Wells Fargo Advisors Partners With SigFig for Robo-Advice Offering

Wells Fargo Advisors (WFA) and SigFig, an independent, San-Francisco-based wealth management technology company, announced they will collaborate to develop a digital advisory offering for WFA to begin piloting in 2017.

The affiliation will give Wells Fargo a platform to help investors build, implement and rebalance tailored portfolios online based on responses to investing questionnaires. WFA and SigFig plan to optimize a direct-to-client product for WFA to offer to emerging investors who want trusted investment advice and a holistic financial experience in the digital space.

“Wells Fargo is committed to providing investors with quality advice that aligns with their goals and is relevant to all stages of their lives,” says David Carroll, head of Wealth and Investment Management at Wells Fargo. “As we continue to invest in technology that serves the evolving needs of our clients and our advisers, this offering will mark an important step forward in delivering financial advice to the next generation of investors, while building a long-term pipeline for our full-service business.”

“Investors are increasingly demanding improved digital experiences, making it vital that financial institutions invest more resources and incorporate more technology in their offerings,” says Mike Sha, CEO of SigFig. “The breadth of our platform and the wide range of digital tools we provide help us quickly deliver cutting-edge investing technology to our clients and their customers through collaborative partnerships.”

According to the second quarter 2016 Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor Optimism survey, 69% of investors younger than age 50 rely on the internet or mobile applications to interact with their primary investment firm. While digital advice services are relatively new to consumers, investors in the survey ranked them high for simplifying the investment process, matching investments to risk tolerance and providing reliability during market turbulence.