Robo-advisors (AI-driven investment services that use advanced algorithms to help manage your portfolio) are game changers for the investment landscape. In 2020, robo-advisors had nearly $1 trillion under management. By 2025, that amount is expected to reach $2.9 trillion worldwide.1
Designed to simplify investing and set you on a road to financial growth, a robo-advisor can be a powerful tool. Typically, robo-advisors invest your money in market-indexed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are considered stable and conservative long-term investment vehicles. But is automated investing right for you? Here are some of the key benefits of using a robo-advisor such as Truist Invest Pro.
1. Takes the emotion and guesswork out of investing
If you’re a hands-on investor, you have to make a lot of decisions—and as humans, it’s hard to always make sound, logical decisions when it comes to our money. Robo-advisors can help take the emotion and guesswork out of investing as sophisticated computer algorithms take care of most of the decision-making for you.
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Even if we don’t realize it, as investors we have internal biases that influence what we buy, sell, and hold. The computer algorithms used by robo-advisors have no such biases—and they don’t panic and make rash decisions when the stock market gets volatile. So if certain stocks aren’t performing well and it gets you off-track from your goals, robo-advisors can automatically come up with a solution, whether it’s selling securities through tax-loss harvesting or portfolio rebalancing. Truist Invest Pro is powered by one of the most highly rated and sophisticated algorithms in the industry.
2. You can be totally hands-off
With robo-advisors, you can “set it and forget it”—a robo-advisor can tweak and rebalance your portfolio as often as every day to optimize performance, without requiring you to do any research or even press any buttons. Still, you can check in, adjust your settings, and reach out for support as often as you like.
In these busy times, many of us are looking for the ability to set and automate good habits that help us in the long term. For investors who are looking to buy and hold without having to check in too often, a robo-advisor can be a great solution. On the other hand, if you’re a highly active and informed investor who wants to do most of the decision-making with your portfolio, such as picking your own stocks, a robo-advisor may not be what you’re looking for.
3. Makes it easy for anyone to invest
Robo-advisors are helping to make investing more accessible by lowering account minimums, keeping fees low, and offering user experiences that are easy to figure out—even if you have no investing knowledge. Anyone with internet access and a connected device can quickly and easily begin investing with a robo-advisor.
Personal advisor services can carry an investible assets minimum of around $100,000, but with Truist Invest Pro, you need just $5,000 to get started. And while fees for working with a personal investment advisor are typically higher, the annual fee for Truist Invest Pro is just 0.85% of your assets, respectively (or $90, whichever is higher).
4. They’re relatively low-risk
There is some variation among robo-advisors in terms of the kinds of investments they make, but most invest in a variety of similar market-indexed ETFs, which follow the performance of major indexes like the S&P 500 or Russell 2000. With these types of investments, you’re getting a lot of diversification by investing in a basket of reputable stocks—not trying to pick the next Amazon or Netflix or taking a chance on more speculative investments, such as cryptocurrency. This time-tested method of investing is favored for its low risks and consistent returns.