It’s tough out there for a women-focused robo advisor.
“Unlike a car or other consumer good that has a brand that
is more palpable, I’m not sure that a robo has that much differentiation by
gender,” William Trout, a senior analyst at Celent, tells Wealth Management.
Of three women-targeted robos that launched in the past few
years--WorthFM, SheCapital and Ellevest—only the latter survives. WorthFM
announced its closure in December. SheCapital closed in 2016.
WorthFM’s last SEC Form ADV was filed in September; it
listed $2.7 million of AUM, 600 clients, and some 1,800 discretionary accounts.
It was announced in 2015 by Amanda Steinberg, founder of the popular DailyWorth
newsletter on personal finance, Wealth Management notes. She partnered on the
site with Michelle Smith, the CEO of Source Financial Advisors, an independent
RIA focused on high-net-worth women.
“WorthFM was one of a string of similar online investment
platforms for women launched around the same time,” writes Wealth Management.
“Each sought to bring together a dose of high-gloss branding, with a focus on
empowering female investors, to create a differentiated service from the
increasingly crowded field of robos.”
ElleVest’s latest Form ADV lists $91.4 million of assets
and 12,371 accounts, for an average of about $7,400 per account.
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