The smart speaker and voice assistant revolution are going on in your home and office right now. Check the weather, order groceries, make appointments and get the sports scores. All you must do is ask.
You can bet large 401(k) plan providers like Schwab and Fidelity are paying attention. Soon, you will be able to manage your 401(k) using smart speakers and voice assistants.
Coming soon. You could ask your smart speaker or cell phone voice assistant which mutual fund to buy in your 401(k) account?
Voice search makes total sense. Individual 401(k) participants struggle with “what to buy” on their 401(k) mutual fund menu.
And those individuals are the ones who can remember their log-in and password.
Traditional online search is going away. All keyboard searches will soon be voice. Is this evolution a good thing?
It is great to be able to ask a voice question like, “What is the stock market doing today?” It is a more of a challenge to rank your 401(k) mutual funds options by annual fees and investment performance.
The 401(k) industry is already rife with self-interest. Voice search would be another avenue to gather your 401(k) assets into their mutual funds.
In depth analysis of “what to buy” on your company 401(k) retirement plan menu is still going to need a computer. And an experienced, third-party investment advisor.
A 401(k) advisor provides an updated ranking of your default 401(k) mutual funds upon request. In a little more than the time it would take to use voice search.
Even better, the 401(k) mutual fund rankings are visual. It is much easier to understand a “picture” of your best 401(k) mutual funds to own.
Potential voice-activated 401(k) retirement plan account access should be private. The world has plenty of data privacy issues already. We do not need to add your 401(k) savings to the list of concerns.
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Ric Lager
Lager & Company, Inc.
