The Impact of Robo-Advisors on Asset Management in Africa: Legal and Regulatory Perspectives

Financial technology (fintech) has transformed the financial services industry worldwide and robo-advisors have become one of the most important innovation in asset management. Such algorithm-based, automated platforms offer investment advice and portfolio management services at a small fraction of the cost of the traditional financial advisors, making wealth management democratized.Financial inclusion is a major issue in Africa, so robo-advisors provide a potentially effective routeto bring underserved communities into contact to advanced investment solutions. But when itcomes to integrating them into the African financial markets, legal and regulatory issues becomecomplex, especially on the protection of consumers, privacy of data, and adherence to the existingfinancial regulations.