The regulation of online advisors, often referred to as
"robo-advisors", continues to be a hot topic in the
financial services industry. Online advisors are digital wealth
managers which generate investment recommendations and
automatically invest and rebalance funds based on an investor's
risk tolerance. The low cost of online advisors and their
widespread online availability have made their offerings
particularly attractive to investors between the ages of 18-34
– i.e. millennials.
The transformative potential of online advisors in the wealth
management industry has international scope. Regulators around the
world have taken notice. In principle, regulators have suggested that the
registerable activity of investment selection and delivery of
investment recommendations or asset allocation models is
technology-neutral. This means that the same registration, know
your customer (KYC), and information requirements of traditional
wealth managers also apply to online
