Beware of Lehman-style collapses in murky online world

Investing online is an area where everything starts from how active an investor you have been and whether you are one of those burnt or blessed by the changing world markets. Our client base has come from a mixture of both, but the last six months have shown and proved to be more traditional and with that come more cautious investors. The portfolio these clients hold vary widely and include properties, shares, owner-based homes and wealth-based offshore investments. Trying to match the long-term and short-term investments is tougher. Opting for smaller but more secure returns now seems to be the norm. Those burnt by this market are much more inclined to use brokers as a sounding board and then do their online homework before deciding between direct online trading versus direct brokerage. Following a loss of faith in traditional brokers, we do see more and more UAE clients bringing their personally found solutions to the table, but with the frustrations and time constraints of investing and financing properties, for instance, there's still nothing to beat a solid broker with a solid client relationship. Part of that service is further education of clients towards direct investing. UAE investors, like anywhere else, will feel the strain of bad advice, bad investments and the risks associated with what they believed was the right advice and the right investment – only to suffer losses. The result is a higher level of awareness among investors, more time spent on understanding that there is also a direct approach, through online websites and exploring that route. If it's successful they will do more of it. One bad loss will have the exact opposite effect. We're seeing a new broker in the making as they tend to be ultimate entrepreneurial warriors and are already harnessing these same web tools and making them available to the man on the street. The dangers that seem to lurk in a fluctuating market is that once again we will see flurries into unknown, untapped financial territories. We can expect as many website investment Lehman Brothers-style collapses as there are still no guarantees. The UAE is a very network-based and people-centric society with social interaction high on the agenda, both at home and at work. Access to the web is available but restricted and also socially interactive. Access to brokers is unlimited as they are a constant force of migrants bringing new thoughts, offers and energies to the UAE – do the mathematics, where would you go? Personally, I use online financial transactions to benefit my investment portfolio as I can manage what's happening in world markets in an instant. For any financing options and investments, I use a broker; I'm no different to anyone else in the UAE. Will there be a scenario where brokers totally give way to websites? Not at all, because as good as it seems with either, in the final, it all depends on what the individual investor wants and needs out of a deal. - Chris Green is Managing Director of Independent Finance, a financial services company providing brokerage services for mortgages, rental finance and currency transfers. Write to him at money@business24-7.ae Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the daily Emirates Business 24|7 newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here .