Donald Trump Vs. Robo-Advisors

Last week, Betterment CEO Jon Stein publicly called for President-elect Donald Trump to support the fiduciary standard, a Department of Labor rule introduced this year that requires financial advisors to act in their clients’ best interests rather than their own.

Stein’s letter to the Wall Street Journal called lobbying against the rule “an attack against the biggest benefit for retirement savers in 40 years.”

Now, the robo-advisor company is claiming that future fights are ahead, as Betterment plans to act in the best interests of “everyday investors.”

In an interview with Benzinga, Betterment communications director Joseph Ziemer said the goal of the letter was “to make Betterment’s position clear,” given that “no one knows what’s going to happen” with the fiduciary standard.

Everyday Investors Vs. Wall Street

“We’ve been long supporters of the rule,” Ziemer said. “We’ve met with the Department of Labor, and have had an active voice in this discussion. We want to be a voice for the everyday investor, and not a voice for Wall Street.”

Ziemer said to expect more public advocacy from Betterment on issues relating to “everyday investors,” including the debate over who owns a consumer’s personal financial data.

“Customers want to use their data to get better advice on where they should be saving more money, which fees they’re paying, and getting transparency to make better decisions,” said Ziemer.

Ziemer noted that JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM CEO Jamie Dimon devoted a full page of his annual letter to shareholders to the topic of personal financial data.

“Fundamentally, we think that personal financial data is like your medical records—you should have access to it,” Ziemer said. “It is your information and you should be able to use it to get second opinions.”

According to the letters, Betterment manages over $6 billion in assets.

Benzinga interviewed Jon Stein to understand where he learned the lessons needed to build a fintech company earlier this year. Learn Stein's story here.