Nowadays, the presence of robots can be seen and felt in most activities of human life, from running an airport to making meals. A number of banks have just used robots to help in finances. Recently, Bank of America joined the group.
According to Gizmodo, the Bank of America wants to use robots as financial advisers through online or mobile apps. These robo-advisers will be using algorithms that will provide clients investment advice with little human contact.
Bank of America plans to make this newest service public soon. "Automated investment prototype" is scheduled be rolled out next year and algorithmic advising will be offered to accounts less than $250,000.
Some banks may not be so open about the idea and think that their clients will feel uncomfortable trusting one's cash or finances to a robot, but more banks are keen to the idea of using robots to help them provide an excellent service to their clients.
The spokeswoman of the Bank of America, Anne Pace said, "Bank of America sees an opportunity for a robo-advised offering that could complement the advice and guidance offered by our financial solutions advisers."
And it's not only Bank of America that sees potential in robo-advisers. Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are also interested in human-free financial advising. The reason why more financial institutions are considering "robo-advisers" is because they want to cut operation costs. The biggest expense at any firms, mainly security firms, is people. They also want to tap a new market that prefers a more technology enabled service.
In 2012, people and institutions were not interested with this system but experts predict that by the end of 2016 it will boom. It is estimated that over $300 billion in assets could be handled by robo-advisers. And by 2020 it will be $2.2 trillion. This information is projected by a consulting firm, A.T. Kearney. Who would have thought "robo-advising" is growing?
Reports from Bloomberg Business said that human advisers will still be needed to manage more complicated situations with some clients. For example, tax advice and estate planning.
