With the emergence of Robo, Crypto, TB, MM, FWD, Singlife etc, what is the advantage of getting ILP? and FA for that matter in the next 5 years?

As a financial planner, I would like to point out that I am definitely bias towards getting people to invest in ILPs. I would also like to point out that I personally think that people are better off investing by themselves but only if they know how to. There are many articles online that you can read.

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Ultimately though, investing is hard work and it is not as easy as how people frame it online. There are many options out there and you are on your own when the market is crashing or not doing well. You are required to be discipline (so if you have huge expenditure, you will need to cut some expenses elsewhere instead of deciding to not invest in that month etc.). You will also need to monitor the market yourself, decide for yourself if you should stay invested or not etc.

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I invest in ILPs and yes, the fees are higher and yes, the returns are lower but it keeps me consistent. Don't get me wrong though, that only takes up 20% of my portfolio. I have 80% in riskier assets like crypto and stocks.

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You will be surprise that even with the pletora of information available on the internet, investing is still difficult for many people.

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So to answer your question, the main advantage is having someone who is in the business to advise you on how to invest and how to structure the portfolio (but the person must be also interested in investing and is acting in your best interest).

I think ILPs are for a niche purpose. It depends on your current situation.

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As for FAs, I do think there is value in having someone manage your personal finances. These include insurance coverage, retirement planning, etc. There are various aspects to your personal finances besides investment management. That is merely 1 aspect.

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You can definitely DIY everything else, but as humans, we are prone to behavioural biases that may not be in our best interests. We may always think we should be doing something when instead the best thing to do is perhaps nothing.

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Hence, on top of helping to manage the other aspects of our finances, I think FAs can potentially help guard us against these behavioural biases.

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That being said, I'm assuming that FAs are acting in our best interests, and not simply trying to make a sale. It is difficult to tell the two apart considering that the industry is largely driven by commissions and sales.