Robo-Advisory Why Today's The Day Online Investment Funds Hit The Mass Market

Robo-advisors are popping up left and right, with newcomers and established banks both in the fray. With the value of the digital advice market recently projected to crest $500 billion by 20201, it seems certain that robo-advice is more than a fad. Experienced asset managers now have the challenge of fitting into a marketplace that is reinventing itself, and the trick will be leveraging their own assets... that is, their client bases and market knowledge.

Indeed, a recent KPMG survey indicated that a high number of banking clients would be interested if their bank offered a digital advice investment option: this includes 75% of the total respondents, rising to 80% among millennials specifically. Newcomers have to face the uphill brand-recognition battle that all newcomers face, whereas banks and other older finance players have already fought this battle—for them, building the right product to connect with their potential user base is the key step.

In doing so, it seems that user experience is a foremost priority, along with keeping the cost low for customers. Certainly, the algorithms running robo-advisors are not particularly new, and many wealth management firms already have the knowhow they need for such a product, but lack the skillset amongst their people to build and maintain a clean and fast digital platform.

The revolution will be televised

If your product isn't all over national television, you may now be considered to be behind in the game. Why? Because Nutmeg, the UK-based online discretionary investment management company, has just tipped us over into a brand new world of online investment funds.

The company recently launched a mass-media TV campaign, its first, featuring two cartoon characters named Nut and Meg. To this they will add advertising...