Hortz: How did your glide path lead to your creating Age-Sage—your “mature robot analyst”?
Surz: Robo Advisors have become a big deal. Automated on-line advice is replacing live advisors and has been embraced by Millennials. It occurred to me that adults might like some investment help too and would appreciate the institutional level guidance in my glide path. Importantly, age is an important consideration in determining an appropriate portfolio, but no one is currently integrating age with risk to the degree we are with Age Sage.
Hortz: What best advice can you give advisors and asset managers about addressing accelerating change and the need for new mindsets and tools in the investment arena?
Surz: Even though change is good, it’s a very hard sell. Change comes hard. Behavioral scientists tell us that we are all hard-wired to resist change. But as Buddha said “Impermanence is eternal.” I enjoy being a force for change and welcome all the help I can get in working with others around the needed development of our industry. I encourage all advisors to develop a growth mindset since change is worth the effort and essential in surviving the accelerating disruption hitting our industry, changing client perspectives, and the evolution of the markets themselves.
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