Robo-Advisor
The market for robo-advisors will see compounded growth of 68 percent over the next five years, according to a forecast by international consultancy AT Kearney. By 2020, global assets under management by roboadvisors will exceed US$2.2 trillion. CFP China is to become the world’s largest robo-advisor market thanks to its growing middle class and the popularity of the mobile internet, according to a report released by CreditEase Corp and Bloomberg LP. Robo-advisors first appeared in the United States as an online wealth management service providing automated, algorithmbased portfolio advice without input from a human financial planner. With the help of the internet, a robo-advisor can serve more people for lower rates. It works 24 hours a day free of emotion and more efficiently than human consultants.
“With fast-paced urbanization and widespread higher education, China’s new middle class is growing quickly, which has been a key factor in China becoming the largest robo-advisor market in the near future,” remarked Wang Fuxing, managing director at CreditEase Wealth Management Co Ltd.
In contrast with older definitions, the “new middle class” in China refers to those who are familiar with the internet and good at improving their abilities using various high-tech products. This group, mostly well-educated and residing in big cities, is more likely than others to learn about asset allocation. China will be home to 300-500 million middleclass people in the next five to 10 years, the report predicts.