U.S. bank J.P. Morgan currently constructing a robo-advisor for its wealth-management clients, came close to acquiring one earlier.
The bank came close to acquiring the now established robo-adviser SigFig Wealth Management in 2015 in an effort to expedite its technology push.
The negotiations according to a report from «Bloomberg» took place before SigFig agreed to a partnership with UBS in 2016.
Building Organic Offering
J.P.Morgan is now building a digital wealth offering of its own internally. CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter that later this year the firm plans to roll out online vehicles for both individual retirement and non-retirement accounts,
SigFig’s preference for striking partnerships was one reason a sale to J.P.Morgan never developed.
Giving it Away
In an interview last year Dimon said he believes that his own institution’s people are equally good at being innovative in digitising and adapting their offerings and also said that the firm could delve into robo-advising and even give it away to some of its most valued clients.
finews.asia reported last year on J.P. Morgan’s Corporate & Investment Bank launch of «In-Residence», a program for startup financial technology companies to conquer some of the industry’s most pressing challenges.
