Investec shuts robot savings adviser after losses mount

The rise of the robots hit a glitch on Thursday after wealth adviser Investec killed off its “robo-advice” service due to sluggish demand.

Click & Invest, launched in June 2017, will shut with immediate effect after plunging to a £12.8 million loss, the second consecutive year in the red.

The unit employs 54 people and some of the jobs are at risk.

Robo-advice, which manages savings with algorithms instead of humans, has been hailed in some quarters as the future of wealth management due to its low costs.

But Investec said the market was growing “at a much slower rate than expected”. UBS also closed its robo service SmartWealth last year.

Investec co-chief Fani Titi said: “It’s a slick platform but the market is not there at the moment.”

The company will take a £6 million writedown on the closure.

Savers have been told they can sell their investments and withdraw the cash or transfer to another savings provider.