All independent robo advisors are standalone, but not all standalone robo advisors are independent.
An independent robo advisor is standalone by nature because it operates on its own. In contrast, a standalone robo advisor doesn’t necessarily have to be independent — a robo advisor that a larger financial institution owns could operate as a separate brand or subsidiary, that is, as a standalone. An investment product issuer (such as an ETF issuer), brokerage firm, bank or traditional financial advisory firm are the typical larger financial institutions we refer to here.
Our firm QuietGrowth is an independent robo adviser. Per the above discussion, our firm is also a standalone robo adviser.
More focused service by an independent
A large financial institution that owns a robo advisor offers the robo advice service as an additional service to its existing clients — the robo advice service is not their primary focus. In contrast, an independent robo advisor offers the robo advice service as its central service, thus typically enabling them to provide a superlative offering to their clients.
No potential bias due to affiliations for an independent
Unlike a robo advisor that a larger financial institution owns, an independent robo advisor has no affiliations that could potentially influence its investment advice.
Related information
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