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The Big Bad Robo Halt

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13 September 2016
William Trout

Let’s pause. Take a break. No, the big bad robo halt isn’t the Betterment Brexit brouhaha I discussed in the WSJ last week. It relates to the degree to which the hype around robo has dwindled.

As detailed in last week’s webinar, robos’ ability to automate previously high touch advisory functions is proving their comeuppance, at least in startup world. The commoditization of the portfolio management process, from asset allocation to rebalancing to tax loss harvesting, works in favor of the large incumbents, with their advantages of brand and scale.

Meanwhile, product innovation efforts by independents as described in my Robo 3.0 report have gained little traction. While the robo value proposition (centering on transparency, cost, and user experience) broached by first movers Wealthfront and Betterment and others remains very much in play, incumbents have co-opted the vision.

We're not yet at the point of a fire sale, but the price tag for independent robos is shrinking fast. This is a question of deployment as well as value; among other things, it's become apparent that putting into action a store bought robo is not as simple as plug and play. I'll discuss the robo world challenges facing asset managers, banks and other incumbents in my next post.

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