Say hello to ‘Sophie,’ the virtual financial adviser

Meet Sophie, the computer avatar. She also happens to be a virtual financial adviser. Her existence and that of SimplFi, the new, free online financial planning service she inhabits, from SimpliFi LLC, were announced this week as part of the annual FinovateStartup (short for financial innovation) conference held this year in San Francisco.
The SimpliFi service provides guidance on long-term savings, debt management, insurance and investments. When a first-time user logs on, the service gathers information by asking questions about their financial goals. It analyzes the user’s debt level, assets, insurance and other information, and builds a set of action steps. Sophie then appears to remind users when goals are due and when it is time to update their plan to reflect changes in their circumstances.
SimpliFi of Winston-Salem, N.C., does not collect or store a user’s financial information or evaluate budgets or short-term spending. Instead, it focuses on helping investors identify and execute long-term financial planning, such as insurance, retirement planning and a spending plan.

“Given the current economic climate, now more than ever is the time for regular people to start setting long-term goals and planning their financial future,” Bryan Link, chief executive of SimpliFi, said in a statement. “Currently, less than 5% of Americans have a written financial plan, but those with a plan are 250% more likely to achieve their financial goals.”
For more information, visit SimpliFi.

Mint.com launches Financial Fitness feature
The financial website Mint.com is rolling out Financial Fitness, a feature that suggests steps for improving the user’s financial standing.
Initially, 100,000 users will receive access to the feature, prior to a broad launch slated for early this summer.
The site is driven by five principles, including “know your money,” “spend less than you earn,” “use debt wisely,” “invest your savings” and “prepare for the unexpected.” Investors are informed on a weekly, monthly and annual basis what they should do to put the principles into practice, and it alerts them when they are on or off track.
For instance, the site lets investors know if they are sticking to their budgets, avoiding late fees, adding to their savings and making retirement contributions.
“Like any goal, from weight loss to video game domination or getting a promotion, specific, actionable plans help people stay on track in the short term, and achieve more in the long term,” Aaron Patzer, founder and chief executive of Mint.com, said in a statement.
It takes new users only a few minutes to sign up anonymously for an account, only a valid e-mail address. Once that is done, Mint.com downloads investors’ transaction data from more than 7,500 bank, credit card and investment accounts on a daily basis.
Next, the site categorizes transactions, and provides a summary of account activity. Also, it alerts them to low balances, bank fees, upcoming bills and suspicious account activity.
In addition to generating revenue with advertising, the site makes money by providing users with personalized suggestions for saving money. If a user signs up for one of these services, Mint.com is paid a small fee by the provider. Mint.com, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., said it is tracking more than $50 billion in transactions and $15 billion in assets.
Visit Mint.com or the Mint.com blog for more information.