Victor Tiberius, Robin Gojowy, Marina Dabic

• Robo advisors represent a digital financial advice solution challenging traditional wealth and asset management, investment advice, retirement planning, and tax-loss harvesting. Based on algorithms, big data analysis, machine learning, and other technologies, these services minimize the necessity for human intervention. Based on an international three-stage Delphi study, we provide a plausible forecast of the development of the robo advisor industry, with regards to market development, competition, drivers of growth, customer segments, challenges, services, technologies, and societal change. The results suggest that the financial advice market will experience a further increase in the number of robo advisor services available. Existing and traditional financial advice players will be forced to adjust to the changing environment of the market. Due to low fees and ease of use, robo advisors will be made available to a broad cross section of society, and will cause significant market losses for traditional investment advice companies.Robo advisors represent a digital financial advice solution challenging traditional wealth and asset management, investment advice, retirement planning, and tax-loss harvesting. Based on algorithms, big data analysis, machine learning, and other technologies, these services minimize the necessity for human intervention. Based on an international three-stage Delphi study, we provide a plausible forecast of the development of the robo advisor industry, with regards to market development, competition, drivers of growth, customer segments, challenges, services, technologies, and societal change. The results suggest that the financial advice market will experience a further increase in the number of robo advisor services available. Existing and traditional financial advice players will be forced to adjust to the changing environment of the market. Due to low fees and ease of use, robo advisors will be made available to a broad cross section of society, and will cause significant market losses for traditional investment advice companies. Ten years from now, the predominant investment class will remain Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Even though degrees of human intervention are expected to vary considering the complexity of advice, automation will increase in significance when it comes to the development of robo advisors.…