Goldman Sachs, known for advising the world’s richest and most powerful, is building a so-called robo-adviser geared to affluent customers, according to a job listing posted on the bank’s website.

    The job posting for employees to help build the platform comes as Goldman is looking at ways to broaden its customer base outside the super wealthy, including making deeper inroads into new consumer-focused businesses.

    The bank last year launched Marcus, its first major foray into consumer lending, as well as a complementary deposit-taking platform after acquiring GE Capital’s online bank. It also acquired Honest Dollar, an online retirement savings platform for small businesses and startups.

    The robo platform would sit within the bank’s rapidly growing investment management division, according to the ad. The unit, which Goldman has been trying to build out in recent years to diversify its revenue, posted a record US$1.38 trillion in assets under supervision at the end of 2016.

    Goldman has for years grappled with how to tap into the mass affluent segment, broadly defined as those with less than US$1 million in investable assets, without diluting the brand of its private wealth business which is considered a jewel within the bank, according to people familiar with the matter. Goldman’s U.S. private wealth business typically advises clients with an account size of around US$50 million.

    Goldman has in the past considered expanding Ayco, a wealth advisory firm it purchased in 2003, as a way to push more deeply into the mass affluent segment, the people added.

    While the robo-advice market was initially developed by startups such as Wealthfront and Betterment with ambitions of upending the traditional financial advice sector, large firms such as Charles Schwab and Vanguard have launched similar services.

    Other large firms are partnering with or buying existing players.

    UBS and Wells Fargo are partnering with online financial adviser SigFig, while BlackRock acquired FutureAdvisor. Words to Learn

    相关词汇【富裕的】

    fùyù de affluent having an abundance of goods or riches

    【弱化】ruòhuà dilute lessen the amount, force, magnitude, or value of

    机器人顾问将为大众提供投资建议

    高盛集团一向以为全球最富有最具权势的群体提供咨询服务著称。根据该银行在其网站上发布的职位可知，高盛正在打造面向富裕客户的机器人顾问。

    高盛正在寻求途径扩展极富群体以外的用户群，包括更深入地开展新的面向消费者的业务，此时招聘的便是能够建立这样平台的雇员。

    去年，该银行在收购通用电气资本的网上银行后，便启动了其首个消费者借贷平台Marcus以及一个互补性吸收存款平台。高盛还收购了Honest Dollar，这是一家面向小型企业和初创公司的在线退休储蓄平台。

    据广告称，该机器人平台将划在银行快速发展的投资管理部门内。高盛近年来一直试图实现此部门收入多元化。2016年年底，该部门监管下的资产总值创下了1.38万亿美元的纪录。

    广义上，大众富裕阶层为可投资资产不足100万美元的人群。根据知情人士提供的信息，高盛多年来一直努力在不影响其重要业务品牌 — 私人财富业务情况

    下，打入该阶层。高盛在美国的私人财富业

    务，通常为拥有约5000万美元账户的客户提供咨询服务。

    知情人士补充道，高盛曾经考虑通过扩大其于2003年购入的财富咨询公司Ayco的规模，从而进一步打入大众富裕阶层。

    虽然最初，是Wealthfront和Betterment等创业公司开发了机器人咨询市场，以期颠覆传统的金融咨询行业。但是像嘉信理财和先锋集团这样的大型公司也开展了类似的服务。

    其他的大型公司则开始与已有的机器人咨询公司合作，或者收购它们。

    瑞银和富国银行与在线财务顾问SigFig合作，而黑石集团则收购了FutureAdvisor。

    (Chinadaily.com.cn)