Asset Management

Another ETF-based portfolio service is launching in Canada, pending regulatory approval. Wealth Simple charges a 0.5% annual fee for a "light-advice" model, with the fee tapering down at higher levels of wealth. Accounts start at $5,000, with founder Michael Katchen overseeing the building and rebalancing of ETF portfolios from several fund companies.

Back in February I wrote about the rise of robo-advisors, the online services that allow you to build an ETF portfolio that's maintained by a computer. These services are already operating in the US, and several are in the works in Canada, including the start-ups NestWealth and WealthSimple.

The global asset management industry will radically transform over the next 15 years due to seismic shifts in client demographics, technology and changing social values and behaviours, according to a report.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story contained references to Tony Warren, an Alberta man who said he had paid tens of thousands of dollars annually in fees and commissions to Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. In fact, the fees he paid were significantly less than that.

The WealthBar Experience Personalized financial planning. WealthBar's financial plan gives you an overview of your financial situation, where you are today, and what you need to do next. It will outline your options and show you ways to reach your goals sooner. Expert investment management Working with online discount brokerages means dealing with many complex investment decisions alone.

The Launchpad is a series that introduces Mashable readers to compelling startups. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here . Name: Acorns One-Liner Pitch: Acorns aims to let users invest with just their spare change.

As so-called "robo-advisors" continue to grow, offering their services to more and more consumers at a modest 0.15% - 0.35% cost, the question arises whether such services will ultimately be a threat to traditional advisors. Can human advisors survive in a world where robo-advisors commoditize the cost of passive strategic portfolio construction down to almost nothing?

THIS is what I want to see in Canada. Low-cost, index based asset management with human advice related specifically to those investments and commissions stripped entirely from the equations.

If you've been listening to the news lately, then you've noticed that low-cost automated investment services are making the leap from the U.S. market to Canada. While in the U.S. they're called robo-advisers, a better word for the Canadian versions might be semi-automated "light advice" services.