Human financial advisers working with robotic ones

PEOPLE pay financial advisers thousands of dollars a year to pick investments, rebalance portfolios, adjust risk levels and minimise taxes.

And these are all things that computers are learning to do more quickly, more reliably, at a quarter of the cost and with flashier graphics.

A funny thing is happening on the way to total automation, though. While new "robo-advisers" pop up regularly, many are relying on flesh-and-blood advisers.