Baby, Don’t Fear the Robots

In the last post I discussed my decision to move from traditional, human financial advisor to newer, fancier, more efficient robo-advisor. The reduced fees will help me save thousands on my investments in the long-term, with no loss in service quality. And I’m not the only one making this type of change.

Currently, only a relatively “small” portion of assets ($53 billion) can be attributed to robo-advisors. But that amount is projected to be closer to $7 trillion — 35% of current total invested assets — within the next decade. Clearly, conventional investing firms have something to be concerned about.

Financial Planning and the Robot Revolution

Picture this: the year is 2003. The setting, high school math class. An enthusiastic teacher bobs before his class of dazed and confused adolescents, encouraging them to consider their financial future.

“If you start now and put only $50 away each month, by my age, you could be a millionaire!” He challenges. Such was the magic of compound interest. Yet all my classmates and I could hope for was the magic of the lunch bell.