Financial robo‑advisors and AI

Within the Digital banking and finance research area, the financial robo-advisors and AI theme focuses on the emergence, adoption, and trustworthiness of automated investment advisory services.

These services use algorithms and AI to provide investment advice and portfolio management with limited human intervention. Particular attention is given to the role of cultural context, decision-making style, and trust in shaping investors’ behavioural intention to use these technologies.

The research also questions whether financial robo-advisors can rely on a universal “one-size-fits-all” model or whether their design, communication, and implementation need to be adapted to different cultural, behavioural, and financial literacy contexts. In addition, it considers opportunities and limitations of robo-advisors, as well as their risks related to limited personalisation, algorithmic dependency, and uneven suitability across different investor groups.

The aim is to analyse the trust-building of retail investors in financial robo-advisors, and the influence of technological, behavioural, informational, and cultural aspects on the adoption and use of this technology.

Selected Publications

Journal articles

Nourallah, M., Öhman, P., Walther, T., & Nguyen, D. K. (2026). Financial robo-advisors: A scoping review and future research directions.
Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 101158.

Edin, K. (2026). Algorithmic Personalization and Datafication of Being: A Heideggerian Phenomenological View. Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology.

Nourallah, M. (2023). One size does not fit all: Young retail investors’ initial trust in financial robo-advisors.
Journal of Business Research, 156, 113470.

Nourallah, M., Öhman, P., & Amin, M. (2023). No trust, no use: How young retail investors build initial trust in financial robo-advisors.
Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, 21(1), 60-82.

Book chapter

Mustafa M. & Öhman, P. (2021). Impact of advanced technologies on consumer finance and retail investment: Mobile bank applications and Robo-financial advisors, in Impact of Globalization and Advanced Technologies on Online Business Models, Eds, Ho. C.R; Alex, H. H. N. & Nourallah, M. IGI Global, Pennsylvania. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7603-8

Webinar: The Past, Present and Future of Robo‑advice, december 3

Webiniar: The Past, Present, and Future of Robo-Advice

On December 3, 2024, CER hosted a webinar titled "The Past, Present, and Future of Robo-Advice." The presenter at the webinar was Professor Alberto Rossi from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Link to the webinar