Headline Dec.19/ ''' MONEY'S DIGITAL MANTRA '''

''' MONEY'S DIGITAL MANTRA '''

MAKING MONEY IN A DIGITAL WORLD : Beyond betting on new technologies and solutions, one can also invest directly in technology companies to yield better returns.

Bitcoin defies expectations again, its value at an all-time high. But should people flock to it now, or still be very, very cautious?

Be what it may, the dynamics have shifted. Celebrities are now born on YouTube, a platform this still has potential for people to earn from. But these dream these days is not aim for Hollywood stardom.........

At the moment, robo advisers offer a form of financial advisory for a more affordable price, essentially allowing those who usually can't afford to pay for full-fledged, certified advisers to help them make investments.

These automated services typically offer fees at 0.3% to 0.5%, significantly lower than human counterparts.

This doesn't just allow people to get financial advisory at lower rates, but also for investors to get substantial savings, as traditional wealth managers can charge somewhere around 1% to 2% on top of other fees.

Industry-wise, many believe that this will also drive down financial advisory fees across the board, which is objectively a good thing for investors.

From here on, experts are expecting  -robo-advisers to keep growing. BI intelligence, the premium research service under Business Insider, forecasts that robo-advisers will manage approximately 10% of all digital assets under management [AUM] by 2020.

This would equate to US$ 8 trillion.

Betterment, essentially the most popular robo-adviser platform in the market, now has about about US$ 8.5 billion in assets since its inception in 2008.

Robo-advisers are so prevalent now that even big names in the financial services industry are rolling out their own services.

Earlier this year, Wells Fargo announced plans to create  robo-adviser. Here, clients will require a minimum of US$ 10,000 to open an account. They will be charged 0.5% advisory fee.

In December, Morgan Stanley also rolled out its own robo-adviser, available to clients with at least US$ 5,000 to invest. They charge a service fee of 0.35% of investor assets annually.

Financial planner Chan Wah Advisory Joshua Liew says that robo-advisers will grow and improve over time, and that people could give it a try : 

''I think it's a good opportunity for people to get started into investments here, and when they want to get more serious, they can move on to traditional advisory services,'' he says.

However, he feels that people should set realistic expectations.

''Don't expect  robo-advisers to be the cheaper yet better solution to grow more money. Studies have found that  robo-adviser returns to vary and not be as consistent across the board. If you ask me, only put your money on trustworthy and popular services like Betterment.''

Content creator's paradise:

The dream these days is not to aim for Hollywood stardom. One can also become famous by being  YouTube star. With the ability to reach niche audiences, almost anyone who can produce the right content, resulting in hundreds of thousands of viewers, can translate this into *advertising revenue*.

Hence, the big question these days is  whether or not YouTube can yield decent profits to users and content producers. There is little doubt that YouTube stars rake in millions per year.

The biggest YouTube star is perhaps PewDiePie, a Swedish comedian, who has a sizeable 54 million subscribers. In 2015, he earned an estimated US$ 8.1 million.

Does this only work for the talented individuals? 

The good news is that two of the major video streaming services YouTube and Twitch -have been making headway into ensuring that even those without the million subscribers can earn some  revenue.

YouTube has launched the YouTube partner programme, allowing users following the right content parameters to monetise their videos.

However, in April this year, YouTube announced a change to the programme. Content creators now won't be able to enable monetisation on their videos until they hit 10,000 lifetime views on their channel.

It's YouTube's way to essentially weed out the serious creators over the exploiters. However, the new policy does pose an extra hurdle for novice and amateurs hoping to jump right in.

James Kinney, an e-commerce consultant at tech consultancy Tech Knave, says that while it's not technically too hard for people to start earning money on YouTube, it's imperative to know that ad revenue doesn't provide the highest returns.

''Ad returns are not standardised. Different advertisers and the demographics of your audience factor into the amount you can earn.

Some may earn US$1 to 2 for every 1,000 views, while others may only get 50 cents,'' he says.

In addition, YouTube also takes 45% cut out of revenue. Thus, those considering becoming serious  content creators will need  to invest in good equipment.

Making money on YouTube is not as easy as shooting a video and hoping for the best.

Those who want to stream themselves playing video games, though, can try monetizing their efforts on Twitch, a live streaming video platform owned by Amazon.com,

Twitch recently introduced an affiliate program that essentially makes it easier for streamers to earn so long they keep it up consistently.   

''However, streaming yourself takes a lot of dedication, as it is something you need to do for hours on end. Those who juggle full-time jobs, may not be able to keep it up,''  Kinney says.

Kinney, however, believes that these platforms aren't just for ad-revenue  -they can become platforms that supplement other online revenue streams anyone might have.

''If you are selling stuff online, for example, YouTube is a great place for you to advertise your products via a video or two,'' he says.

''Thing is with YouTube celebrities, ad revenues isn't where they earn the most money, It's the sponsored content and ambassadorship they get that brings in the cash,'' he concludes.

The Honor and Serving of the latest Operational Research on Digital World continues.

With respectful dedication to all the Digital Entrepreneurs, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all  'register' on !WOW!  -the World Students Society and Twitter-!E-WOW!  -the Ecosystem 2011:

'''Creator's Paradise '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless