Rapid City financial advisor Rick Kahler tells why technology makes modern financial planning more human than ever

Over the years of writing these columns, I’ve tried to maintain a mix of topics that address both the technical aspects of investing or financial planning and the emotional component of our money behavior. I realized recently that, despite my love of numbers and history of geeking out over Sharpe ratios and asset class correlations, it’s the emotional topics that really keep me engaged.

When I started my financial advisory business over 40 years ago, the technical side of investing felt like rocket science. Back then, financial advisors spent countless hours crafting portfolios designed to beat the market; each portfolio was a unique work of art. Clients hired us for our “secret sauce” of strategies that promised — though rarely delivered — market-beating returns.
A few decades later, it’s a different world. Various studies, such as one I’ve quoted often from Dalbar, showed that over a 20-year period, only 3% of all investors and advisors managed to outperform the market. As we moved into the 21st century, it became increasingly clear to many financial planning pioneers that trying to beat the market was not only difficult but also unnecessary. Investment advice was on its way to becoming a commodity.

Today, that shift has become reality. Thanks to technology and the rise of passive investing, putting together a sophisticated, diversified portfolio has never been easier. Robo-advisors, low-cost exchange traded funds, and online platforms have democratized access to tools that were once the domain of high-powered Wall Street types.

This is a win for the average investor. It also has made the role of a financial planner less about creating portfolios and more about holistic financial planning and understanding financial psychology.
Don’t get me wrong — managing money and building portfolios is still an important job. It requires education, experience, and a cool head in volatile markets. The difference is that technology has streamlined the process, creating economies of scale that allow independent advisors to outsource portfolio management to specialized firms at a fraction of the cost. This frees up advisors to focus on what really matters: having vital, deep conversations with clients about their money and their life.
These conversations are not about optimizing an investment portfolio. They’re about navigating the messiness of life: the financial fallout of a divorce, the emotional and financial toll of a health crisis, or the decision to quit a stable job and chase a dream. They’re about helping clients face the reality of their mortality, deciding when and how to transfer wealth to the next generation or give it away in meaningful ways.

These moments require empathy, insight, and the ability to ask the right questions — none of which can be automated. No computer app or spreadsheet can meet this need.
It’s worth pausing to appreciate how far we’ve come since the days when crafting a diversified portfolio required serious time and effort. Today, the same level of sophistication is available for a fraction of the cost and effort. That’s progress.

It’s also progress that, as technology has made investing easier, it’s also revealed something we didn’t fully appreciate before. Wealth isn’t just about numbers. It’s about financial, physical, and emotional wellbeing. Financial planning, life planning, and financial therapy bring well-being into all aspects of clients’ lives in ways that no other professions do.
I’m not sure this human side of financial advising could have come into focus without the commoditization of investment advice. Forty years ago, my job was to outsmart the market. Now, my job is to help people outsmart themselves as I help clients overcome the fears, biases, and emotional blind spots that block their path to richer and fulfilling lives.

Rick Kahler, CFP, is a fee-only financial planner and financial therapist with a nationwide practice, Kahler Financial Group, based in Rapid City. His co-authored books include “Coupleship Inc.” and “The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge.”

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