By Andrew Welsch

UBS plans to wind down its purely digital robo-advisor, UBS Advice, next month, making it the latest big bank to throw in the towel on digital advice.

Existing UBS Advice accounts will transition to another UBS wealth management offering, UBS Access, on or about June 13, according to a recent Form ADV filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Clients have until June 9 to choose a different UBS service if they want.

UBS Access provides customers with separately managed accounts. Clients can work with UBS Access via either full-service advisors or a team of call-center professionals.

The company closed the robo to new accounts on March 21, according to the Form ADV. UBS Advice had a $10,000 minimum and charged an annual advisory fee of 0.75% on assets invested in the program, according to the company's website.

A spokesman for UBS declined to comment.

UBS, one of the world's largest wealth managers catering to ultrawealthy clients across the globe, launched its U.S. robo-advisor in 2018. Although some competitors chose to build their robo-advisor offerings themselves, UBS opted to use technology provided from SigFig Wealth Management, a San Francisco-based fintech. A representative for SigFig was unavailable for immediate comment.

UBS' robo strategy has shifted over the years. In 2022 under then-CEO Ralph Hamers, the Swiss bank said it would buy U.S. robo-advisor Wealthfront in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.4 billion. Both companies later agreed to scrap the deal.

Like other big banks, UBS launched its robo-advisor as a response to a competitive threat that emerged about 15 years ago when scrappy start-ups like Wealthfront and Betterment began offering investors access to professionally managed portfolios at a fraction of the cost of human advisors.

At the time, industry insiders worried that robos might one day replace human advisors. But robo-advisor growth came slowly because client acquisition proved more challenging than expected. Over the years, some robo start-ups closed or sold themselves to larger companies. Large banks have also closed their robo-advisors, citing profitability challenges.

Last year, JPMorgan Chase closed its purely digital robo-advisor, J.P. Morgan Automated Investing, and Goldman Sachs closed Marcus Invest, its automated-investing service, and sold Marcus Invest's digital investing accounts to Betterment. Earlier this year, Betterment said it was buying the automated investing accounts and assets of Ellevest, a wealth management company founded by Wall Street veteran Sallie Krawcheck.

The industry has also shifted toward emphasizing so-called hybrid robo-advisors that pair automated portfolios with human financial advisors. This approach has proven popular with clients, at least when judged by assets under management. For example, Vanguard's Personal Advisor, its hybrid option, had $344 billion in assets as of Dec. 31 compared with just $21 billion for its pure digital robo-advisor.

That is not to say everyone is giving up on digital advice. Brokerage firm Robinhood Markets launched its version of a robo-advisor this year. The company's Robinhood Strategies offers customers actively managed portfolios that include individual stocks for an annual management fee of 0.25% of assets (capped at $250 annually for Robinhood Gold subscribers). Traditional human advisors typically charge between 1% or more on assets under management.

Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com

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May 16, 2025 14:23 ET (18:23 GMT)

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