Robo advisors

"We see a narrowing of players," says Alois Pirker, research director for Aite Group's Wealth Management practice.

Low-cost, online managed accounts may become table stakes for wealth management firms.

The fifth-biggest bank in the U.S. strikes deal with BlackRock’s FutureAdvisor to offer automated investing service.

Drivers in Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and New Jersey will be offered IRAs first, with plans to expand to other cities later this year.

Kavout and qplum claim their technology and founding teams set them apart from competition in the space.

Banks are creating tech to do chores previously performed by people in operations, wealth management, algorithmic trading and risk management.

One criticism of online advice providers is that they must improve how they communicate to their customer what to expect when support is provided.

Financial literacy is low, and advisers have the opportunity and digital tools to establish themselves as trusted educators.

The digital M&A trend has much in common with the wildly popular game app.

"The business model of the asset management industry is really archaic," says Scott MacKillop, founder of First Ascent Asset Management.

A younger adviser sees the benefits in working side-by-side with technology.

Their low or no upfront costs can bite down hard on an adviser’s future profits.

Digital wealth management firms see the way to reach millennial clients is through student debt.

Banks and credit unions can test whether they want to get into the investment services business without bringing in advisers or partnering with a TPM.

Hedgeable plans to offer P2P lending investments, claiming it will be the first digital wealth manager to do so.

Custodian entering crowded field; minimum initial balance will be $5,000.

No financial solution can gain momentum without the collaboration of technology and human capital. But robos are only one small part of this equation.

"We are not going to have a separate robo adviser that would disintermediate our existing advisers," says CEO Paul Reilly.

Executives say it's about more than just robos.

Several big banks are getting into the business, mostly by forming partnerships with fintech companies. Smaller banks are expected to soon follow suit.