Betterment

Personal Advisor Services closes in on the $100 billion AUM mark.

The digital firm is opening up a new avenue of advice that could be a model for an industry grappling with the challenge of scaling for smaller accounts.

The leading independent robo adviser added another $70 million in funding.

Demand from millennials has helped the strategy become an $8 trillion category.

"I don’t have one yet, but I want one," says Tom Halloran, president of Voya Financial Advisors.

The app allows users, many of them first-time investors, to get started for as little as $5.

Popular microinvesting apps targeting novice investors are charging total fees well in excess of other options, says an industry observer.

The manager allegedly led a $33 million funding round for Scalable alongside the startup’s two existing venture capital investors.

The robo advice firm says it already has a number of customers with more than $10 million each.

"This space is getting more diverse, and change is coming from all directions," says Alois Pirker, research director for Aite Group's Wealth Management practice.