The robo-adviser of robo-advisers The story of robo-advisers is an old one, or so thinks Lex Deak, serial entrepreneur and creator of a new breed of online wealth management tool. Deak, who was the brains behind the launch of peer-to-peer lending aggregator Off3r, is rolling out a new online service that he claims will bring web-based investment to the masses and “battle the bias and bullshit that has dogged the investment sector for decades”. The new service, called Personal Investment Assistant — or Your Pia — uses artificial intelligence to help investors sift through a range of robo-advisers, wealth management platforms and IFA networks. It will also allow them to determine the best brokers to trade with, depending on their preferred asset class — including crypto currencies. Education will form a key component of the service, which is due to launch in the autumn. Deak argues that existing content designed to inform investors is either biased or unavailable to access in one place. “What we are building is engaging content. If you are a millennial the content is likely to be shorter but if a baby boomer slightly formal,” he said. Big names on the board Todd Ruppert, the former president and chief executive of T Rowe Price — who is no stranger to backing fintech start-ups — is taking a seat on the Pia board. He will be joined by Daniel Sauva, head of creative and buzz at money transfer service TransferWise, and Nigel Webber, who was global chief investment officer at HSBC Private Banking. Gayle Schumacher, a Coutts executive, is taking a seat, too. Throwing artificial intelligence into the mix is an interesting move. Deak claims that technology could prove more reliable than a traditional financial adviser. “Should I trust a human to have comprehensive real time cross-asset knowledge without any bias?” asks Deak. Fintech Files’ view It remains to be seen just how successful this launch will be. Despite the flurry of chatter and marketing activity, most robo-advisers and online wealth platforms are just about surviving — and none are bringing in the big bucks. Even one of the most prominent, Nutmeg, in which UK asset manager Schroders holds a stake, is yet to make a profit. But by aggregating existing online platforms and product providers in one place, perhaps Deak’s efforts could see the emergence of something brand new: the first robo-adviser of robo-advisers — and one of these, at least, might turn a profit. _________________________________________________ #Swapping blockchain for baby Yolanda will be on maternity leave from January 22, 2018 and looks forward to reconnecting in the summer to talk all things fintech/regtech. Have a good story to share in the meantime? Contact the FN news desk via news@efinancialnews.com-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #ICO of the Week Bitcar is the first platform to enable the trading of fractions of exotic cars using crytpo. The founders say owners can peg their currencies to hard assets in times of volatility (i.e. not a techno scrapyard). Sale now open. #Social Media Outburst of the Week Pascal Bouvier, CFA venture partner, Santander InnoVentures Thought experiment: imagine how investment banking will look like +10 years from now? probably nothing like it is now and with different actors. tokenized assets, ICOs, AI, automation... will ensure a different market structure. #Required Reading Nomura has followed the wealth management route, with the purchase of a Hong Kong-based robo adviser for $25.4m, Finews.Asia reports. Others looking to consumer and retail finance for growth are investors such as tennis champ Andy Murray — hoping to make a "return" from some "winners" in UK fintech, Forbes reports. But while money seemed to be pouring in to other areas of finance last year, according to consulting firm BCG, capital market fintech ventures attracted less than half the equity they did in 2015 or 2016. Just $570m was committed to this part of the sector, FT writes. Across the channel, La France is upping its fintech game. Or rather across the Atlantic, the French government has been setting out the country's stall as somewhere investors keen to get into the sector should be looking — Crowdfund Insider reports. Not to be outdone, London's morning free-sheet City Am urged the capital's fintech sector to find its own Google and take on Silicon Valley — and now, presumably, Paris. Maybe the big banks with their innovation and tech labs have been just a distraction? Business Matters has set out how fintech is changing the landscape for its readers — SMEs. It could mean big business (groan). Back to capital markets, but staying small, Chinese insurer Ping An is considering listing its OneConnect unit, that sells technology platforms to relatively minor banks, FT reports. For banks of all sizes and stripes, some think fintech could be used to reboot the beleaguered libor, Risk writes. It's been mooted before... Finally, we head to the US, where the Government Accountability Office published a 136 page report on fintech that was presented to Congress. Forbes read through it, so you (and we) don't have to. You have been subscribed to FN's The Fintech Files newsletter To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email David Ricketts
Lex Deak, the entrepreneur behind peer-to-peer lending platform Off3r, has founded Your Pia, a service using artificial intelligence to scan robo-advisers on behalf of investors. The service aims to give investors insight into the best platforms to use depending on their asset class preferences. Your Pia will launch this autumn. The firm will have Todd Rupert, former CEO of T Rowe Price, Daniel Sauva, head of creative at fintech TransferWise, and Nigel Webber, former CIO at HSBC Private Banking, will sit on the start-up's board.