Education Vs. Automation: The Future Of Investing Is Here – Forbes

New technologies have been changing industries and society for quite a long time. Technology has inspired deeper learning and inspired humans to study aspects of the world that we hadn't previously considered. However, there is a contention by many educationists that the more we accept automated "done-for-you" technologies, the fewer people need to learn anything.

Living in a world where approximately 80% of American college-age youths are considering delaying or skipping college. The definition of what it means to be educated is undoubtedly changing, but is this a good or a bad thing?

"Gauging the effects of increased automation in investments and entrepreneurship as a whole is really difficult, but we do know the effects of proper education, we have seen in for generations," Anthony DeGalbo opines. "Any situation where apps and automation reduce the interest in getting educated about a certain industry cannot be positive through and through."

Anthony DeGalbo is the CEO of OnlyOptionsTrades

Anthony DeGalbo is the CEO of OnlyOptionsTrades, one of the most recognized options trading educational platforms online. DeGalbo insisted on going against the grain when he launched the platform, choosing to go the educational route in an industry where most newer platforms were selling AI-automated investments where investors only needed to "plug-and-play."

The platform's unique approach of hosting consistent live classes throughout the week has won the company a lot of admirers and customers. This unique, education-first, profit-second approach led the relatively new company to do over $3 million in revenue and over 10,000 paying members in 2021 alone.

DeGalbo insists that their success is proof that there is a real thirst for real educational investment platforms.

One of the big promises of tech was the democratization of access to different industries, including stock and options trading. At first glance, it would seem that Automation programs, platforms, and apps are doing just that by lowering the entrance bar for investors and dispensing with the need for due diligence and education on their part. However, DeGalbo argues that this will not bring true democratization in the long run.

"For anything to boast of being democratized, it has to focus on the individual and give more power to the individual. Automated platforms can be very effective in yielding returns, but often times the major reason for their success is the seasoned veteran traders who are behind them doing the magic. If we continue empowering the ignorance of investors, more and more power will be concentrated in these investors companies and in the long-run, the investor will be at a disadvantage."

DeGalbo's fear seems to be that automation empowers the company and not the investor, and this is a fear that many have about tech companies in general. The sentiment seems to be that the more we rely on technology to do for us what we have not spent the time to understand, the more power they have over us. These companies retain the power to raise the cost of their offerings at any time, and this would undoubtedly leave the investors at a disadvantage.

Blindspots Of Investment Automation

Every investment bears a reasonable level of risk. Investments fail when those risks do not go in favor of the investor. For example, stock investors need to understand that stocks can lose value and be aware of the possible scenarios that may bring this about. The same goes for options and forex traders.

However, there seems to be a proliferation of automated investment opportunities that promise monthly ROI for a monetary investment.

In DeGalbo's words, "You never see any of the investment sharks dole out investment dollars to startups whose businesses they don't understand at least to some degree. When we market an investment opportunity as an automated, low-risk, done-for-you activity that doesn't require you to understand the market, we are building a very unsustainable system that may come back to haunt us in the future."

In a perfect world, every investor in the stock or foreign exchange market will understand the markets and the risks involved. They wouldn't need to be prompted by unrealistic promises before investing.

The Way Forward

"The assumption that investments only require putting in your money is the reason why so many pyramid schemes have thrived in America and it's also the reason why most of them have failed." DeGalbo explains, "Our goal with OnlyOptionsTrades has always been to re-educate the new generation of investors to invest in education before they put their money in. This balanced approach has to be the way we move forward."

Despite what school of thought we fall into, it is clear that a world where education and skill acquisition are not emphasized will lead us down the rabbit hole of get-rich-schemes and failed investments.

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Education Vs. Automation: The Future Of Investing Is Here - Forbes