Goldman Plans To Launch Robo Adviser Next Year

Goldman Sachs is planning to launch digital wealth management services to customers with as little as $5,000 in 2020.

The company is also planning to launch a robo adviser next year, offering a solution for clients with as little as “$5,000, $10,000 or $15,000” to invest, Joe Duran, founder of the United Capital wealth management firm that Goldman acquired earlier this year, told The Financial Times. While the minimum investment hasn’t been finalized yet, it will be “significantly lower” than Goldman’s traditional accounts.

“It’s a pipeline for future clients,” said Duran, adding that the robo adviser would start out with clients “with low complexity, not that much in assets.”

He admitted that his company’s integration with Goldman was happening “a lot quicker than I would have guessed” and there is now a bigger opportunity than the original goal of doubling its $25 billion of assets under management within three years. He explained that United Capital has already carried out trials with clients found through Ayco, Goldman’s employee financial counselling service.

“We’ve already picked up millions of dollars of new clients from those relationships,” Duran said. “The demand is higher than I expected — corporate entities love having a local adviser who can meet with them face to face.” He added that referrals from Goldman’s private bank were a “much bigger growth area than originally envisioned.”

The robo adviser will be offered both to United Capital’s direct clients, as well as outside advisers who use United Capital’s FinLife wealth management platform.

“We have a lot of clients who have kids and are in relationships with people who don’t have their [level of] assets,” said Duran. He said the typical account size is expected to be higher than other robo advisers such as Betterment, which has no minimum investment amount, “because of the kind of people the [Goldman] brand attracts.”