In fact, many financial advisors are
using robo advisor software now to actually manage your specific investments for you.
But every generation, from Baby Boomers to Gen X, can benefit from
using a robo advisor as their main retirement tool.
This is an excellent benefit of
using a robo advisor because it's very hard to rebalance consistently if you were to manage your portfolio yourself.
Millennials
use robo advisors because they remove the perceived «guess work» out of investing, which provides a measure of comfort to hesitant millennial investors.
But who
uses robo advisors?
But it can play a significant role in how your portfolio is built — especially if
you use a robo advisor.
Do
you use a robo advisor or traditional advisor for your investments?
If you like to use mobile apps to stay up - to - date, you can
use a robo advisor's app to check the performance of your portfolio at any time of the day and wherever you are.
You could study every stock and mutual fund, or you could
use a robo advisor or hire a financial advisor.
One in five of those surveyed by J.D. Power have
used a robo advisor.
At this point you may be asking, «should
I use a robo advisor?»
Not exact matches
If all of that sounds too hard to manage, you can pay to have someone do it for you, or even some thing: A
robo -
advisor, which
uses a computer algorithm to build and manage your portfolio for a small annual fee, is a good choice at this stage.
Robo -
advisors use the same software as traditional
advisors, but usually only offer portfolio management and do not get involved in more personal aspects of wealth management, such as taxes and retirement or estate planning.
Robo -
advisors typically
use exchange - traded funds and index funds, which are fairly low - cost passive investments that track sections of the market, like the S&P 500.
The
robo -
advisors take you through a series of questions to determine your goals and your risk tolerance and then build a diversified portfolio
using passive investments like index funds and ETFs.
Or, to be precise,
robo -
advisors: Programs that
use an algorithm to help you determine what investments are best for you.
These «
robo -
advisors» will be able to
use predictive systems and market data to forecast stock trends and manage finances, as well as sort through tens of thousands of possible companies.
Burgess pays 0.25 percent of assets managed to Betterment Institutional, the
robo -
advisor platform he
uses.
Below, we've outlined the five groups that
use and benefit from
robo advisors and explain how these automated products serve each segment.
And approximately 60 % currently
use some type of financial
advisor, which means
robo advisors can and should target them.
The investing public is largely receptive to
robo advisors thanks to the services» ease of
use and ability to take stress and worry away from investors.
So why would a human financial
advisor make
use of a
robo advisor?
In fact, Investor Junkie's favorite
robo advisor, Wealthfront, published a white paper outlining its
use of MPT, calling it «the best framework on which to build a compelling investment management service.»
Robo -
advisors use the same software as traditional
advisors based on Modern Portfolio Theory, but usually only offer portfolio management and do not get involved in more personal aspects of wealth management, such as taxes and retirement or estate planning.
Large asset managers like BlackRock and Invesco have purchased existing
robo platforms and are
using them as an add - on service for financial
advisors and other distribution channels.
A
robo advisor is an online wealth management service that provides automated, algorithm - based portfolio management advice without the
use of human financial planners.
The investor generally completes a questionnaire, and the
robo advisor uses this input to design and manage a portfolio tailored to the client's needs.
While the term «
robo -
advisor» has been
used to describe
advisors who supplement their services with asset allocation algorithms, Massachusetts» policy statement applies primarily to «fully automated»
robo -
advisors «devoid of all human services.»
First came
robo -
advisors, which
use computer algorithms to search the investment world to give you the best investment strategies.
About 38 percent of millennial savers in the T. Rowe Price survey have employed an
advisor in the past five years, including 11 percent who have
used robo -
advisors.
No such thing as one size fits all,» says Kirzner, also an
advisor to Canadian
robo -
advisor firm Wealthsimple, which invests clients» money in a range of ETFs
using the same investment philosophy.
Another interesting data point: 11 % of Millennials have
used robo -
advisors like Betterment.
Most
robo -
advisor accounts include easy - to -
use investment apps.
Experiment and compare different
robo -
advisors or other automated investment strategies
using ETFs in one place without losing track of the results.
That might seem daunting if you don't have investing experience, so consider
using a
robo -
advisor.
If you prefer a hands - off approach,
using a
robo -
advisor service simplifies things.
Low portfolio expense ratios are common among
robo -
advisors because they almost all exclusively
use ETFs for portfolio makeup.
If most or all of your investment funds are in your retirement plan, a
robo advisor will be little
use to you.
Broker - dealers, asset managers and banks
using Fiserv can now deploy a self - service
robo advisor or a hybrid offering through a new partnership.
You don't agree with the investment allocation
robo advisors use.
Building on this progress, Bambu will
use the new investment to accelerate its sales and business development capability to meet the increasing demand for
robo -
advisor solutions globally, while further strengthening the company's R&D in Singapore.
Charles Schwab will introduce a financial
advisor version of a
robo -
advisor that will allow
advisors using its platform to white label the service to their clients for free.
Millennial Money Snapshot: Betterment is a
robo -
advisor that
uses an algorithm to manage and re-balance an investors portfolio.
Most
robo -
advisors use a portfolio of a diversified pool of ETFs, reinvesting your dividends and rebalancing your portfolio so it stays in line with the recommended portfolio.
If you're just starting out, we recommend investing in ETFs and indexes or mutual funds, or
using robo -
advisors.
Robo -
advisors have been gaining popularity as a hassle - free and simple way to invest compared to a do - it - yourself approach or the
use of a traditional financial
advisor.
Similar to other
robo -
advisors, it
uses smart technology to help you build and grow your investment portfolio.
It can be even easier when you
use a
robo -
advisor like Betterment.
And it might be the only «hands off» activity that can make you money when you
use a
robo -
advisor like Betterment or WealthFront that makes all the investment decisions for you.
Robo -
advisors use an algorithm to analyze your portfolio and risk tolerance, then make investment decisions for you.