Betterment, the largest roboadviser with $10 billion under management, has enlisted the support of financial juggernauts Goldman Sachs and BlackRock for two new portfolio options.
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Betterment struck a deal with 2 Wall Street giants to provide its 270,000 users more investment options (GS, BLK)
Betterment, the largest roboadviser with $10 billion under management, has enlisted the support of financial juggernauts Goldman Sachs and BlackRock.
The two new offerings are part of the firm's mission to deliver deeper personalization for the company's more than 270,000 users,
The partnership is striking considering Betterment's CEO Jon Stein has gone after traditional Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs. He has claimed that their model does not put the customer first.
"We wanted to get these strategies out to our clients as quickly as possible, rather than build them out ourselves," he told Business Insider in a phone interview.
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The portfolio managed by Goldman Sachs is a sproviding users with a more aggressive alternative to Betterment's core portfolio, which allocates money to stocks and bonds, according to . It will be more exposed to emerging markets and REITs, according to a press release.
Smart-beta products have been on the rise on Wall Street as investors seek out more affordable alternatives to managed portfolios, but better-performing alternatives to portfolios made up of index-tracking ETFs.
"The smart-beta approach targets factors, rather than individual stocks," according to Cary Stier, the global investment management sector leader for Deloitte, the global consultancy and tax advisory firm."They're looking to profit off of momentum and volatility."
Wealthfront, Betterment's San Francisco rival, announced an in-house-built smart-beta portfolio in June, according to a company spokeswoman.
The other portfolio option is an income-based portfolio, managed by BlackRock, the largest fund manager in the world with $5.7 trillion under management. It provides investors a more conservative option and delivers target income.
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"It's a portfolio of bond ETFs across credit risk levels and delivers targeted income," Egan said.
Users of Betterment will have the option to switch over to either of the two new portfolios Wednesday, according to Sobel.
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