Group items tagged

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

Given the different attitudes of investors toward digitalization, robo-advising can be segmented into two main sectors. The first one is pure robo-advising, which is completely free from human intervention in the advisory process. This results in considerably lower fees compared to traditional advisory services, attracting lower-income clientele. As reported by Ringe and Ruof (2018), pure RAs charged fees ranging between 0.4% (US market) and 0.8% (European markets), compared to human financial advising costing circa 1–2%. Pure RAs have become quite popular due to their propensity to avoid conflict of interests due to automation. Fisch et al. (2017) highlight that RAs are less exposed to conflict of interests due to their higher independence, smaller bias to recommend actively managed funds that generate commissions as a potential additional expense, more transparent cost structures, lower minimum investment requirements, and 24/7 availability.

Robo fees can range from zero — if the investor has less than $10,000 to invest — to as high as 0.89% of assets under $1 million in some cases, said Brett Hammond, research leader of Capital Group. But 0.25% to 0.30% of assets is more typical, he added. (The fee is on top of the cost of the investment itself.) As for performance, it’s a mixed bag with some robos doing better than others, Hammond said. The big question is how they will do in the long run, especially during a big market crash, since they don’t have an extended track record yet. “We don’t know in a complete cycle what these [robos] are going to deliver,” he said. “The real issue is, does it improve outcomes?”

The start-up provides access to truck delivery services and real-time market information via SMS and IVR. Building on this platform, AgroCenta now enables farmers to receive mobile money, build their credit score and access financial services (like crop insurance) through its latest mobile product, AgroPay.

In a country where agriculture is the primary economic occupation of many — employing 52 per cent of Ghana’s labour force — the AgriTech start-up launched AgroTrade, an online platform that connects smallholder farmers in the staple food value chain to a wider online market.

In Ghana, AgroCenta has set up a mobile money API integration partnership with MTN and Vodafone to pay smallholder farmers directly and seamlessly via mobile money through its AgroPay platform.

tact Us

WorldCover was founded to address the last-mile transfer of these kinds of risk by powering a climate risk marketplace initially targeted at the ag sector. In emerging markets (starting with SSA), WorldCover connects farmers (and ag parties exposed to climatic risks) with climate risk investors. Through its risk transfer platform, the company offers farmers protection against natural disasters and phenomena that negatively affect their crop yields, while giving risk investors the desired diversification of their risk portfolios and offering uncorrelated investment returns. For the farmers, insurance cover provided through WorldCover safeguards their livelihoods and, as studies have shown, gives farmers the confidence to further invest in their farms, unlocks access to credit and other services, and ultimately produces more income for them and their community.