Your portfolio
22 / 23
Anthony Luzio finds out whether algorithms pose a threat to
computer-based tracker funds
Get with the program
W
hen footage emerged
of one of Uber’s self-
driving cars running
over and killing a
cyclist in Arizona earlier this year,
it confirmed what many people had
long suspected – no matter how
advanced computers become, there
are some tasks that are so important,
only human oversight will do.
This suspicion seems to apply to
managing money as well. Despite
the wealth of evidence showing that
the vast majority of investors would
be better off in passive funds, these
still account for less than 20 per
cent of the money run by the asset
management industry.
Fear of the unknown
Part of this may be driven by a fear
of the unknown and the speed with
which technology is developing –
algorithms, for example, have been
trustnet.com