Just over half (53%) of retail investors would consider using a robo-adviser platform, according to new research from Nucoro, a B2B fintech providing Wealth Management as a Service solutions.
Some 60% of male investors and 47% of female investors would consider using robo-advisers, respectively.
The findings also revealed a huge disparity between investors of different ages and their views on robo-investment platforms. 76% of retail investors interviewed aged between 18 and 24 would feel comfortable using them, compared to only 32% of those aged 65 and over.
| UK retail investors by age group | Percentage that would feel comfortable using a robo-adviser |
| 18 – 24 | 76% |
| 25 – 34 | 71% |
| 35 – 44 | 66% |
| 45-54 | 57% |
| 55- 64 | 44% |
| 65 and over | 32% |
When it comes to what stage of the investment process retail investors would most like to speak to a person/adviser, 51% chose during the explanation of fees and charges. This is followed by 43% who want to have a better understanding of the performance of their investments.
| At what stage in the process of using an investment service do you feel the need to speak to a human adviser? | Percentage of UK retail investors |
| Explaining fees and charges | 51% |
| Understanding the performance of my investments | 43% |
| Selecting investment products | 36% |
| Defining my investment goals | 28% |
| Tax wrappers and reporting taxes | 25% |
| Investment methodology explanation | 24% |
Nikolai Hack, the COO and UK MD of Nucoro commented:
“Robo-advice platforms are a relatively new development in the wealth management sector and are clearly set for strong growth, which in many cases will be driven by younger investors.
However, robo-advisers clearly need to provide service levels around several issues important to investors, and in some cases, this could mean providing access to human advisers.
Increasingly, success in wealth management will come down to the technology and digital proposition that providers can offer their clients around all aspects of how they manage their investments. Because of their legacy systems, more IFAs and wealth managers will need to outsource these areas of their operations to specialist third parties like us. That’s why we offer internal automation solutions, as well as the external digital experiences, to provide a comprehensive and flexible set of routes to effective digitalisation for wealth managers.”
