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Will the Robo-Advisor Model be Clutch in a Downturn?

The next financial crash will be the acid test for the relationship between
retail investors and robo-advisors.

The market has crashed and your robo-advisor is offline. What next? Broadridge’s Donna Bristow says communication will be vital, fearing some robo-only retail investors will panic and sell, bringing the market down even further.

In a recent interview with Wealth Professional Canada, Donna discusses the benefits of integrating an advisor with technology such as Alexa to provide a sanity check during turbulent markets. According to Donna, an investor should be able to wake up, make a cup of coffee and ask Alexa how their portfolio is doing. In a market plunge, Alexa might tell them it’s down 20 percent, but crucially, with a reassuring message from their advisor telling them not to worry based upon their current portfolio construction. 

Donna also noted that this tech-first way of reaching out to clients is at the core of how advisors should approach capturing the next wave of investors ahead of what is being coined the greatest generational wealth transfer. Advisors need to expand their relationships with current customers and introduce themselves to the next generation of wealth "heirs" (i.e., their app-obsessed children) or risk losing those assets later on.

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