Robo advisors and access to wealth management

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Reher, Michael; Sokolinski, Stanislav
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California San Diego; Michigan State University; Michigan State University's Broad College of Business
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2024.103829
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: FinTech; FINANCIAL ADVICE; Portfolio delegation; INEQUALITY

摘要

We investigate how access to robo-advisors impacts the financial investment and welfare of less-wealthy investors. We leverage a quasi-experiment where a major U.S. robo-advisor significantly expands access by reducing its account minimum, increasing participation by middle-class investors but not the poor. A benchmark model calibrated to portfolio-level data rationalizes this increase: middle-class investors want sophisticated investing but cannot achieve it themselves. Their welfare rises moderately, driven by advanced features like multi-dimensional glide-paths and additional priced risk factors. Middle-age investors gain three times more than millennials. Our results reveal novel margins of demand for robo-advisors, helping explain their sustained growth.