POPULARITY
Artificial intelligence is helping move the financial services sector into a new era of operation. We’ll learn about the invisible forces shaping how AI and other technologies could reinvent the industry in the coming years. Our hosts are joined by Jefferies Managing Director and technology lead Vaughn Harvey and Jesse McWaters, financial innovation lead for the World Economic Forum. We’ll also hear from Betterment CEO Jon Stein and IEX CEO Brad Katsuyama, two entrepreneurs already relying on AI to disrupt different areas of the financial space – from online financial advising to building better exchanges for the next decade.
Newsflash: By 2022, about $4.6 trillion will be managed by roboadvisors—super smart algorithms telling you when and what to invest. But can we trust the robots? Betterment CEO Jon Stein thinks yes—but there are limitations.This week on Business Casual, Stein explains 1) why computers make better money managers than Uncle Rob’s neighbor’s sister 2) where the big banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are failing everyday people and 3) why good advice typically has a price tag. He also masterfully tackles the democratization of financial tools in under five minutes (could be a world record).And because he was feeling generous, Stein clues you in on the single worst thing you can do with your money.Sign up for Morning Brew here: https://www.morningbrew.com/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast-Episode2
Seth Stevenson talks to Betterment CEO Jon Stein about the democratization of financial services. In the interview, Stein talks about the role he feels financial companies should play in treating investors fairly, about Betterment’s preparedness for a potential market crash, and his thoughts about offering so-called alternative investments – like maritime debt and weather futures – to the everyday saver. This episode is brought to you by Merrill Lynch. Get started today at ML.com/you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Seth Stevenson talks to Betterment CEO Jon Stein about the democratization of financial services. In the interview, Stein talks about the role he feels financial companies should play in treating investors fairly, about Betterment’s preparedness for a potential market crash, and his thoughts about offering so-called alternative investments – like maritime debt and weather futures – to the everyday saver. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A couple weeks ago, we devoted the entire interview portion of the podcast to the hotly debated Department of Labor fiduciary rule, which was set to begin implementation on April 10. We taped that interview just days before President Trump signed a Memorandum that instructs the DOL to examine the rule “to determine whether it may adversely affect the ability of Americans to gain access to retirement information and financial advice.” In other words, the fiduciary rule could be toast. Well, not on this show--it’s going to be a running theme on Better Off because as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, fiduciary is an issue about which I’m deeply passionate. So is our guest this week, Betterment CEO Jon Stein. By now it’s no secret that Betterment is the sponsor of Better Off. But that’s not the reason why we’re having Jon on today. Jon has been an industry leader on the issue of fiduciary, publishing an open letter to President Trump, and voicing his company’s support for the rule. Jon’s take is simple and one that should resonate: U.S. investors should be able to trust that the financial advice they’re getting is in their best interest. As he stated in the letter, “Investing can be made intentionally complicated, and salesmen are clever. Left to its own devices, the investment industry for decades sold bad products to Americans.” The good news is that Jon and I are not alone. There’s support out there from plenty of high-profile people, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who penned a letter to the DOL highlighting support for the fiduciary rule from several financial institutions, including Betterment, adding that a delay “would be a slap in the face to the companies that have invested, in good faith, for a deadline that has stood for the past year -- and to the everyday worker deserving of the assurance that their retirement adviser is working in their best interest.” Safe to say Jon and I have plenty to discuss! “Better Off” is sponsored by Betterment. For more information on this and past episodes, visit www.betterment.com/resources/topics/inside-betterment/better-off-podcast/ "Better Off" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.
Rob Berger is the man behind DoughRoller.net. We’ve appreciated his material over the last year and found his research and content on Robo-advisors particularly pertinent to our recent discussions. Jon Stein came on the show back in episode 22 to discuss Betterment, and we wanted to get Rob’s take on the benefits of Robo-advisors like Wealthfront and Betterment. On this episode, we compare the top 2 leading Robo-advisor platforms and discuss the pros and cons of tax-loss harvesting, the overall value of this automated feature, and which type of accounts it is most effective in. Relevant links: Blog - http://www.doughroller.net/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bergerra Twitter - https://twitter.com/Doughroller/media Where are we: Sam – Florida Rob – Virginia Johnn FD - Chiang Mia Discussed (relevant links): Free spreadsheet - A tool Rob uses to track his portfolio performance Investing in gold and Silver - Buying gold and silver bullion a smart move ILAB 22 -Betterment Ceo Jon Stein a Decade of Pioneering Robo Advisory ILAB 15 - Meb Faber on Building the All Seasons Portfolio Show Notes: 06:00 – Robs Portfolio with Betterment, Wealthfront and Vanguard 08:15 – Life strategy fund vs. target date retirement fund 11:05 – Tax loss harvesting long-term benefits 22:48 – Index fund Low cost passive investing 24:21 – Wealth Front vs. Betterment 27:29 – Rob’s personal investment allocation model 28:50 – Is owning gold and silver a productive asset? 32:50 – Investing in one platform consistently 34:17 – Pricing fees with Wealth Front and Betterment 36:00 – Auto saving money since 18 years’ old 40:00 – Vanguard vs. Robo-advisory 42:00 – Presidential election 2017 Trump vs. Clinton If you enjoyed this episode, do us a favor and share it! Also if you haven’t already, please take a minute to leave us a 5-star review on iTunes and claim your bonus here! Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. Read our disclaimer here.
Jon Stein is the very popular CEO of Betterment, a platform that is pioneering “Robo-Advisory” and a listener favorite. In fact, the term “Robo-Advisory” was one of the reasons we wanted to start the podcast. When we first heard about Betterment, it was clear a new modern era of technology and investment advice was now available. Aside from the platform itself, we wanted to hear about Jon’s story and why he started Betterment. And a very inspiring one it is. Betterment has been in the works for almost a decade. You’ll be intrigued to hear how and where it got started, and what the future holds. Jon’s - LinkedIn Betterment account sign up - For every friend who funds, you get 30 days free, and each friend gets 6 months free. Meb Faber on Building The All Seasons Portfolio - ILAB 15 Money master of the game - Tony Robbins Time Stamp: 03:00 - Starting Betterment in New York City 05:30 - John’s personal story behind Betterment 11:20 - Launching Techcrunch Disrupt 16:00 - Transitioning away from using financial advisors 18:00 - Staying the course during a decrease in market value 19L50 - Growth and infrastructure over the next few years 22:40 - Active vs. passive - Evidence based 25:00 - Opportunity for international investors 27:00 - Being an emotional or physiological advisor 31:10 - Benefits for active and engaged investors 34:00 - John’s advice to his younger self 34:53 - Sam’s investments in Betterment 38:38 - Two side effects to robo-advisor 44:50 - The downside to Vanguard 49:00 - Removing emotion to prevent a loss 55:00 - Why is Betterment right for you
This episode updates one of the very first ones we did in our Barefoot Innovation series, last year. Episode Two featured the two co-founders of Simple, Josh Reich and Shamir Karkal. A year later, we all found ourselves back at the same conference where we'd recorded that program. Shamir has now taken on a new role, leading the open platform innovation of the very innovative bank that bought Simple, BBVA. Josh, though, is still CEO of Simple (a fact that he says tends to surprise people). So on a very rainy afternoon in Southern California, he and I found a place where we could duck out of the weather (you may hear the deluge in the background), and talked about how Simple has progressed in the year just past. So...very few people are more fun to talk with than Josh Reich, but I think my favorite thing about this episode might not be the podcast, fascinating as it is, but rather something the podcast led me to. In our conversation, Josh talks about a customer whose dog chewed her debit card - twice! Simple sent her a customer appreciation package with the second card, and she was so grateful that she made a YouTube video about getting it. Every banker in the world should watch this: customer appreciation reaction video I won't update the full show notes here - please look at Episode 2 for the basics on Simple which, again, is now part of BBVA bank. And if you missed it, be sure to listen also to my podcast with Manolo Sanchez, the CEO of BBVA Compass, who I think may be the most innovative bank president anywhere. BBVA is all-in on fintech innovation. Also, Josh and I did not get to a key update, which is the big move Simple made last year to eliminate ALL its checking account fees. I'm linking to his blog post here explaining what they did and why. Remember, Barefoot Innovation is a search for better solutions for financial consumers through all kinds of innovation. BBVA and Simple are making this search in a great many interesting ways. So enjoy hearing Josh's insights, ranging from how to succeed when a big banks buys a small innovator, to the make-or-break power of a bank's culture, to the incredible efficiencies of growing a bank without branches - he shares some numbers -- to his advice for regulators. And watch for fantastic episodes coming up: Oportun CEO Raul Vazquez; Betterment CEO Jon Stein; two of the country's top compliance officers, together; and Blythe Masters of Digital Asset Holdings - to name a few. Regulation Innovation Video Series: Briefing One - The Five Tech Trends Driving Financial Transformation The Five Tech Trends - the latest video in the Regulation Innovation Video series. Meanwhile be sure to sign up for our new video series, Regulation Innovation - Thriving on Disruption. These are short briefings - 10 to 15 minutes each - designed to be the single easiest way to understand the huge issues raised by fintech, in both technology and regulation, and how best to address them. Since fintech is far more about "tech" than "fin," we're starting the series with The Five Tech trends transforming finance. Plus we have a lighthearted little extra, straight from my own kitchen, on how I was inspired to some thoughts about innovation by a very unusual gadget. The briefings are designed share in meetings and training sessions, from board rooms to business and compliance teams. They come with access to a subscriber-only website with resources and advice. We have group pricing available - just contact us! Please sign up for them, and also to get my podcasts by email. And be sure to leave reviews on ITunes. Please consider a donation to support our efforts to bring the best thought leaders in the financial innovation world to you. A dollar a show is all we ask. Support the Podcast Subscribe to Our Mailing List Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. Email Address Sign Up We respect your privacy. Thank you!
Betterment CEO Jon Stein gives us a behind the scenes look at how the company operates and makes your money work for you. Betterment is an automated way to invest your money based on your goals and time frame. Answer a few simple questions and Betterment will set up a diversified portfolio that is managed for you. After studying economics and human behavior, Jon started his career consulting for banks. He saw that they didn’t care about customers and their products were almost designed to help people fail. He experimented with several brokerage companies and couldn’t find what he was looking for. So like all good entrepreneurs, he decided to make what he couldn’t find elsewhere himself. A company that made it easy to invest and served the client, not the bottom line. That’s how Betterment was born. A listener asked why Betterment is better than Vanguard given that Vanguard has better fees. Betterment does some things that Vanguard does not. Betterment invests in fractional shares, each time you deposit money into Betterment, your account is automatically rebalanced in order to lower taxes, and Betterment does tax loss harvesting. We advocate keeping your emergency fund in an investment account. In Betterment, short term money will be invested more conservatively. If you leave an employer who provided a 401K, roll it over into a Betterment IRA. Many times, once you leave an employer, you will be charged a higher fee for the management of the 401K. It takes about seven days to do a roll over with Betterment, the industry average is thirty days. Jon sees Betterment moving into the same league as companies like Vanguard and Fidelity in the next ten years and managing over one trillion dollars. And when that day comes, we’ll be able to say we knew him when. The Betterment Experiment Check out our experience using Betterment with our own money: Show Notes Betterment: See for yourself what we discussed today. Use this link and your first six month of investing are free. Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Beer: A lively, refreshing ale sent to LMM from listener Drew! Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness: A new look at how we make decisions. The Winner’s Curse: A look at the difference between how people should act economically and how the actually act. Thinking, Fast and Slow: The hidden things that influence the way we think and make decisons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jon Stein knew there was a better and easier way for people to invest. Following his dream he founded Betterment.com which has almost 500 million under management. Here's his story.