Robo advisors are just the tip of the iceberg. “Learning algorithms trade against one another in the stock market. Last May, a Hong Kong venture fund named Deep Knowledge Ventures appointed an algorithm to its board, voting on investment decisions alongside the five human directors, according to Business Insider.”
As businesses evolve and include these models in their decision making the ETF industry and broader markets will develop with it. ETFs can be engineered to use factors both quantitative and qualitative to rebalance portfolios optimally.
The biggest disruption may end up being to how we buy ETFs in the first place. Right now you have the ability to use robo advisors to help you make investing decisions. But what if your robo advisor was actually…you? Investors who have no time to verse themselves in the trade that financial advisors cut their teeth in will be able to instruct their digital model to be constantly learning ETF strategies, monitoring the market, and leveraging portfolio construction techniques to recommend what you should do. Or your digital model can go to market for you and interview digital models of advisors so that the way you choose and interact with your advisor is completely revolutionized.
The article ends with a provocative thought, “Eventually, your model will be like your best friend, but with infinitely more patience. What will you ask it? You might not like some of its answers, but that would be all the more reason to ponder them. Your model—your digital half—might even help you become a better person.”