Another roboadvisor is shutting its doors.
Hedgeable announced that it will discontinue its investment management business effective August 9 in a client notice released on Thursday, shuttering its $80 million AUM roboadvisor.
“This hasn’t been an easy decision, but we believe it’s the right one,” the company told clients. “To be clear, Hedgeable, Inc. is not shutting down, selling, merging, filing for bankruptcy, or insolvent. We are simply removing our SEC registration within 30 days, and thus our automated investing platform will no longer be able to operate thereafter.”
Two Bridgewater Associates employees founded Hedgeable, Inc. as an RIA in April 2009. In 2010, the company launched one of the first roboadvisors. The firm’s digital offering gave investors access to investments and strategies still unavailable from most roboadvisors, including portfolio customization, single stock exposures, tactical management and the ability to use a core-satellite approach to portfolio construction.
After the company ceases its roboadvisor operations, it will no longer trade or take additional deposits within clients’ digitally managed accounts.
“We will continue to manage your assets for any period up to the next 30 days (up to August 9, 2018), as long as you are still a Hedgeable client,” the company told users in its notice. “As part of our transition, however, your current account will need to be transferred to another advisor or brokerage firm of your choosing no later than August 9, 2018.”
As of Thursday, Hedgeable had nearly 1,700 clients with more than 1,900 accounts.
Hedgeable’s custodian, Folio Investments, will waive account management fees continue to allow Folio clients self-directed access to their accounts online through the rest of 2018.
Hedgeable is just the latest roboadvisor to close its doors. Earlier this month, WorthFM, a niche roboadvisor for women founded by personal finance guru Amanda Sternberg ceased operations. In May, Northwestern Mutual discontinued its LearnVest digital advice service.
In 2016, Pinnacle Investments’ Michael Kitces noted flagging asset and client growth among roboadvisors and argued that many digital advice providers were spending more to acquire a client than they could potentially earn by serving one.