, licensed, chartered financial advisor will ask their client for information and then put their own professional online tools to work to customize the advice. If the client has used the personal online apps, an advisor can employ an aggregation tool. This allows them to collect data from banks, credit cards, and investment accounts, for example, to get the information into one place. 

Advisors will also use risk assessment or risk profile software to better understand their clients. It is essential to know if a client is comfortable with a high-return / high-risk strategy or if they need a dependable but potentially lower return plan. 

Performance reporting is a crucial element of investors’ expectations. The professional tools chosen to provide accurate, understandable reports assure clients that their investments are tracked and analyzed to generate peak performance. 

Experience counts 

Like most things, online tools can be a great help for clarity and organization. Personal financial planning, however, is best done with an advisor with the experience to successfully guide those whose expertise lies elsewhere.  

As cloud-based tools allow financial advisors to more fully and quickly serve their clients, advisors will have a greater capacity to help the rising numbers of younger Americans who need professional services. 

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