Whether you are just starting to save for retirement, or have been investing in your 401(k) for years, the financial services industry does the average investor few favors when it comes to making the world of stocks and bonds any easier to understand. It’s no wonder why many investors give up.

If you’re not ready to throw yourself on the mercy of the stock market, consider this: in the same way that Wall Street and hedge fund pros use technology to better diversify their assets and grow their investments, retail investors have taken to online resources like FutureAdvisor to get control of their finances and put their money to work more efficiently.

Think about it: Does anyone remember the days before tax-preparation software?  I don’t, at least not very well. The rise of TurboTax completely changed the game for tax novices. Talk about empowerment! 

We are seeing a similar shift when it comes to retirement planning and the financial services industry. Now, with web apps and online resources, the average investor can begin diversifying, allocating, and growing his or her investments without the expense, hassle or headache of hiring a full-time financial planner.

FutureAdvisor includes a helpful “Know Your Risk Tolerance” questionnaire to help customize investment recommendations.

FutureAdvisor has been around since 2010. Built by a team of engineering experts and run by a staff of investment professionals, FutureAdvisor combines a clean, easy-to-use interface with a sound, time-tested investing and retirement-planning methodology. This allows the average investor to take full advantage of the latest research in strategies for proper asset allocation, diversification, and keeping costs low.

So how does FutureAdvisor do it? After answering a few basic questions about your background, income, and retirement goals, you’ll see how quickly FutureAdvisor shows you just how much you need to save each month in order to have the money and lifestyle you want later. FutureAdvisor also provides a recommended strategy for properly allocating assets based on the information you provide.

Conservative, moderate, or aggressive?  FutureAdvisor provides stock, bond, and low-cost mutual and exchange-traded fund recommendations for every investment style.

There’s more. Academic research has proven that rebalancing your portfolio regularly can make a major difference in how your investments perform over the long haul. But rebalancing can be difficult and time-consuming. That is where FutureAdvisor shines. Its unique algorithms help you easily make the necessary portfolio adjustments. It also sends email reminders when it is time to rebalance.

FutureAdvisor lets you know when high fees may be damaging your portfolio, going so far as to recommend alternative investments such as no-load mutual funds to lower costs. The service also reviews the tax efficiency of your portfolio and suggests ways to keep your tax burden as low as possible.

It is easy to get started with FutureAdvisor. Within minutes of setting up my account, I was reading a Portfolio Analysis Dashboard that showed my total assets, how well they were diversified, the impact of fees, and the overall tax efficiency of the portfolio.

Clear and easy-to-read charts and graphs allow investors to see and understand exactly what is in their portfolios.

Your mileage may vary. But thanks to FutureAdvisor, I learned that my diversification was not as good as I thought it was, my portfolio fees were lower than I thought they were, and I could probably contribute more to my 401(k). What’s nice is that you can go back and make changes and see what kind of impact they would have on your overall retirement planning picture. How much would you have to save if you worked a little longer? How much would you have to save if you wanted a little higher income in your golden years? With a few clicks, FutureAdvisor will show and tell all.

This is all part of the free (“basic”) side of FutureAdvisor. Future plans include a premium version that provides automatic rebalancing and portfolio maintenance. Stay tuned for more on that front.

To learn more about FutureAdvisor, take a look at their demo from FinovateSpring 2012 here.