Fntech: Why 2017 could be the year the 'robo-advisors' finally come to town

The 5 minute read by Conor McMahon, Reporter at FORA - Automated financial advice is expected to shake up the wealth management sector.

"SO-CALLED ‘ROBO-ADVISORS’ already manage billions of dollars in the US, but they have yet to make their way to these shores.

Traditional wealth management has been largely untouched by the march of digital on this side of the Atlantic, and the sector is still overwhelmingly burdened by paper and admin work.

But not for much longer. Automated financial advice is already making waves in the UK, and Ireland could see a surge of robo-advice firms setting up shop in a bid to access investors in Europe.

Fora spoke to fintech expert Peter Oakes, founder of Fintech Ireland and a former director at the Central Bank, to get the lowdown on what exactly robo-advisors do and how they might shake things up in 2017"

“Normally, that sort of investment advice is expensive to get face-to-face,” he says. “Through the online service, it reduces the cost and therefore it should increase the overall return to the individual.”

Continue reading at Fora (or in pdf at Fintech Ireland)