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Shortcomings of Robo-Advisors The entry of robo-advisors has broken down some of the traditional barriers between the financial services world and average consumers. Because of these online platforms, sound financial planning is now accessible to everyone, not just high-net-worth individuals. Still, many in the industry have doubts about the viability of robos as a one-size-fits-all solution to wealth management. Given the relative nascency of their technological capabilities and minimal human presence, robo-advisors have been criticized for lacking in empathy and sophistication. They are good entry-level tools for people with small accounts and limited investment experience, namely millennials, but are far from sufficient for those who need advanced services like estate planning, complicated tax management, trust fund administration, and retirement planning. Automated services are also ill-equipped to deal with unexpected crises or extraordinary situations. For instance, if a young person's parents passed away and he/she receives an inheritance, going online to a robo-advisor to manage the money is probably not the optimal decision. In fact, a study conducted by Investopedia and the Financial Planning Association found that consumers prefer a combination of human and technological guidance, especially when times are rough. According to the report, 40% of participants said they would not be comfortable using an automated investing platform during extreme market volatility. Furthermore, robo-advisors operate on the assumption that clients have defined goals and a clear understanding of their financial circumstances, to begin with. For many, that is not the case. Answering questions like, "Is your risk tolerance low, moderate, or high?" presupposes the user has a fundamental knowledge of investment concepts and the real-life implications of each option they choose.

investment brokerage (german: Anlagenvermittlung),investment advice (Anlagenberatung),acquisition brokerage (Abschlussvermittlung), as well asfinancial portfolio management (Finanzportfolioverwaltung), also known as asset management.

Robo-advisors can follow an active or passive investment approach not only in terms of their product range, but also in the composition of the individual products. In active management, for example, the market is constantly monitored and, on the basis of this, the securities that appear to be most advantageous at a given time are included in the portfolio. This targeted approach is described as so-called “stock picking” (see [Müller/Pester 2019, 229f]). Due to market fluctuations, there are thus regular purchases and sales of securities with the aim of achieving a higher return than the passive market. In the course of this, the percentage distribution of the asset classes in the portfolio can also be continuously adjusted and regular risk assessments carried out. As a result, the portfolio may be subject to constant change. The passive management approach is based on the strategy of maintaining the portfolio created at the beginning, including the asset allocation and the defined securities, unchanged and independent of market fluctuations. If a change in asset allocation should occur due to market fluctuations, the original state can be restored through various adjustment methods, also called “rebalancing”. In contrast to active management, this adjustment is not carried out on an ongoing basis, but at predetermined times or according to specific rules. In so-called “periodic rebalancing”, a restoration of the asset allocation is carried out as needed at the time of a previously defined temporal interval change. Another variant of rebalancing provides for an adjustment only if the portfolio value exceeds or falls below a previously defined mark, the threshold