Marilyn Cole: A robo-boost for all advisers

Industry is on a learning curve

clock • 3 min read

The rise of automated advice is often portrayed as a battle between robots and humans but, asks Marilyn Cole, could it not end up helping everyone in the adviser community and wider financial services sector?

There has been a huge amount of debate surrounding automated advice - a subject often characterised as a battle between face-to-face advisers and their robo-rivals. Yet what if the spread of automated advice helped everyone in the adviser community and wider financial services sector? The market in the UK has always been diverse in terms of distribution channels - though one can certainly see the arguments for why the robo-adviser might also be seen as a unique threat to human ones. In the past, competition was represented by direct sales forces, then increasingly execution-only opera...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Technology

Warnings that most adviser AI startups will disappear

Warnings that most adviser AI startups will disappear

Ian McKenna urges advisers to get ahead of open financing

Sophia Panayi
clock 09 October 2026 • 2 min read
Beyond the meeting note: Five stages of AI maturity in financial advice

Beyond the meeting note: Five stages of AI maturity in financial advice

'Internal efficiency matters, but it is only part of the opportunity'

Shoomon Perry
clock 08 October 2026 • 6 min read
Fidelity Adviser Solutions extends ZeroKey integration to Intelliflo users

Fidelity Adviser Solutions extends ZeroKey integration to Intelliflo users

Designed to reach more advisers

Sophia Panayi
clock 06 October 2026 • 2 min read