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.”
The ride-sharing company announced plans to begin testing autonomous-vehicle operations, despite a fatal crash involving an Uber driverless car in Arizona back in March. “There are about 30,000 people that die in automotive crashes every single year and there is an expectation that this is a technology that could substantially reduce that number,” says Ben Fox Rubin, CNET News senior reporter.
The crowdfunding platform announced plans to help teams raise money in a more collaborative way. "We realized that market was under served," GoFundMe CMO Raquel Rozas tells Cheddar.
The scooter start-up reported on Thursday that it has raised $300 million. This is Bird's third round of funding this year, valuing the company at an estimated $2 billion. "We've never seen something grow so quickly with such high engagement," Dana Settle, founding partner, tells Cheddar.
A new California data privacy bill will require companies that store personal information to disclose what types of data they collect. The law also gives users the opportunity to opt out. "There's a certain point where this has maybe gone too far," Dave White, a former national counterterrorism center officer, tells Cheddar about companies collecting data.
After Bitcoin took some significant blows in the market, some investors wonder how low it could go. "$5,000 was my most optimistic downward target and my most pessimistic downward target is $1,300," says blockchain and Bitcoin consultant Tone Vays.
The cryptocurrency is seeing weakening demand, which is putting pressure on prices. “We’ve slipped back in terms of people that accept it, so the transactional network is smaller today than it was a year ago,” says Paul Johnson, senior adviser at blockchain consulting firm Harbor Peak. “We’ve got this speculative demand that’s gone away because FOMO’s gone.”
The consumer banking company, which has been testing and refining its Finn app in St. Louis since October, decided to expand its scope nationally. But the platform faces some tough competition, including Goldman Sach's Marcus and even Amazon.
Snap is reportedly looking to get into gaming, a move that other platforms will likely copy because users are starting to "socialize in these games," says Chris Merwin, esports analyst at Goldman Sachs.
More than a third of GoDaddy's 18 million users are from outside the U.S., a number that will continue to rise, says Wagner. The platform is also adding new services to help it expand beyond hosting websites. "Our goal over the next five years is to really be the place where ideas start, grow, and thrive online."
The messaging tool was down for the better part of Wednesday, affecting workplaces across the country. For its size and how crucial it has become for businesses, an hours-long outage is "really troubling," says Brett Molina, digital editor at USA TODAY.
