Like everything else in life, our desire to streamline our world through technological advances has now touched how we manage our wealth. What used to be a pick-up-the-phone conversation with a seasoned advisor has now worked its way to the touch-of-your-screen action to make important wealth decisions. But is the convenience of having it all at your fingertips worth the price of good advice?

At CIBC Wood Gundy Allan Bush Investment Team, we believe the value of advice far outweighs convenience. And even though technology may make investing more accessible, it certainly doesn't take away its complexities. We see the rise in DIY investment options as nothing more than circumstance. Let's face it; the global pandemic created the perfect scenario to take on many roles that were once left to professionals. But has it increased investor satisfaction?

Every year, data appears from the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) that captures dispute resolution between consumers and financial services firms. Their role in Canada is to supply independent dispute-resolution services for consumers and small businesses with complaints that they can't resolve with their banking services or investment firm. In 2020, the fallout from the global pandemic has launched the DIY investing option, since meeting in person with advisors wasn't desired (or possible).

What came to light through this data is that service issues overtook suitability as a top concern for investors using the DIY option. Overall, complaint volumes involving investment-related concerns were up 24% from the previous year. The leading concern for investors involved service issues, with complaints in this area jumping 38% year-over-year. Among investment cases, complaints about transaction errors and fee disclosure failings also "increased sharply, more than doubling in volume" last year, OBSI noted. And with the record rise in caseload at OBSI, the organization will undergo an independent review, headed by Osgoode Hall Law School professor Poonam Puri with the results of that review expected by the end of March.

So, what does this mean to investors? We all know that life is about streamlining essential life tasks and decisions with a touch on our devices. But in the end, human beings are hard-wired to connect. And if you remove the human from the transaction, there's simply no way that customer service levels could ever meet the comprehensive needs of the investor. It's always good to have an actual person that offers checks and balances of essential automated transactions and a helpful voice at the end of the line when making important wealth decisions.