Robo-advisors: a history of democratization of FinTech

Do you remember the beginning of Robo Advisors? In the very beginning, people who opposed them stressed the word “robo”, because it suggested cold, impersonal and a low-cost and low-quality way to access finances. Human advisors also looked at them as rivals that would be used by greedy start-ups and unicorns that preached the goodness of technology against the traditional model.

What do we have now? Well, as it usually happens, the future of financial advice software was not as it was expected. Humans are still in the financial business and robo-advisors are not the only solution to get in investments. In the end, coexistence has prevailed, but nobody can deny that the history of Robo Advisors is the one on the success of the democratization of FinTech.

First of all, these platforms have evolved from a one-stand solution to an integration in other platforms from large market players and investment companies. The main banks have their own robo for their customers. Then, this solution is now massive. However, this change has a positive impact in the branch. Human advisors have discovered that these solutions could help for segmentation and enlarge their customer portfolio in other ways, such as including people interested in lower investments that cannot afford a personalized service or, very important, attract young people that are more tech-fan. They still have their common services as premium, while they use financial technology as an ally. Hybrid services are common now, avoiding the former idea of clash of financial cultures.

Secondly, Robo Advisors have contributed to spread FinTech in all devices: apps, tablets, computers and multiverse is around the corner. The great array of APIs, settings and functionalities make them far from the idea of non personal services, because everyone can set their own user experience and choose their investment strategies following the legal requirements. Onboarding, profiling, reporting, monitoring, rebalancing… all professional investment tools are available for a confident investment journey for everyone.

We have witnessed all this Robo Advisor software evolution, always adapting our solutions to all kinds of investors. Seeking for the needs of customers we created several Robo Advisors that will provide functionality to both , customers and advisors, a perfectly hybrid financial advice model. We also have developed state of the art versatile APIs that can be used to customize unique financial software. Digitalization has driven us into a world in which people want immediacy and efficiency and different segments are so grown up in new technologies that they demand their own personal investment software.  No matter the investor you are, you will have everything integrated in your global balance sheet.

Robo Advisors have been a turning point in the evolution of FinTech and finances, generally speaking. Hybrid models, segmentation, democratization, access to a great deal of professional investment tools and legal control are the ingredients of this cocktail that will deliver more innovations in the next few years.