Robo trends — Short Silos, Long real-time integrated workflows & personalization

Backend Benchmarking quarterly Robo report is a classic for me and I watch for it religiously (this is the 18th edition). With so much consolidation in this Fintech subsector during 2020, with no IPOs or SPACs, one would think that it is a relatively boring subsector and consider the Robo report a business-as-usual update of numbers and rankings.

The reality is that the `Robo market` has gone beyond its first stage of offering a few model portfolios, automating investment processes and reducing costs. Several companies now offer banking features and others have added advice planning apps.

Examples of Banking features from standalone Robos:

• Betterment Everyday
• Wealthfront Cash
• Wealthsimple Cash
• Ellevest’s Money Membership

Bofa is an example of integrating their personal financial management offering with their investment offering.

Examples of advice planning features:

• Bank of America launch of the Life Plan
• Schwab launch of the Schwab Plan
• Fidelity launch of the Fidelity Spire