As I mentioned, my head was spinning with options. On this page, I listed the various firms I looked into over many months. I've included notes, minimum balance requirements, promo codes (if any), NerdWallet reviews, links, and more.
The firms I selected are outlined and tracked on the my picks page.
5 ★ | Fees: 0.20% annually, monthly minimum $1 | Minimum investment: $0 | Uninvested money in the Webull cash account earns 5.0% APY. | Promo: Get up to 12 fractional shares with a new account
NOTE: The promotion applies to an account that is different from the Smart Advisor account discussed on this site.
5 ★ | Fees: 0.25% annually | Minimum investment: $500 | What I like: Wealthfront offers tax optimization for your accounts.
5 ★ | Fees: $4/month for balances under $20,000. Reduced to 0.25% with balances over $20,000 or recurring deposits of $250/month. | Minimum investment: $0 cash reserve (essentiall a savings account) $10 to invest | My opinion: unless you have a balance over $20,000, I am not comfortable with the advisory fees. I plan to open an account with $1,000, equalling 4.8% in advisory fees or $48 annually. I am hopeful my account might make 6%, giving me a return of 1.2%. At this rate, I should stick to my high yield savings account. | Promos: Open and fund an account to "receive a promotional offer." Unfortunately, I don't know what will be received.
4.9 ★ | Fees: no advisory fees for automated investing | Minimum investment: $1 | What I like:
Free access to financial advisors. There are also additional for promotional opportunities onces you create an account including opportunities to win stocks or earn Bitcoin with your first crypto trade.
Get $25 in stock when you open an active investing account.
NOTE: My focus is on automated investing.
4.9 ★ | Fees: 0% annually | Minimum investment: $5,000 | Note: Accounts are automatically rebalanced. Tax optimization is only available on balances over $50,000. | My opinion: The minimum investment is too high for my situation currently. If I could invest $5,000 at Schwab and among other firms as part of my experiment, I would.
4.7 ★ | Fees: 0.15% annually | Minimum investment: $3,000 | My opinion: The minimum investment is too high for the purpose of my experiement. | Promo: No advisory fees for 90 days.
4.6 ★ | Fees: 0% for balances under $25,000 0.35% a year for balances over $25,000 | Minimum investment: $0 to open $10 to invest | What I like: Fidelity Go includes unlimited 30-minute 1-on-1 coaching calls (conversations on budgeting, managing debt, retirement planning, and more).
4.4 ★ | Fees: 0% for cash enhanced portfolios 0.30% for market-focused portfolios | Minimum investment: $100 | Account types: Cash-enhanced portfolios keep 30% of your account invested in cash with a 4.40% APY. Market-focused portfolios keep only about 2% of your invested in cash. Approximately 98% of your account is invested. | What I like: I have been a long-time Ally savings customer and they have exceptional customer service.
4.3 ★ | Fees: $12 per month | Minimum investment: $0 | What I like: Get access to financial planning and educational resources. | My opinion: Similar to Betterment, the $12 per month fee with Ellevest is too high for my $1,000 balance account. | NOTE: Marketed towards women but anyone can be a client.
4.0 ★ | Fees: 0.35% annually | Minimum investment: $500 | My opinion: Account holders get access to financial advisors and goal tracking tools. An easy choice if you are already a Wells Fargo customer. | NOTE: I was unable to locate a NerdWallet review so I shared Bankrate's review regarding Wells Fargo Intuitive Investor account.
4.6 ★ | Fees: $3 - $5 per month | Minimum investment: $0 | NOTE: This is not a robo-advisor account. Acorns will recommend a portfolio based on your age, goals, risk tolerance, and more. | What I like: The site has a nifty calculator that clearly shows the impact of small yet regular investments over time.
4.7 ★ | Fees: 0.70% - 0.90% for managed accounts | Minimum investment: $500 for stock and bond portfolios | NOTE: Titan is not a robo-advisor. Instead, an investment management team researched the market and manages strategies for you. I added this to the list because NerdWallet included Titan as one of the top robo-advisors of August 2023.
Interest rates and account details throughout the site are current as of August 2023.
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