Anyone eagerly anticipating Goldman Sachs' foray into digital advice will have to wait a while longer. Goldman has decided to delay the launch of its robo advisor until 2021, Chief Operating Officer John Waldron said during a webcast presentation at Bernstein's annual Strategic Decisions Conference. The firm is also slowing its hiring of financial advisors. The postponement comes as new account openings surge at other digital advice providers. However, some firms worry marketing these services in the wrong way may appear out-of-touch amid a health and economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus, analysts say.

As technology continues to change the investment landscape, a new Merrill Edge report has found that nearly 40% of mass affluent Americans are comfortable consulting artificial intelligence for financial advice. "Americans are more likely to trust AI with their finances than trust it to drive a car (28%), post to social media (28%) or select a wardrobe (26%)," the report, which was released last week, says. While Gen Zers (those age 22 and younger) are the highest adopters of emerging technologies, the report shows that mass affluent investors of all ages are willing to have digital tools at their disposal, with one in five preferring digital advice over in-person guidance. That said, investors still value professional expertise over friends and families. Merrill Edge reports that "more investors are turning to professionals like financial advisors (81%) for counsel than their wealthiest friends (70%), older generations (69%), parents (66%) and friends (57%)."

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Fintech Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has introduced a plethora of new rules and initiatives designed to boost the state's fintech industry recently, with its latest move aimed at making life easier for firms providing digital investment advice. MAS released a consultation paper this week outlining how it plans to clarify and update regulation for this segment, which included proposals for making it easier for firms to offer digital advice to retail investors, licensing exemptions for firms offering certain digital services related to investment, and reducing the volume of information about clients firms are required to gather before they can offer advice. MAS' aims are likely two-fold.

Sydney fintech startup Stockspot has become the first robo-advice platform in Australia to integrate AI and machine learning functions into financial advice. The company has today announced the launch of its new digital financial assistant to help clients optimise their investment behaviour. The digital financial assistant works by analysing thousands of clients and making targeted recommendations. As it learns, the technology will provide consumers with intuitive assistance to help investors optimise their profile and coach them to make better investment decisions. Instead of being a financial advisor that makes recommendations through listening to clients, Stockspot will now give advice based on consumer behaviour and actions.