Just over half of British people earning £45,000 to £70,000 would use a robo-adviser for investments, found a study in which researchers said some 15 million people overall would pay for the automated investment service.
Deloitte, which commissioned the research, said the figure showed high earners would pay for robo-advice.
But the research findings also offered more evidence of a financial advice gap, because just 30% of those on incomes under £15,000 said they’d pay for robo-advice.
Gavin Norwood, insurance partner at Deloitte, said: “There is a significant financial advice gap in the market, where consumers have a need for advice but either can’t or won’t access it.
“Robo-advisers are low-cost and will increasingly be seen as a good alternative to face-to-face advice, especially where consumers have less complex needs.”
However, the research suggested robo-advisers shouldn’t exclusively aim at people on lower incomes or people that have smaller savings.
There was a significant potential for robo-advice to take off, the firm said, due to the 15 million consumers willing to pay for automated financial advice.
Demand was highest amongst millennials, but the research suggested other age brackets could be interested in using robo-advice. Some 43% of workers aged between 35 and 44 and with a pension would use robo-advice for pensions, as would one-quarter of those aged between 45 and 54. A fifth of those over 55 would use robo-advice for pensions.
Also, 35% of defined contribution pension holders – more than three million people – would be willing to pay for robo-advice to invest their pension pots, with demand highest (45%) among those with the smallest pensions pots, many of whom cannot afford traditional advice.
But financial literacy and trust were barriers in consumers’ willingness to use robo-advisers.
YouGov conducted the online survey for Deloitte among 2,046 British adults in January.
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