Skeptics say pure robo-advisors will have limited medium-term success; adding successful robo-advisors also have a traditional advisor element, while platforms focused more on the consumer side have plateaued. The company has raised $45 million in venture funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and General Catalyst, according to Crunchbase. Two of the biggest robo-advisers, Wealthfront and Betterment, each with about $2.6 billion in assets under management, are safe for now, many say, mostly because their valuations are too rich for a firm to easily buy them. Will it go the Betterment route of creating an institutional platform, succumb to the current trend and be acquired by a traditional or try to go it alone?
Skeptics say pure robo-advisors will have limited medium-term success; adding successful robo-advisors also have a traditional advisor element, while platforms focused more on the consumer side have plateaued. The company has raised $45 million in venture funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and General Catalyst, according to Crunchbase. Will it go the Betterment route of creating an institutional platform, succumb to the current trend and be acquired by a traditional or try to go it alone?