Robo-advisors reach retail (2008–2010)
Startups Betterment and Wealthfront launched software that automatically built and rebalanced diversified portfolios for small investors. The tools handled work that human financial advisors had charged fees to do.
The startups gathered billions in assets from younger investors who wanted low-cost, hands-off investing.
Charles Schwab and Vanguard launched their own robo-advisors, and automated portfolio management became a standard feature across the industry.
Composer follows the same path: take a service once reserved for paid professionals and turn it into self-serve software, then watch incumbents copy it.
