After decades of experience working with and getting to know thousands of people whose job it is to give advice around insurance, investments and real estate, I've observed a few traits that I personally believe are critical to long-term relevance. Frankly, I also believe they will make certain advisors immune to the threat of their job being eaten by technology.

There is quite a bit of concern and discussion over robo advice threatening these livelihoods. We must consider that the underlying reason is a trust problem with those who make their living both giving advice and selling products for a commission. I am not convinced that it is the presence of these two characteristics that causes mistrust. Rather, it may be the absence of one or more of the following five characteristics of advisors that are more important in the trust equation:

1. They seek to help their community first then benefit from it later.