Robo advisers might not be a term those stuck with it like, but it is not doing them any harm. Online investment services (a description many prefer) that create and manage model investment portfolios tailored to clients’ risk appetites – and usually constructed with exchange-traded funds – saw strong growth in the US last year.

Wealthfront, the biggest of the new service providers that use computers to construct and manage portfolios for individuals with little or no human intervention, launched in December 2011. It started last year with $500 million in assets and closed it with over $1.7 billion. Rival firm Betterment now has almost $1.2 billion. A survey by consultant Corporate Insight of the 11 leading robo advisers in the US estimates that they managed total assets of $19 billion by December - up 65% from April. Another study, published in September by Swiss-based MyPrivateBanking Research, forecast the industry's global assets would increase to $255 billion in the next five years.