Robo-Advisors Beyond Automation: Principles and Roadmap for AI-Driven Financial Planning

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming financial planning by expanding access, lowering costs, and enabling dynamic, data-driven advice. Yet without clear safeguards, digital platforms risk reproducing longstanding market inefficiencies such as information asymmetry, misaligned incentives, and systemic fragility. This paper develops a framework for responsible AI in financial planning, anchored in five principles: fiduciary duty, adaptive personalization, technical robustness, ethical and fairness constraints, and auditability. We illustrate these risks and opportunities through case studies, and extend the framework into a five-level roadmap of AI financial intermediaries. By linking technological design to economic theory, we show how AI can either amplify vulnerabilities or create more resilient, trustworthy forms of financial intermediation.