The company said the new solution is available to consumers at no cost and provides “simple, smart investing” advice.
ifa reported in March that Infocus had moved to launch a robo-advice tool after observing successful companies in the US that were providing both automated and face-to-face advice.
In a statement issued yesterday, Infocus chief executive and managing director Rod Bristow said earnie.com.au is not intended to replace human advice.
“Around 80 per cent of the Australian population don’t currently receive financial advice. We are really excited to be launching earnie.com.au today to help bridge this gap,” he said.
“Robo-advice (or more accurately, direct-to-consumer advice) is not about replacing financial advisers, who play a critical role in helping consumers understand and meet their financial goals.
“It’s about offering more Australians choice in the way they engage with advice.”
The new solution will enable users to manage their own investments and seek advice initially through a live chat. It is supported by Morningstar methodology and Praemium investing technology.
Infocus advisers can also use earnie.com.au to explain advice concepts to their clients, the statement said.
“Introducing earnie.com.au complements our existing financial advice operations, which include an extensive national network of financial advisers operating in all states and Territories except Tasmania and the NT,” Mr Bristow said.
Praemium chief executive Michael Ohanessian said: “We are delighted to be extending our relationship with Infocus.
“The combination of Infocus’ quality advice, Morningstar’s direct-to-consumer methodology and Praemium’s robust and sophisticated technology will make it easy for first-time investors to engage meaningfully with financial planning.”
What will be more interesting is how they fare after the ‘big downturn’ in equities that is coming. The robo algorithms load up young investors with equities (80-90%) and most robo clients are young investors and thus highly vulnerable to having their early savings wiped out. It is actually the rationale robo-advisers count on…that they’re young enough to recover after they lose half their money. The clients of robo-advisers will be this year’s lambs to the slaughter.
It will be interesting to see how long it takes these guys to go broke, as a lot of robo operations in the US have gone bankrupt. Nothing is for free