At the beginning of May, Vanguard officially released its new money manager service, touted as the new robo-human hybrid. At the same time, it reduced the assets required to gain access to its service from $100,000 to $50,000.

“@Vanguard_Group white-hot hybrid-robo just added $4bn in 3mths, a heat that may cast a chill on pure-robos” http://t.co/qTHsQYqFjI #fintech

— Drew, Walk & Co. (@DrewWalkCo) July 20, 2015

How it Works

With its hybrid approach, Vanguard Personal Advisor Services combines online asset allocation and rebalancing together with phone or videoconferencing and traditional one on one advisory service that most clients are used to. The platform has been built to provide a robust client experience so that clients can get on their computer, go online and review their financial plan on the go.

After that they can communicate with an advisor who plays a crucial role in fine-tuning the portfolio based on a combination of the conversation they have with each client and an online form of 12 questions, which gathers the essential initial information such as risk tolerance, time horizon and other preferences providing a valuable time saving tool.

Is it Worth it?

VPAS charges 0.30% annual fee per account, which in the case of the minimum investment comes to $150. For that fee, the investor gets recommendations and, if necessary, a rebalancing of their portfolio.  The beauty of the systems is that it does not exclude direct contact with one of its advisers on financial issues which can range from saving for your kids’ college or to your retirement planning.

Considering that it is tailored in such a way to satisfy both clients who are comfortable with virtual relationships and more traditional clients who have broader needs and need to work directly with an advisor, it shows why the new service has added nearly $4 billion in new assets in the last three months alone.

As a result all clients have access to the same level of service, but for clients who have less demanding investment requirements and just want to keep an eye on their portfolio and make occasional changes, they can now do it quickly and easily online, freeing up investment advisors to spend more time with new and existing clients who are looking to make major portfolio shifts.