Robo advisors have emerged globally as an alternative to human financial advisers who are active but often make costly investment mistakes. (image: Koscom Corp.)
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Investments supported by so-called robo advisors, or computer programs that make financial decisions, outperformed the overall market in South Korea last month, when the local stock market remained bearish, data showed Tuesday.
According to the data from Koscom Corp., the system manager of the Korean bourse operator Korea Exchange, robo advisors designed for stable investment posted an average return rate of minus 0.1 percent last month.
The average return rates for robo advisors structured for neutral and aggressive investments stood at minus 0.51 percent and minus 1.18 percent, respectively.
In comparison, the nation’s benchmark stock index, or KOSPI, fell 2.8 percent last month. The KOSPI 200 index, which consists of 200 big companies listed on the stock market, retreated 2.76 percent.
In recent years, banks and brokerages in Korea have launched robo-advisory services to deliver consistent returns to investors at slimmer fees, allowing artificial intelligence to encroach upon asset management handled by human advice.
Robo advisors have emerged globally as an alternative to human financial advisers who are active but often make costly investment mistakes.
Supporters argue robo advisors, which have a passive approach in investment decisions, can handle customers’ portfolio demands and deliver better performance than their human counterparts.
But, critics say robo services can never replace the expertise of human advisers.
(Yonhap)
