How much can a robo-advisor make?
The return on investment will vary by portfolio, and not everyone will have the same investment mix. Most robo-advisors don't have a long track record. But according to the Robo Report, the five-year returns (2017 to 2022) from most robo-advisors range from 2% to 5% per year.
The top-earning robo-advisor cash accounts offer returns close to high-interest savings accounts, and can be a good option for investors with savings needs. Currently, robo-advisor cash accounts with the best rates pay a 4.55% to 5.00% annual percentage yield (APY).
Robo-advisors, like human advisors, cannot guarantee profits or protect entirely against losses, especially during market downturns—even with well-diversified portfolios. Because most robo-advisors only take long positions, when those assets fall in value, so will the portfolio it has constructed.
Robo-advisor performance is one way to understand the value of digital advice. Learn how fees, enhanced features, and investment options can also be key considerations. Five-year returns from most robo-advisors range from 2%–5% per year.
Digital Advisor Use Dropped in 2022
High-net-worth investors exited robo-advisor arrangements at the highest rates.
A Lack of Real Diversification
If you were to look at the portfolios offered by any of the major robo-advisors, you'd see that they consist mostly of just two asset classes: Stocks and bonds.
The generic cons of Robo Advisors are that they don't offer many options for investor flexibility. They tend to not follow traditional advisory services, since there is a lack of human interaction.
On the surface, robo-advising is just as safe as working with a human financial advisor. A robo-advisor's platform may include biases or errors that prevent it from achieving the best investment returns, but then again, humans are also subject to mistakes.
Can You Lose Money with a Robo-Advisor? Robo-advisors are much quicker to respond to changes in your assets, but they are not able to predict market outcomes. It is just as possible to lose money using a robo-advisor as it is using a human advisor.
Do robo-advisors outperform the S&P 500? Robo-advisors can outperform the S&P 500 or they can underperform it. It depends on the timing and what they have you invested in. Many robo-advisors will put a percentage of your portfolio in an index fund or a variety of funds intended to track the S&P 500.
Is robo-advisor good for beginners?
Low-cost financial advice and investment management are key components to building wealth, and robo-advisors can be an accessible way to get both: These services build and manage an investment portfolio for you for a low fee that's typically much less than what the typical financial advisor might charge.
Surprisingly, our survey found that just 16% said they use these digital wealth management platforms to build wealth for retirement, and 9% of respondents said they'd use a robo-advisor to build long-term wealth.
Robo Advisory Market Size Envisioned at USD 98.09 Billion by 2030, Increasing a CAGR of 32.64% | Rising Demand for Customised Investment Options.
Some robo-advisors only offer human support for tech- and account-related questions, which means there's no one to answer questions about your investments. Others have a hybrid model which may give you access to human advisors.
Suppose you're starting from scratch and have no savings. You'd need to invest around $13,000 per month to save a million dollars in five years, assuming a 7% annual rate of return and 3% inflation rate. For a rate of return of 5%, you'd need to save around $14,700 per month.
Last year, roughly 30 million Americans used robo-advisors to grow their assets. Statista expects another 20 million people in the US to start using their services in the next four years, pushing the total user count to nearly 50 million.
While a robo-advisor can be efficient in managing your investing decisions, a human advisor may be best for more complex decisions like helping you choose the right student loan repayment plan or comparing compensation packages for a new job. Cost: If cost is a factor, robo-advisors typically win out here.
This will vary significantly depending on the risk profile of the portfolio, broader market conditions, and the specific robo-advisor used. Some robo-advisor portfolios may outperform the S&P 500 in certain years or under specific conditions, while in others, they underperform.
Robo-advice remains too much of a solution looking for a problem. As a pure end-to-end D2C solution, it is doomed to failure. Nevertheless, as advisers, there is no room for complacency.
For core investing and planning advice, a robo-advisor is a great solution because it automates much of the work that a human advisor does. And it charges less for doing so – potential savings for you. Plus, the ease of starting and managing the account can't be overstated.
Why would you use a robo-advisor instead of a personal financial advisor?
In terms of cost, robo-advisors are much less expensive than financial advisors but still more expensive than doing it yourself. They may charge a monthly fee, such as $5 per month, or an annual management fee of 0.25% to 0.50% of your assets under management.
The jury's still out on whether robo-advisors are the future. But as a financial professional, you may need to be able to articulate why and how financial planning requires a human element that robo-advisors may not deliver, as well as why prospective clients should choose you.
At their heart, robo advisors are money managers and have the same revenue model as other money managers. Robo advisory firms draw the majority of their revenue from account fees. Like traditional firms, robo advisors charge an annual management fee that is usually a percentage rate of current assets under management.
As an investor, selecting and adhering to your chosen asset allocation is job number one. Before you decide to buy an investment, ask yourself, "Will stock XYZ or fund ABC fit into my asset allocation and provide enough potential growth to justify its risk?" If not, it's not the investment for you.
Robo-advisors make money through annual fees, primarily management fees called a wrap fee. The wrap fee covers a percentage of the assets under management (AUM). Compared to a traditional financial advisor, robo-advisors charge lower advisory fees, typically around 0.25%.
