StatPro acquired UBS' Delta platform for EUR 13 million ($13.7 million); news of the deal caused shares in the AIM listed StatPro to jump 10%; the deal will help StatPro to reach scale in terms of revenue and clients according to StatPro's CEO Justin Wheatley; the transaction shows that not only banks are able to acquire or partner with fintech firms, but fintech firms can look to acquire parts of a bank as well; in an interview with Business Insider Wheatley explained, "Acquisitions are part of our strategy, however in the short term this is a very big deal for StatPro — it adds 40% to our revenues — I think we'll be digesting this lump for a little while before we carry on but I certainly wouldn't rule out any more deals later on." Source
UBS has broadly launched its robo advisor service SmartWealth after a limited launch in October; the solution presents another robo advisory service offering by an incumbent financial services provider; portfolio fees range from 1% to 2% with an investment threshold of 15,000 British pounds ($18,500); according to data from Business Insider, Vanguard's Personal Advisor Services leads the robo advisor market with assets under management of $41 billion followed by Schwab with $10 billion and Betterment with $6.2 billion. Source
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Within a decade, the form factor for computing will radically change from staring at screens with flat imagery, to participating in embedded virtual worlds with fully navigable, hyper-realistic environments. Those environments will be filled with software agents, some hybrid human and others entirely AI, that are entirely unrecognizable as anything but real to 90% of the population.
UBS has partnered with Amazon to utilize Amazon's Alexa artificial intelligence (AI) for a pilot program with wealth management clients in the UK; Alexa will provide answers on inquiries about wealth management topics and the economy for clients through several devices; the partnership follows a trend toward use of artificial intelligence in the wealth management industry and a deal by UBS with robo adviser SigFig for account services; Alexa's AI capabilities offer a cost efficient way to provide information and standardized advice for wealth management clients. Source