What Is Robo Investing And Why It Might Be Right For You?

April 29, 2022
Investing app

Investing doesn’t have to be difficult, in fact it’s an easy as just tapping your phone. No longer is it just for the super wealthy with triple digits who go to swanky firms in London. Robo investing has made the landscape really accessible.

I’ve said it plenty of times before but investing is super important, especially for longer term savings. Whether that’s through a pension, a stocks and share ISA or robo investing. And with inflation so high at the moment investing may be the only way of having money in the bank that isn’t losing value. Although of course investments come with their own risks.

What is Robo Investing?

Robo Investing – also known as robo-advisors- are automated investment platforms that invest on your behalf. These platforms provide automated financial services driven by an algorithm with little to no human help. Generally robo investing platforms will collect information about you, your financial situation, appetite for risk etc through a survey and use this data to make investment choices.

Robo investing is a form of passive investing as you don’t have a person managing your day-to-day investment and making decisions on your behalf.

The history of robo investing

The first robo advisor, Betterment, launched in 2008 and started taking investor money in 2010 at the height of the Great Recession. If you don’t remember this period then you’re probably under the age of 30. It’s first purpose was as a way for investors to manage passive, buy-and-hold investments through a simple online interface. This wasn’t a new concept as wealth managers had been using automated portfolio software since the early 2000s. But until 2008 they were the only ones who could buy the technology. So you needed a financial advisor to be able to use the technology.

The industry has a changed a lot since then as the technology can be used directly by consumers through robo investing. The industry has experienced huge growth as a result with more people investing than ever before. Client assets managed by robo-advisors hit nearly $1 trillion in 2020, with the expectation of reaching $2.9 trillion worldwide by 2025.

The pros of robo investing

They’re accessible

There are so many investment platforms out there that investing has become accessible to everyone. Unlike more traditional investment services that target wealthy people with lots of money, robo investing platforms let you start in seconds with as much money as you like, whether it’s £1 or £100,000.Plus unlike people who would work set hours, robo advisors are available anytime you have an internet connection.

They make investing affordable

If your opting for a traditional wealth management service, or anything actively managed, fees are likely to be quite high. This is because a person has been employed to oversee your investments and monitor the market. Robo investing platforms use predominately computers to look at market data, although this could be alongside a small team. So this means costs and fees associated with these platforms are relatively low.

By eliminating human labor you can expect to be charged an annual flat fee of around 0.2-0.5%. This compares to a typical rate of 1-2% for human financial planners.

The platforms are easy to use

You don’t need to know a lot about investing or finances to use a robo investing platform. The robot experts will do all of the hard work for you, from building a plan and making changes that may be needed.

Investing

The cons of robo investing

You can’t choose your own investments

Typically these platforms don’t give you a bespoke plan so you can’t choose your own investments. Instead the algorithm will choose where your money is investments. But this isn’t to say you have no choice or input. You can choose which investment product to get including Stocks & Shares ISAs and ethical plans. Or if you’re investing for a child: Junior Stocks and Shares ISAs.

You can also pick the risk level that suits you as well. The experts will build you a plan with investments suitable to your risk appetite, and you can change it if your situation or mindset changes.

They’re not financial planners or advisors

Most robo investing services can’t give advice or tell you whats best in your financial situation, or even what types of investments are best for you. You’d need to go to a proper financial advisor to get this sort of advice. Robo investing is a great way to get a taste of the investment world, especially if you’re just starting out/ want to stay small with your investments.

Some of the platforms available

There are lots of different robo investing platforms out there, so you probably want to look around and see what’s best for you. Some of the offers out there include:

Do you use a robo investing platform?

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15 comments so far.

15 responses to “What Is Robo Investing And Why It Might Be Right For You?”

  1. Art Activism says:

    I am down with anything that would facilitate investing for me. Investing is complicated to me and keeps on evolving.

  2. Carleen says:

    I wasn’t even aware this existed! It sounds convenient and affordable, but I’m not sure I want to give up control of picking my investments.

  3. Talya Stone says:

    This sounds really interesting. I want to get into investing but I really have no idea what I am doing so this would be absolutely perfect for me. Off to investigate further!

  4. Joyce K. says:

    I’ve never heard of Robo investing so this was such an informational and interesting article. Definitely going to learn more about it.

  5. Indu says:

    Interesting read. Curious to know more on Robo Investing.

  6. Phoebe says:

    Very timely! I’m just beginning to take investing more seriously and this is a great article for a beginner like me

  7. Melanie williams says:

    This is all new to me. I have actually considered investing, but really have no idea, so this could certainly be of interest x

  8. Natasha Mairs says:

    I have no idea about investing, so something like this would be useful if I ever decided to look into it.

  9. Tammy says:

    Sounds like a very interesting concept and one I should definitely research more into. Investing can be so intimidating but definitely some worth getting into. Thanks for sharing!

  10. Risa Lopez says:

    That sound interesting. I am thinking of ways to invest and I think this is a great idea.

  11. Yeah Lifestyle says:

    Robo investing platform is not something I have used before but I do love simple platforms which allows me to invest a small amount at a time

  12. Jupiter Hadley says:

    What an interesting concept! I do like that you have some control, but a lot of the actual investing is just automatic. Sounds like a good balance.

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Rhian Westbury

Mid 30s content creator, freelance writer, and lover of saving money. This site is full of ramblings about the best ways to budget your finances and make them work harder for you, and renovating our home.

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