Morgan Stanley is getting into the “robo-advice” business, where software manages funds instead of people. The service, Access Investing, is aimed at younger investors, and helps them put their money with the businesses they’re most interested in.
“Forty percent of our clients have chosen to invest in a theme, and the most popular ones [are] robotics and artificial intelligence,” Naureen Hassan, Chief Digital Officer for Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley, told Cheddar.
The financial firm rolled out its Access Investing division, which focuses on advising clients online, in December. Hassan says that her team has seen a lot of engagement with from people 45 and under.
Robo-advisers, or digital investment portfolios, are not very new. The field has competitors, such as Betterment or Wealthfront, that have been making strides in the sector.
But Morgan Stanley says it’s betting on its legacy to differentiate itself in the industry.
“We think it’s the Morgan Stanley investing expertise that really differentiates it,” Hassan said. “That’s why we are offering clients choice, it just isn’t only a passive portfolio, we believe in a mix of assets.”
You may have a Resideo product in your home and not even know it. The company, until this week a unit of Honeywell ($HON), makes products that are in over 150 million homes, but because it sells largely to contractors and distributors, it is not a brand many end users recognize. Now, as its own company, Resideo ($REZI) can compete on its own terms, and at the speed required in a fast-moving and ultra-competitive industry. "Being an independent company is going to help us go faster," said CEO Mike Nefkens.
Brex, the start-up that provides credit cards for start-ups, has created a rewards program for its customers that awards points for spending on ride-sharing, software, travel, and dining, as well as offers from partners like AWS, Salesforce, and WeWork.
Jamie Iannone, CEO of SamsClub.com, told Cheddar that the retailer's new "Sam's Club Now" store will use a variety of innovative technologies to make shopping easier and, as a benefit, attract new members. The new store opening in Dallas will eliminate check-out lines with "Scan & Go" technology powered by its app, as well as feature digital shopping lists, store navigation, and even augmented reality.
General Electric, the once mighty conglomerate that traces its roots back to the invention of the light bulb, delivered a hugely disappointing earnings report Tuesday morning, in which the company that was once known for its steady and generous payouts to investors slashed its quarterly dividend to just a penny.
Brad Twohig, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, said that Fortnite has built itself into a kind of social network and that the community its developed will likely help the game maintain its popularity for some time to come.
Facebook doesn't report its latest earnings until Tuesday, but some analysts are already predicting a drop in the numbers amid security concerns and waning popularity among the platform's younger users. Chris Versace, chief investment officer at Tematica Research, predicted on Cheddar Monday that its quarterly earnings report will put Facebook ($FB) at $1.47 per share, down from $1.59 last year.
Hershey's ($HSY) has unveiled a deal to promote its latest candy creation, a combination Hershey-Reese's bar, with the help of two of esports' biggest names: DrLupo and Ninja. Cheddar was at TwitchCon in San Jose, Calif. and got an early look at Hershey's first foray into esports and live-streaming from the company's head of integrated media, Charlie Chappell.
In a tacit admission that its cloud-computing division was lagging behind competitors like Amazon and Microsoft, IBM announced it would shell out $34 billion for open-source software maker Red Hat for an amount equal to almost a third of IBM's market cap.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
At TwitchCon 2018, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear sat down with Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg to discuss the streaming platform's explosive growth, the rise of Fortnite, and Twitch's relationship with parent company Amazon.
