Personal Capital serves up a unique triad of services comprising savings accounts, financial calculators and wealth management services. But minimums for portfolio management start at a steep $100,000, and its fees aren’t the most competitive on the market. Compare your investment options with these three Personal Capital alternatives.
This financial planning platform offers one-on-one guidance from a certified financial planner for a flat annual fee. Facet offers dedicated financial planners to help you manage your portfolio. While it doesn't offer its own accounts, it can help you with existing investments as long as you're willing to pay the entry cost: $480 per year for access to a dedicated financial advisor and $800 per year for investment management services.
SoFi offers automated investment options for investors who don't mind handing their portfolios over to a robo-advisor. SoFi doesn't offer access to human financial advisors. But that's because a digital algorithm-driven robo-advisor handles its portfolio management. Best of all, it's entirely free to use.
Like Personal Capital, Betterment offers savings accounts in addition to its investment service. But compared to Personal Capital, Betterment’s fees sit lower at 0.25% and you don’t need $100,000 to open an account: Betterment lets you get started with any amount you want. Of course, these lower fees and account thresholds only apply to the platform’s robo-advisor service. If you want access to certified financial planners, you’ll need to bump up to Betterment Premium — and that does require a $100,000 portfolio.
Account types
Brokerage, IRA
Annual fee
0.25% on balances up to $99,999 0.4% on balances of $100,000+
Available asset types
ETFs, Cryptocurrency
Annual fee
0.25% on balances up to $99,999 — 0.4% on balances of $100,000+
Pros and cons of Personal Capital
Personal Capital offers an attractive suite of services but has its drawbacks.
Pros
Free financial tools. Investors have access to Personal Capital’s free financial tools, including retirement planning, fee analyzers and net worth calculators.
Well-received. Well-received.
Human advisors. Personal Capital’s wealth management service is made possible by a combination of investing algorithms and the expertise of human financial advisors.
Cons
Account management fee. Investors with portfolios under $1 million pay 0.89% for Personal Capital’s wealth management service — more than you’d pay for automated investing with many of its competitors.
High portfolio minimum. To qualify for Personal Capital’s portfolio management services, you’ll need a portfolio of at least $100,000.
Limited support. Phone support is only available on weekdays.
How to transfer your brokerage account
Has another broker piqued your interest? The account transfer process will depend on the type of account you have and the platform you plan to move to. For information specific to the Personal Capital account transfer process, reach out to a rep during business hours and ask about applicable fees and next steps. Here’s a look at the typical process:
Contact your new broker to inform them of the transfer and provide them with your Personal Capital account number.
Complete any required transfer paperwork from your new broker. For accounts under $250,000, you may be asked to notarize your signature. For accounts over $250,000, you may be asked for a medallion signature guarantee.
Submit your transfer paperwork to your existing broker.
The account transfer process typically takes between seven and 10 business days.
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Shannon Terrell is a lead writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet and a former editor at Finder, specializing in personal finance. Her writing and analysis on investing and banking has been featured in Bloomberg, Global News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates and Black Enterprise. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and English literature from the University of Toronto Mississauga. See full bio
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