How Vanguard Group's robo-countering effort got to $1.3 billion of AUM so easily and why its future seems bright
Executed almost shyly, the hints-of-vanilla Malvern indexing giant is the unlikely Silicon Valley nemesis in automated services
J. L. Livermore
Michael et. al.
I really like the robo advisors. While they last in their current form they will be the great educators of the masses and our market. The lesson learned for John Q. Public will be: “Wow I just lost X% of my portfolio! I have no clue what I am doing. I need to find a real advisor.” Institutional players and larger firms with robo-like capabilities and marketing will benefit and I suspect will pick up those savvy enough to figure out that managing your own money is a lot of work – a full-time job in some cases.
JLL
LCD
I have been following this money flow from VC’s to on line services all the way back to Cha Ching? which now is Wealthfront and as I saw all these platforms switch to ETF portfolios I just kept thinking what are they doing that Vanguard couldn’t do as well and probably cheaper. Little did I know they were already in the game. Brand, reputation, low cost, huge advertising budget, no burn rate to worry about and $1.3 B in the pilot phase, let me say that again in the pilot phase. If I were a robo advisor I would be worried, very worried as there are only so many silicon valley techs to become clients. LCD
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The RIA firehose of news is rife with tactical moves to shore up voids, play catchup and react to a new concept of political tailwinds
January 11, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Betterment whistleblowers net $2.5 million • Wealthfront's big pivot leads to profits • Altruist launches tax service • CMOs in at Ascensus, Wealthspire & Joe Duran's Rise • Savvy bags four advisors as Mariner sues it for poaching • Jim Dickson launches RIA stake buyer
Betterment is also bending to RIA needs • Wealthfront is in the black, thanks to cash • Altruist reveals where it makes its money • Rise, Wealthspire and Ascensus each add two executives • Compound hits $2 billion of AUM • CAIS slashes alts prices • BlackRock ups private debt sales to RIAs, through GeoWealth.
June 29, 2024 at 3:00 AM
Jon Stein ousts himself as Betterment CEO and taps Sarah Levy, who joins an exclusive club of top women executives, with a mission -- an IPO
The co-founder of the New York robo-advisor headhunted the ex-Viacom brass through Harvard professors on the down low to ostensibly scale operations.
December 8, 2020 at 5:27 PM
Karin Risi, who built $170-billion Vanguard Personal Advisor Services, takes new role and Matt Benchener is taking her spot as head of US retail for the $6.3 trillion manager
Risi now heads planning and still directly reports to CEO Tim Buckley and her 34 year-old understudy, Benchener gets her job at year's end.
December 4, 2020 at 2:56 AM
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