Robos & Wealth

Halo Invest Adviser Gateway is now live, offering advisers a light-touch, client-administrated option to efficiently service customers with more modest assets. The platform, led by CEO Douglas Boyce, has secured its first advice firm client and a strong pipeline of new business for the immediate future. The platform is built to make investing “simpler, fairer and better” through innovative functionality, including a transfer dashboard for advisers to easily check progress for clients and corporate actions that the adviser doesn’t need to respond to individually. It also uses Go Cardless for efficient client money addition. The platform features include onboarding, trading, custody, and reporting, as well as a comprehensive range of investments and wrappers. The senior management team at Halo Invest has close to 200 years of combined experience within financial services, including former Tatton CEO Helen O’Neill, Head of Risk and Compliance Wendy Crawford, and Head of Customer Lynn Johnston. Halo Invest Adviser Gateway represents an evolution rather than a revolution, helping advisers achieve profitability from parts of their client book where it was previously difficult or impossible.

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eToro is launching a suite of AI-tools that will transform social investing by creating a community-built marketplace for investing built on top of eToro’s new public API. This marks a significant leap forward in the democratization of investing, arming retail traders and investors with sophisticated, AI powered capabilities previously only accessible to quantitative hedge funds. The suite of AI-tools will initially be available to eToro’s Popular Investors, a subset of users who are a vetted group of top traders and investors who meet specific criteria and whose investment strategies can be copied by other users via eToro’s patented CopyTrader technology. The key capabilities which will be deployed include the ability to: Develop bespoke trading algorithms and automate strategies; Automate trade execution: AI-driven algorithms to execute trades with precision, minimizing latency and maximizing efficiency; Integrate real-time market data and third-party tools, including backtesting and advanced analytics, to identify trends and opportunities across stocks, crypto, and ETFs, in order to build investment strategies; Personalize portfolio optimization: Tailored recommendations based on risk profiles, market conditions, and user behavior; Create personalized dashboards for monitoring portfolios and market activity including sophisticated risk management tools, powered by AI including Value-at-Risk (VaR) analysis and portfolio stress testing; Interact with eToro’s social feed via customizable boiler plates e.g. rich media posts. eToro’s focus on AI-empowerment, includes the launch of Tori, eToro’s next-gen AI companion. Tori is a powerful AI assistant transforming how users interact with eToro: answering questions, surfacing personalized insights, guiding them across the platform, and helping them better understand the world of investment – all through natural conversation.

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order to clear the way for Americans to invest their retirement savings in private equity, cryptocurrency, real estate and other alternative assets. It’s a big win for the asset industry — giving financial managers access to some of the $12.2 trillion in Americans’ 401(k) and related retirement plans. Private assets can also be more lucrative, and the Trump administration said they can give retirement savers more opportunities. “The theoretical benefits are that everyday Americans can invest in a broader menu of companies,” said Robert Brokamp, a financial planning expert at stock market research company The Motley Fool. But critics say it could put people in danger of losing a huge chunk of their retirement savings. Plus the fees are higher for private assets than for typical 401(k) investments like mutual funds and ETFs. Right now, private equity is technically allowed in retirement plans, but it’s rare — though some companies like BlackRock are planning new offerings. There are ways people can invest in crypto through their 401(k)s, too, but it’s also not common. And many 401(k) recordkeepers don’t support private equity funds yet. The executive order directs the Department of Labor to re-examine its guidance and clarify its position on alternative assets like private market investments, real estate interests and digital assets within 180 days. And it tells the Securities and Exchange Commission to consider ways to facilitate access to alternative assets for plans like 401(k)s. With updated guidance from the government, employers may feel more comfortable adding these alternative assets into their 401(k)s. Many experts say that might not be a good thing. SageMint Wealth managing partner Anh Tran said, “It could be detrimental to less-informed investors whose only investment account is their 401(k).  Without proper guardrails, such as limiting exposure to 5% to 10% of the portfolio, these investors could be exposed to unnecessary risk, misaligned expectations and potentially irreversible losses.” Knut Rostad, co-founder and president of the nonprofit Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, also fears private assets in 401(k)s could put retirement savers at risk of big losses. Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr., president and CEO of SIFMA, said  “Policy changes to expand access to private markets investments — appropriately tailored under ERISA and SEC rules — could serve to improve diversification, democratize access, and offer more investment choices to the benefit of everyday retirement savers.”

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Trump signed an executive order that will make it easier for several alternative investments to be added to 401(k) accounts. The list includes private equity, which was previously reserved for sophisticated investors. It’s a proposal that’s raising red flags among some investment experts, who say a 401(k) should typically be a simple and relatively low-risk investment vehicle. Private equity investments, meanwhile, are often concentrated in a small number of portfolio companies, are less liquid than stocks and bonds, and carry valuations that can be difficult to measure day-to-day. “Private equity kind of always gets what it wants in Congress, but I think it’s a bad idea,” Jeffrey Hooke, professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, said. “It’s illiquid, the fees are very high. Private equity funds, for the most part, don’t beat the stock market.” “I don’t think it’s a good investment for the rank and file retail market,” Hooke added. As higher rates stymie private equity dealmaking, firms are eyeing a liquidity opportunity: gaining access to the $12 trillion 401(k) market. Brian Payne, chief private markets and alternatives strategist at BCA Research, described this development as “an exit ramp for the current situation going on for private equity.” It won’t just be private equity looking for retail exposure — Hooke expects other alternatives like private credit and real estate to follow suit. “It’ll make the retirement plans suboptimal,” Hooke said. “When people retire 20 to 30 years after investing in private equity, returns are going to be a little less than one would expect.” While retirement vehicles typically have longer timelines, reducing the need for immediate liquidity, Payne sees a risk if an economic downturn increases unemployment and forces more people to tap into their 401(k)s. Moody’s Investors Service recently raised a similar concern, noting that retail investor participation in the private markets poses systemic risks. While Payne and Hooke are skeptical about the increased presence of private equity in retail portfolios, it’s unlikely that private equity will comprise a large portion of people’s retirement plans. Experts project around 10% of retirement assets could go toward private equity over time, which means Americans will probably be shielded from dramatic price swings. Glenn Schorr, senior research analyst at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note that corporate sponsors may also be hesitant to invest in private equity vehicles. However, mixing complicated assets like private equity into retirement vehicles is certainly a risky choice.

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Unlike predictive or generative AI, agentic AI can manage and execute end-to-end processes with little to no human interaction, said David Breakstone, managing director at Salesforce. The conversational technology is able to break down large projects into smaller tasks within established guardrails, he said. “Agents can do the jobs that we don’t want to do, and they could deliver instantaneous execution,” he said. Advisors can define which tools the agentic AI should use for problem-solving, said Erik Allison, managing partner of Wealth Vision. This is a step beyond simple workflows, he said. In addition, workflows are usually based around what advisors are currently doing that they want to do quicker, said Geoff Moore, chief information officer of Valmark Financial Group. One area where advisors might see immediate gains is in the life cycle of a prospect to a client in the meeting, said Allison. Once a prospect’s contact information hits the advisor’s CRM, the agentic AI could perform intelligence research by searching public domains such as Google and LinkedIn. Then, an agenda could be automatically prepared before the initial meeting. And after the meeting, a follow-up email could be prepared and sent automatically with bullet points. Due diligence on alternative investments is already being significantly shaved down through the use of agentic AI, said Rob Pettman, president of TIFIN. Advisors have a responsibility to ensure that what comes out of the other end of these tools is accurate, said Allison. This could look less like prompt engineering and more like context engineering, said Moore. One example of what the future could look like is the concept of “vibe coding,” in which natural language prompts are used in the coding process. “We’re putting this technology in the hands of people that have never dealt with some of this stuff,” he said. Even with humans looking over the outputs, agentic AI could serve as an extra review that wasn’t possible before, said Moore. “You’ll be able to cover more cases than you could before, because now it’s with AI and not just a human,” he said. Looking down the road, Moore said he foresees an integrated agentic AI workstation that will serve as a centralized tool that advisors can speak to normally. “They don’t have to be programmers; they can just talk to it,” he said. Pettman said he thought a single-advisor office with no support staff would be a possibility in the future.

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FIS has launched FIS® Investor Services Suite, an end-to-end solution designed to transform the investor servicing landscape for financial institutions, as well as alternative and traditional fund managers. The solution helps optimize end-to-end processing for swift customer onboarding and enhanced investor screening, and will make it possible to automate the investor lifecycle, helping to improve operational efficiency and support the ability of clients to meet their regulatory obligations. The Investor Services Suite, which caters to hedge funds, private equity, hybrid funds, and retail fund structures, can help deliver fast customer onboarding through digital means, including integrations to ID verification systems, to deliver richer client experiences. Customers can customize anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) capabilities, allowing advanced screening and compliance with AML regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions. Additionally, the solution offers functional capabilities to facilitate efficient cash management, and sophisticated fee engines to help provide accurate fee calculations and customizable reporting. By helping fund managers, administrators and private banks modernize their operations, the FIS Investor Services Suite can ultimately benefit end investors by making it possible to enhance transparency, engagement and trust to unlock insights for more informed strategic decisions across the investor lifecycle.

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With Robinhood Retirement, you’ll receive an extra 1% added to your IRA account on eligible contributions up to the annual contribution limit. However, if you’re a Robinhood Gold subscriber, the IRA match is actually 3%. You must stay subscribed to Gold for one year after your first Gold match to keep the full Gold match. Robinhood offers both traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. IRA transfers and rollovers from old 401(k) accounts are also eligible for the 1% match. Note that contributions coming from your Robinhood brokerage account or spending accounts are not eligible. According to Robinhood’s website, once you make a contribution, you should be able to instantly see the match in your account. Robinhood’s IRA match does not count toward your annual IRA contribution limit. Doing the math on the match and contribution limits, a $7,000 yearly contribution would earn up to a $70 match each year, or $210 with Robinhood Gold. An $8,000 annual contribution earns up to an $80 match on top of your contributions, or $240 with Robinhood Gold. You can keep your match if you’ve kept eligible contributions in the IRA for at least 5 years. If you withdraw money from the IRA before 5 years and your remaining balance is the same or higher than your deposit amount that earned the IRA match plus the match amount, the match is yours. Robinhood may charge an early IRA match removal fee if the remaining balance is lower. To play it safe, try to avoid withdrawing money from your IRA. Instead, turn to an emergency savings account if you need to access cash for an unforeseen circumstance.

• Pros: No management or commission fees; IRA match available, which is uncommon for IRA accounts; Customizes users’ recommended portfolios around user responses to a questionnaire; Traditional IRA and Roth IRA accounts available; SPIC coverage of up to $500,000
• Cons: Limited investment options; Retirement investment recommendations are not available to residents of Massachusetts

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Orion, a premier provider of transformative wealthtech solutions powering the growth of financial advisors and the enterprise firms that serve them, and GiftingNetwork, provider of comprehensive philanthropic solutions, announced an integration partnership that empowers Orion advisors to offer personalized, white-labeled donor-advised fund (DAF) solutions that drive deeper family engagement, align wealth with values, and retain assets across generations. Unlike traditional DAF offerings, GiftingNetwork enables Orion advisors to create their own firm-branded DAF experience, backed by a growing network of DAF sponsors and charities and supported by cutting-edge, mobile-first technology. Advisors gain full control over the philanthropic journey, offering clients a values-based extension of their financial plan with potential tax benefits, such as donating appreciated assets without incurring capital gains taxes and securing immediate charitable deductions. Orion advisors can now launch white-labeled DAFs, facilitate multigenerational giving conversations, and serve nonprofit clients with tailored capabilities. These offerings further Orion’s commitment to delivering modern portfolio impact, combining behavioral finance, risk management, and personalized planning to align portfolios with each client’s goals, values, and emotional drivers. GiftingNetwork’s platform combines intuitive donor experiences with advisor-facing reporting dashboards, grant workflows, and philanthropic consulting. GiftingNetwork is part of Orion’s Premier Partnership Program, a strategic initiative to collaborate with select industry leaders to deliver cutting-edge solutions for advisors.

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AdvisorCheck announced the broad availability of AdvisorCheck Essentials, the first free monitoring service that continuously tracks a financial advisor’s professional status and delivers key updates directly to investors via email. By signing up and following any advisor, Essentials enables anyone to stay informed about any changes without the need to manually search government regulatory tools. With AdvisorCheck Essentials, investors receive monthly alerts that track changes to an advisor’s license status, firm affiliation, or disciplinary history. The service helps consumers navigate the maze of outdated tools, fragmented data, and upfront manual costs that have become standard in the investor-advisor marketplace. Consumers are given a simple way to maintain oversight of one of their most critical professional relationships, and the peace of mind that comes with it. Essentials is part of AdvisorCheck’s broader mission to make ongoing advisor oversight effortless and accessible. For investors who want deeper insights, faster notifications, and expanded firm monitoring, AdvisorCheck offers Premium, which builds on Essentials with more frequent alerts, expanded data sources, and firm-level monitoring capabilities.

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Robinhood expanded its AI-powered investment tool to UK customers, giving retail investors access to automated summaries that explain why stocks are moving. The feature, called Digests by Robinhood Cortex, uses artificial intelligence to scan breaking news, analyst reports, technical data and the company’s internal trading information. It then produces plain-English explanations for stock price movements that appear directly on individual stock pages within the app. UK customers can access Digests at no additional cost when the rollout completes. Robinhood positions Digests as an educational tool rather than investment advice. The summaries aim to help users understand market dynamics and form their own investment opinions before making trades. “We believe our UK customers, from first-time investors to seasoned traders, will appreciate the timely, accessible summaries that highlight what may be moving a stock,” said Jordan Sinclair, President at Robinhood UK. The AI assistant analyzes multiple data streams simultaneously, including news reports, analyst coverage, technical indicators and proprietary trading data from Robinhood’s platform. Users can  find these summaries by navigating to any supported stock’s detail page within the mobile app. At launch, Digests covers many of the most actively traded stocks on Robinhood’s UK platform. The company plans to expand coverage and introduce additional AI-powered features over time.

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