Investors Still Prefer Human Touch for Financial Planning

Despite the growth in robotic and digital advice providers, investors overwhelmingly “value the human side of financial planning” when it comes to picking a financial planner, according to a new study from financial adviser review platform Wealthtender Inc.

According to its Voice of the Client Study, most clients said they have a “deep appreciation” for advisers who prioritize long-term planning, communication and a personal touch when it comes to wealth management, rather than purely investment strategy and portfolio management. This comes from an examination of 2,568 online reviews published on Wealthtender between May 2021 and April 2025, covering more than 200 advisers and wealth management firms across 35 states and the District of Columbia.

Nearly 90% of client reviews written about financial advisers prioritized relationship quality, planning advice and emotional factors, while only about one in 10 emphasized investments or portfolio management, according to the study.

Sentiment Analysis

In a finding that bodes well for advisers and the industry, 86% of reviews expressed “strongly positive sentiment” about their experience with their financial planners.

In the study’s sentiment analysis breakdown, the survey found that 85.5% of reviews showed high levels of satisfaction, trust and strong emotional connections between clients and advisers. In these reviews, the clients often characterized advisers as “trustworthy partners who bring peace of mind, clarity and a sense of control” when it comes to their financial future.

For the reviews classified as “neutral” (14.0%), clients often kept them short and gave praise without strong emotional language. Even with this, clients still gave some advisers five-star ratings in these reviews.

Less than half a percent of reviews were labeled “negative,” according to the study. These reviews were mostly “mild, focused on communication gaps or service expectations.”

Centering Advisers

Interestingly, a major theme from the survey’s findings was that advisers themselves, not just the firms they work for, are at the center of client loyalty and praise.

According to Wealthtender’s analysis, clients mentioned their adviser by name nearly 25 times more often than the firm, solidifying just how crucial individual relationships play in a client’s perception of value and satisfaction.

According to the report, wealth management firms that empower their advisers to proactively gather and advertise authentic feedback from clients are able to be stay competitive in the industry, “while larger institutions that delay embracing these strategies risk falling behind.”