Vanguard already has a more hybrid offering which was paired with human advisors but is now launching a digital only...
Citigroup’s new robo-advisor will be free for customers who have at least $50,000 in deposits or investments; this is the...
Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and others have launched or will launch their own robo products to compete with slicker startups; after seeing the success of startups in the space the banks realized they needed to improve their offerings to keep customers and attract newer, younger ones; the trend to move away from white labeling technology to building their own is a recent one as some traditional players like UBS, State Street and John Hancock are still using services from SigFig, Motif or NextCapital. Source.
PayPal is connecting with Acorns, an automated savings/investing platform; users will be able to contribute and manage their account from the PayPal app; the first users will get access today which will expand access to all US users by early 2018; PayPal previously has invested in Acorns, leading a $30 million round. Source
Building off of the $70mn funding round from the summer Betterment is now reportedly worth $1bn; the $1bn mark is significant as it denotes that a company is considered a unicorn; the valuation makes Betterment the first robo advisor to reach unicorn status; the company currently has over $11bn in assets under management. Source.
M1 is a unique company in the investment space, letting users open an investment account, checking account, debit card or...
As stock market volatility increased the trading app Robinhood saw deposits jump 20 percent; "We saw a large spike in transaction volume and trading activity on the platform today," a spokesperson told Business Insider. "Retail investors deposited 20% more funds into their Robinhood accounts today than they did on Friday.”; this is a trend the company has seen before, in late 2016 the Dow dropped 8 percent because of issues in Asia and the app saw their biggest net deposits ever. Source.
After completing a 16 month pilot program Morgan Stanley has announced their robo advisor Morgan Stanley Access Investing; there is a $5,000 minimum with a 0.35 percent fee and they will offer 11 portfolios, including a socially responsible option; the goal of the new service is to offer current clients’ children a better, more affordable wealth management option. Source.
HSBC intends to launch a new product in 2018 to address problems they see in the automated investment market; the new product is dubbed robo-advising 2.0 by Dean Butler, HSBC’s head of retail wealth; it will provide holistic financial advice and will eventually include recommendations for other products such as pensions and insurance. Source
Aviva purchased a majority stake in robo-advisor Wealthify only 18 months after their head of retirement solutions criticized automated advice; Wealthify will sit alongside other Aviva products and services through the insurer’s digital hub, MyAviva; the insurer sees this as another important step in their digital strategy. Source