‘I’m so much more than a robo-advisor’

A new “goal-based” online investment management firm called Invisor.ca is trying to distinguish itself from traditional robo-advisors—the digital-advice services that allow you to build a low-fee ETF portfolio that’s maintained by a computer. The key difference is that Invisor.ca assesses a client’s goals before customizing a portfolio, whereas robo-advisors generally only evaluate risk tolerance. “That provides a more quantitative approach to asset allocation,” says financial planner Jason Heath. Another distinction is that Invisor.ca will build a portfolio with low-cost F-class mutual funds or ETFs. “This greatly increases the diversity of investment choices,” says Heath. “Investors who believe that active outperforms passive can hire a robo-advisor without going the ETF route.”