Another big fish in the wealth management industry is weighing in on the robo trend by linking up with BlackRock's digital platform, FutureAdvisor, to target a broader array of clients and give its advisors more flexibility.

RBC Wealth Management is collaborating with the digital wealth management provider FutureAdvisor on a pilot program for certain clients in the US, as technology continues to permeate the industry at both the operational and client service level.

The pilot, which began this week and is called RBC Investor Gateway, is one of several initiatives RBC Wealth Management said it is working on across its businesses to provide more flexibility to advisors and clients.  

RBC Investor Gateway will initially be targeted at investors who also want to use automated investment strategies and tools, or investors who are just beginning to build wealth, RBC said. As clients mature in terms of their needs, however, and as the complexity of their investments increases, they will be able to establish a deeper relationship with RBC Wealth Management and a financial advisor.

RBC Wealth Management will act as the custodian of all RBC Investor Gateway client assets, producing client statements, trade confirmations and tax documents, while FutureAdvisor will provide the personalized digital investment advice.

“Integrating digital advice into our platform will never be a replacement for the deep relationships and high-touch service that our financial advisors provide,” said John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management-US. “But we also recognize that investors have many different needs and want choice. By including a digital advice option through RBC Investor Gateway, we can serve a broader group of clients today, and also meet the changing needs of investors over the course of their investment lifetime.”

On a separate note, Taft is to retire on May 31, as previously reported by Family Wealth Report here.

FutureAdvisor, which was acquired in August 2015 by BlackRock, has over $700 million in client investments.

The move by RBC comes shortly after Morgan Stanley made a similar announcement last week. The firm is bringing in former Charles Schwab executive Naureen Hassan as chief digital officer within its wealth management division. This is a new role at the company in which Hassan will lead the strategy and marketing of digital tools and platforms serving its 16,000 financial advisors and 3.5 million clients. She starts on March 1.