Banks Could Dominate Digital Investing, But They Won't

Digital investment managers Betterment and Wealthfront grew quickly with early adopters and younger investors. They have since struggled to accelerate that growth and acquire truly massive numbers of customers and assets under management. Charles Schwab and Vanguard Asset Management entered the market based on those startups' early success, and each has outdone them, growing in two years to $10.2 billion and $41 billion in assets, respectively. The landscape is poised to shift again with the entry of banks like Bank of America, Capital One, and Wells Fargo. Even with vast resources and large Millennial customer bases, they must still build the technological capabilities and deliver a delightful experience to customers who may not be favorably inclined toward banks.