an experiment
2024 | $3,000 to invest | Five Robo-Advisors
My $5,000 CD will mature on November 29, 2023, with a projected balance of $5,209.29. Per Nerd Wallet, the average stock market return is approximately 10% per year. Keep in mind, the stock market is volatile and it’s difficult to provide an average for a single year because some years may experience a much higher or much lower return. From 2018-2022, the average annual S&P 500 return was 7.51%. Assuming I had invested my $5,000, I could have closer to $5,375, or $166 more than I do today.
As I mentioned in my HERstory, my head was spinning with investment options. All these investment companies seem to offer their own flavor of investing. Some promise to build a strategy to meet my needs, help me master the market, unlock the secret to long-term wealth, and more. Again, which do I trust? Which company will give me the best returns and best customer service? I read site after site and loads of blogs that compared and ranked each company. Many websites provide amazing content and research. However, the one thing missing is real life experience. I still did not know who to pick.
Everything is hypothetical.
I want real data, real experiences.
I am here to do that.
I am taking my $5,000 and putting $500 into six different brokerage accounts held by five investment firms. I will select the same risk tolerance in each account and see what happens. I will select one investment firm and open two identical accounts but invest $25 per month to show the impact that small regular deposits have on an account balance. The remaining $2,000 will move to a high yield savings account for unexpected emergencies or perhaps I will open a CD!
The purpose of my experiment is not to tell you which company or strategy to pick for your investments. Instead, I am going to provide you with MY real life experiences and balances throughout the year. I will talk about customer service, rate of return, fees, account features, and more. I may lose money. I may earn money. Time will tell.
The options page includes some of the firms that I found are available to investors.