Can a machine replace an advisor? Silly, we know. But Cake Financial, a San Francisco-based company, introduced an automated service that tailors a mutual fund portfolio to match investors’ goals. Walter Mossberg reviewed the service, called Cake Premium, in the Wall Street Journal. And while it probably won’t replace actual advisors any time soon, it does appeal to investors without the time to seek out an advisor of their own.
Cake doesn’t actually conduct any transactions, so investors have to do their own buying and selling if they follow its advice. Users can transfer their account information from any of 65 major investment companies.
Perhaps the largest limitation is that the service looks at mutual funds only, and learns only a small portion of a user’s financial situation.