How reliable are robo-advisors?
A robo-advisor can be a good choice when you're starting out and just looking for a simple way to begin growing your wealth. However, as your net worth improves and your situation becomes more complex, you might need to consider turning to a human financial advisor to help you navigate your financial future.
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.
Limited Flexibility. If you want to sell call options on an existing portfolio or buy individual stocks, most robo-advisors won't be able to help you. There are sound investment strategies that go beyond an investing algorithm.
Create Complex Financial Plans
Robo-advisors lack the ability to do complex financial planning that brings together your estate, tax, and retirement goals. They also cannot take into account your insurance, general budgeting, and savings needs.
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.
Digital Advisor Use Dropped in 2022
High-net-worth investors exited robo-advisor arrangements at the highest rates.
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.
Investing always carries some level of risk, and Robo-Advisors are not a guarantee against investment losses. While Robo-Advisors are designed to prudently invest, they are not immune to market fluctuations or investment losses.
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.
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.
Should I use a robo-advisor or do it myself?
Some robo-advisors offer tax loss harvesting, options to talk to human advisors, mobile 24/7/365 access via smartphone and other features. Robo-advisors cost less than financial advisors. Robo-advisor annual fees average about 0.50% of assets under management, while human advisors often charge from 1% to 2%.
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.
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.
Fidelity's robo-advisor, Fidelity Go, frequently makes our list of the best robo-advisor for its low fees — including free management on balances below $25,000 — integration with other Fidelity accounts and its use of Fidelity Flex funds, which have no expense ratios.
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.
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.
Funds' expense ratios: The robo-advisor will invest your money in various funds that also charge fees based on your assets. The fees can vary widely, but across a portfolio they typically range from 0.05 percent to 0.25 percent, costing $5 to $25 annually for every $10,000 invested, though some funds may cost more.
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.
Financial Planning
While many robo-advisors attempt to provide education and advice through their platforms, they're unable to evaluate your bigger financial picture or make personalized recommendations. Financial advisors work with you to develop holistic plans to meet all of your financial goals.
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.
Are robo-advisors worth it for beginners?
And they will automatically adjust your portfolio based on these over time. Because there isn't an advisor's salary to pay, robo-advisors charge a fraction of the management fee of traditional financial advisors. By nature, most robo-advisors are appropriate for beginners.
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%.
Target Demographic
For robo-advisors, these include Millennial and Generation Z investors who are technology-savvy and still accumulating their investable assets.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has regularly recommended an S&P 500 index fund.
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.
