If you are shopping for a robo-advisor to handle your investing needs, you’ve likely read about Betterment and Wealthfront. These two services are among the most prominent and popular robo-advisors, and both offer a very similar range of features and fees. We have made a side-by-side comparison to help you differentiate between the two apps.
Betterment’s service features a narrower range of investments, but has more control and lower fees for bigger balances. By contrast, Wealthfront offers a broader range of highly-automated investment options, as well as a cash account and college education savings accounts. Read on to get a firmer grasp on the other differences between these two leading robo-advisors.
Investment portfolios at both Wealthfront and Betterment are built from different combinations of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including both bond and stock funds to better meet differing levels of risk tolerance. Betterment builds customized portfolios of ETFs across 12 different asset classes. Wealthfront features 20 different automated portfolios, and each offers a different mix of ETFs across 11 asset classes. In both cases, the mix of ETFs in each portfolio is altered to satisfy different goals. Both periodically rebalance your portfolios as asset values change and markets fluctuate.
Wealthfront offers a highly-automated process. You answer a short questionnaire to assess your goals and risk tolerance, and the app places your money in one of its 20 portfolios. Betterment offers investors with over $100,000 in their account more control over their investment choices, giving you access to live advisors and letting you adjust the percentage invested in any particular ETFs.
Betterment | Wealthfront | |
---|---|---|
Management fee |
|
|
Average ETF expense ratio | 0.11% | 0.09% |
Account minimum | $0 | $500 |
Human advisors | Yes, for clients with at least $100,000 invested | No |
Fractional shares | Yes | No |
Tax loss harvesting | Yes | Yes |
College savings options | No | Yes |
Investment account types |
|
|
Savings account option | No | Earn 2.51% APY with no fees and FDIC insurance covering up to $1 million |
Ease of use | 4.5 stars | 5 stars |
In terms of management fees, Betterment and Wealthfront are very similar. Betterment charges an annual fee of 0.25% for investment balances up to $100,000. Wealthfront’s fee is 0.25% regardless of your investment balance. For balances greater than $100,000, Betterment’s premium option provides access to a team of live financial advisors, with a management fee of 0.40%.
If you have a very large balance to invest, Betterment may be a better choice than Wealthfront. When your Betterment account balance exceeds $2 million, your management fee falls to 0.15% for the basic portfolio and 0.30% for premium service.
With both companies, don’t forget ETF expense ratios. The expense ratio is a fee you pay to invest in ETFs to cover the cost of running the fund, including operational and administrative costs. The expense ratio is deducted directly from the fund, and can impact your investment performance. The expense ratio is dependent on your portfolio, but for the sake of comparison, the average expense ratio on a medium-risk portfolio is 0.11% at Betterment. At Wealthfront, it’s 0.09%.
Betterment and Wealthfront both offer the ability to add your outside investment accounts — such as an employer-offered 401(k) — to your account. You can’t manage the outside account from the robo-advisor dashboard, but they let you to view all of your accounts on one site, giving you a complete snapshot of your finances.
Where they differ is in their investment options. Betterment’s investment portfolio is more limited than Wealthfront’s. Wealthfront allows you to invest in some trendier options, including real estate investment trusts and commodities.
While Wealthfront doesn’t offer investing in savings bonds, as they tend to have a low yield, Betterment does allow you to save in bonds through its Smart Saver service, a low-risk investment option that offers more growth than a simple savings account.
Wealthfront’s Path digital financial planning tool stands out from Betterment. It’s designed to adjust along with your finances, helping you plan for long-term goals, like retirement or buying a home.
On the other hand, Betterment’s tax-coordinated portfolios are an asset for investors with large balances. Betterment will spread your investments across multiple accounts. Highly-taxed investments will be invested in IRAs to minimize taxes, and the rest will be invested in taxable accounts. According to the company, this strategy can increase your portfolio value by an estimated 15% over 30 years.
If you’re new to investing or want more personalized attention, Betterment offers some distinct advantages over Wealthfront.
If you’re new to investing or want more personalized attention, Betterment offers some distinct advantages over Wealthfront.
For more seasoned investors, Wealthfront offers some more advanced options to grow your money.
Wealthfront fully embraces the robo in robo-advisor, offering no human interaction and a highly-automated investing service, with no options for picking your own stocks or ETFs. If you’re looking to invest and forget it, then Wealthfront is probably your best bet, especially if you’d like to have a 529 college savings account as well.
Betterment offers a limited range of investable assets, however with enough money you can access human advisors, and also get more meticulous control over which stocks and ETFs you’re investing in. Fractional share investing and the zero account minimum make it a slightly better choice for beginning investors.
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Source: https://www.magnifymoney.com/blog/investing/betterment-vs-wealthfront/