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TD Ameritrade says retail investors can now use Google Assistant to check their portfolios and access their accounts hands-free. Rival E-Trade also announced voice-activated access via Google Assistant on Wednesday.
For TD Ameritrade Institutional, the firm says it expects "to make similar content available to advisors through the Google platform soon," according to Dani Fava, director of innovation for the business.
Wednesday's news comes about six weeks after TD Ameritrade launched voice-powered access to investor-client accounts, but not trading, via Android Auto and Echo Auto; the brokerage firm plans similar car tools for iPhone users later this year. Trading via voice on Amazon's Alexa was introduced in late October 2018.
"RIAs don't need to pick up a device, stand in one place or use a keyboard," Fava explained. "They can be driving or pouring a cup of coffee while interacting with TD Ameritrade."
According to TD Ameritrade Chief Information Officer Vijay Sankaran, "Voice-enabled technology is the future, and with the rollout of support for the Google Assistant, we've added another major piece in our reach across the voice technology ecosystem."
To protect investor privacy, the Google Assistant will read aloud percentage changes — but not specific monetary values — when clients ask about their portfolios on a shared device like Google Home.
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