A Conceptual Study on the Intention to Use Financial Robo-Advsors for Islamic Financial Products: Empowering Madani Economy

One of the biggest breakthroughs in Malaysia's financial ecosystem is the introduction of financial robo-advisors (FRAs), an artificial intelligence or AI-powered tools that automate investor portfolio management. FRAs, despite being new in Malaysia, are rapidly advancing with untapped research potential. In addition, FRAs are gaining popularity among the financial consumers in a tech-driven world. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research focusing on retail investors on FRAs. Malaysia, the global Islamic finance hub, employs FRAs for Islamic financial product advisory services, but research on their use in educating retail advisors is limited. This paper proposes a simple yet comprehensive conceptual model that expands the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to identify the main determinants influencing the intention to use FRAs for Islamic financial products among retail investors in Malaysia.