Robo-Advisors: Exploring and Leveraging the Competition

Abstract

There are lot of talks about robo-advisors taking the jobs of human financial advisors. Amid the excitement or anxiety about robots doing better than humans in many aspects, there is little discussion on the potential limitations of machines in taking over certain aspects of the financial planning process. What are the technologies behind robo-advisory systems, what are the pitfalls, and will they really replace human advisors? In this paper, I review recent literature on robo-advice and conclude that human advisors adopting robo-advisors into their practices will enhance their practices even further and deliver better outcomes than either standalone robo-advisors or human advisors.

Keywords: Robo-Advisors, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Asset Allocation, Modern Portfolio Theory, Cognitive Technology

JEL Classification: G10, G11, G20