The world has changed dramatically in the last few years with the rapid advance of technology.  With the Covid pandemic came the development and adoption of new technologies as well as the realization that there are very few geographic limitations now.  What was once considered nearly impossible unless undertaken face-to-face in a physical environment is now easily accomplished every day by people halfway around the world from each other in a virtual environment.  Most people have a computer with a webcam that allows them to look someone in the eye and have a conversation a thousand miles away just as easily as if that person was sitting right across the table from them.  Our firm has certainly embraced these changes as well.  What we have found is that many people actually prefer a virtual relationship with a long-term personal advisor (as opposed to a local advisor, call center or roboadvisor) for several reasons:

Competence

When it comes to managing their hard-earned life savings, people value competence over locality, hands down.  They would rather work with someone that demonstrably has the knowledge and skills to significantly improve their lives than someone who is geographically close but may be less qualified.  In addition, often times there are no advisors within a reasonable driving distance that specialize in the areas that the client wants or needs help with (for example, check out our "Secret Sauce" that is often hard to find locally).

Convenience

Working with a highly competent advisor used to mean driving an hour or more to a big city if you lived in a rural area.  And even in urban areas, it could easily take that long just to drive across town and fight the traffic.  You may have had to make multiple trips to bring all the required documents, etc. and then make more trips just to sign all the required forms at the end of the process.  Today you can seamlessly upload the documents to your advisor on a secure web portal and e-sign all the necessary forms with just a few clicks of a mouse.  Why deal with all those other headaches when you and your spouse can build a relationship with a real, skilled advisor (and CPA, attorney, etc. if necessary) without ever leaving your living room, office or beach chair?

Availability

Even when the client and advisor are in different cities, states, time zones, etc., virtual wealth managers are readily available with text, email, and online calendar access that allows the client to schedule mutually convenient times to meet, whether it's just for a 15-minute Q&A session or a 2-hour planning meeting.  No more waiting to call the office during business hours and playing phone tag just to set an appointment.