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John Waggoner: T. Rowe Price To Lay Off 150 In Shuttering Of Tampa Operations Center
Thanks for linking this @Ted. Sad in a way. Been with Price since the mid 90s when I transferred my 403B to them while still working. Occassionaly a rep would identify themselves as being at their Tampa center.
But, yep - normally the majority of us prefer to transact online. Just think back to your first experience doing transfers, etc. online and how new and different it seemed. Probably logged in using a very slow “dial-up” phone modem. Those were the days!
Well, automation drives savings in operational expenditure for an organization. If TRP can leverage their "robo advisers" to help garner assets just like they would their "human advisors", then can pass on the savings by firing the "human advisor" to the customer, and yet, collect their fees at the same level. Perhaps even more. Then they benefit themselves as well as their customers.
So it is sad for the "human advisors". However, I'm not going to feel too sad for them because IMO this is one of the most abused/unnecessary professions. In my experience, Financial Asset Management and Information Technology (please make note I did not say Computer Science) are too professions with the highest percentage of Bullshit Artists. Their jobs will and should be the first to get "automated away". The fact that robo-advisors are so rampant right now is because asking a few questions and coming up with an asset allocation does not take rocket science, and if this is what human advisors were doing for most part, then they were not doing much.
In other areas, Automation will HELP. Like maybe help Surgeon perform operations, maybe even enhance their abilities. However, replacing the Surgeon herself with a Robot? Now we are talking Star Trek which is a long way away. But then, in the Star Trek era, poverty has been eradicated and neither human nor robotic financial advisors exist.
I hope those 150 who were unfortunate to not find re-assigned jobs at TRP, are able to find similar jobs elsewhere. I know how hard it is to find job when you lose it, especially when you get older. If I were to lose my job to automation, I would mind it less than if I did for other reasons. As long as automation is helping mankind and not simply making other people rich by foisting their toys on us.
Comments
But, yep - normally the majority of us prefer to transact online. Just think back to your first experience doing transfers, etc. online and how new and different it seemed. Probably logged in using a very slow “dial-up” phone modem. Those were the days!
So it is sad for the "human advisors". However, I'm not going to feel too sad for them because IMO this is one of the most abused/unnecessary professions. In my experience, Financial Asset Management and Information Technology (please make note I did not say Computer Science) are too professions with the highest percentage of Bullshit Artists. Their jobs will and should be the first to get "automated away". The fact that robo-advisors are so rampant right now is because asking a few questions and coming up with an asset allocation does not take rocket science, and if this is what human advisors were doing for most part, then they were not doing much.
In other areas, Automation will HELP. Like maybe help Surgeon perform operations, maybe even enhance their abilities. However, replacing the Surgeon herself with a Robot? Now we are talking Star Trek which is a long way away. But then, in the Star Trek era, poverty has been eradicated and neither human nor robotic financial advisors exist.
I hope those 150 who were unfortunate to not find re-assigned jobs at TRP, are able to find similar jobs elsewhere. I know how hard it is to find job when you lose it, especially when you get older. If I were to lose my job to automation, I would mind it less than if I did for other reasons. As long as automation is helping mankind and not simply making other people rich by foisting their toys on us.