Robo-advisers face big test in a bear market

ROBO-ADVISERS might have more reasons to be worried about the next bear market than investors do.

Low fees and an investing-on-autopilot approach have attracted about US$50 billion in assets to the broad universe of robo-advisers, according to researcher Aite Group LLC.

The rise of these robots and their automated investment strategies has largely coincided with a multi-year bull run in stocks, which means the nascent industry could face a big test if markets were to turn.