finder.com's rating: 3.95 / 5.0
★★★★★
Wealthfront alleviates the hassle of building a portfolio by hand with automated investing. But you’ll need at least $500 to get started, and more competitive management fees can be found elsewhere.
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Wealthfront review
- Stock trade fee
- $0
- Minimum deposit
- $500
Paid non-client promotion. Finder does not invest money with providers on this page. If a brand is a referral partner, we're paid when you click or tap through to, open an account with or provide your contact information to the provider. Partnerships are not a recommendation for you to invest with any one company. Learn more about how we make money.
Finder is not an adviser or brokerage service. Information on this page is for educational purposes only and not a recommendation to invest with any one company, trade specific stocks or fund specific investments. All editorial opinions are our own.
Our verdict
Automated stock and bond ETF investing with the ability to trade individual stocks for as little as $1 apiece.
Consider Wealthfront if you want a reputable robo-advisor with individual stock trading capabilities. Wealthfront offers automated rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, a sweeping selection of accounts, tiered perks for larger portfolios and a well-reviewed mobile app. It also offers individual stock trading with fractional shares for as little as $1, no commissions and no account fees. Look elsewhere if you don't want to pay a $500 minimum deposit requirement and 0.25% management fee.
Best for: Investors who want self-directed and automated investing options.
Pros
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Offset income on your tax return via ETF sales.
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Offers individual, joint and trust accounts, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, 529 plans and 401(k) rollover accounts.
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Speak to FINRA-registered advisers to better help you navigate financial questions.
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Borrow up to 30% of your account value on accounts of $100,000 or more.
Cons
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It doesn't have any physical branches to visit for an in-person chat.
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0.25% annual fee simply can't compete with robo-advisors like SoFI.
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You'll need at least $500 to fund your Wealthfront account.
Paid non-client promotion. Finder does not invest money with providers on this page. If a brand is a referral partner, we're paid when you click or tap through to, open an account with or provide your contact information to the provider. Partnerships are not a recommendation for you to invest with any one company. Learn more about how we make money.
Finder is not an adviser or brokerage service. Information on this page is for educational purposes only and not a recommendation to invest with any one company, trade specific stocks or fund specific investments. All editorial opinions are our own.
How we rated Wealthfront’s features
| Fees | ★★★★★ 4/5 | Its 0.25% management fee is on par with competitors. No account-opening fees, withdrawal or account-closing fees, commissions or account transfer fees. |
| Minimum deposit requirement | ★★★★★ 3/5 | You’ll need to deposit at least $500 to get started. |
| Account selection | ★★★★★ 5/5 | Its account selection includes taxable and retirement accounts, 529 plans and 401(k) rollover accounts. |
| Tax advantages | ★★★★★ 5/5 | Retirement accounts and tax-loss harvesting are available to all investors. |
| Customer support | ★★★★★ 2/5 | Support can be reached by phone and email, but we had to wait a day for a response. |
| Customer feedback | ★★★★★ 4/5 | Wealthfront reviews are largely positive. |
| Mobile app | ★★★★★ 4.9/5 | Its mobile app receives high marks from both Google and Apple users. |
To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read the methodology at the bottom of the page.
Wealthfront’s platform is simple and easy to use
Wealthfront is a robo-advisor — and the investment process doesn’t differ much from most of the other robo-advisors on the market.
- You answer a financial questionnaire.
- Wealthfront puts together an investment portfolio.
- You approve the portfolio and fund the account.
- Wealthfront invests your money.
There’s no person behind the curtain here — Wealthfront’s robo-advisor relies on a sophisticated algorithm to keep your portfolio on track. That’s what automated rebalancing is — and what the financial questionnaire is for.
Your responses are used to determine your risk tolerance and portfolio makeup. This is what allows you to “set it and forget it.”
You don’t need to monitor stocks, make trades or worry about what the market is doing — simply sign in to the online dashboard or mobile app to see how your investments are doing. Wealthfront tracks it all and moves investments in and out of your portfolio to maximize your return. But you can also trade individual stocks with Wealthfront. Access over 1,500 stocks and trade fractional shares for as little as $1 and with no commissions or account fees.
For its Automated Investing account, you need a minimum deposit of $500 to get started and can fund your account by linking an external bank account or by transferring funds from an existing investment account. Also, you’re free to withdraw a minimum of $250 as often as you’d like as long as there’s at least $500 in your account.
If your financial circumstances change, update your preferences or add information to your account for a more personalized experience at any time.
The 0.25% fee is competitive
| Minimum opening deposit | $500 |
| Annual management fee | 0.25% |
| Trading commissions | $0 |
| Account transfer fee | $0 |
Wealthfront’s 0.25% annual advisory fee is fairly competitive, putting it squarely in the company of platforms like Betterment and J.P. Morgan. But not all robo-advisors charge fees.
For instance, M1 Finance and SoFi both offer automated investment services for free. Even Fidelity’s robo-advisor is free for portfolios under $25,000.
Wealthfront’s 0.25% annual management fee isn’t outrageously high — it works out to $2.50 per year on a $1,000 portfolio. That said, every penny counts towards your investment return, especially when reinvesting your returns to continue growing your portfolio.
In addition to an annual management fee, you’ll also pay expense ratios on any ETFs in your portfolio. ETF expense ratios are charged by the companies that run the fund, not Wealthfront. They typically range from 0.06% to 0.15%.
Wealthfront app reviews
| App store | Rating | Total reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Google Play | 4.86 | 7,398 |
| Apple Store | 4.80 | 16,651 |
How to sign up with Wealthfront
- Select the “Sign up now” button below and then select Get started to start your application.
- Answer Wealthfront’s questionnaire, which includes questions about why you want to invest, your pretax income, your tax filing status and your risk tolerance. After completing the questionnaire, you’ll receive a diversified investment plan.
- Choose Open My Account to continue.
- Create an account by entering your name and email address and creating a password.
- Enter your mobile phone number for security verification.
Eligibility and required information
- At least 18 years old
- Valid Social Security number
- US citizen or lawful permanent resident with a physical address
- Financial goals
- Employment information
- Risk tolerance
- Make an initial deposit of at least $500
Get help via phone or email
If you need to get in touch with customer service, you have two options.
- Email. Send an email through the Wealthfront website for a response within one business day.
- Phone. Log in to your account to set up a phone call with one of Wealthfront’s product specialists.
Alternatives to Wealthfront
Wealthfront has plenty of robo-advisor standards, including automated rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting. But there are a few places it misses the mark, and it won’t be a sensible fit for everyone.
Take its $500 minimum deposit requirement, for example. If you’re just starting out and can’t meet the minimum, look for a platform that doesn’t impose a minimum deposit requirement, like SoFi Invest or Betterment.
Or maybe you want a platform that takes automated investing a step further with transactional round-ups. If that’s the case, you’ll want to look at a service like Acorns.
There are plenty of platforms to consider, so weigh your options by comparing features, investor feedback and trading fees to find the account best suited to your financial goals.
Compare Wealthfront to other platforms
Wealthfront
★★★★★
Finder rating 4 / 5
Available asset types
Stocks, ETFs
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$500
Complete signup bonus
Get $50 when you sign up and fund a taxable automated investing account with at least $500
Frec
Available asset types
Stocks, ETFs
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$20,000
Complete signup bonus
N/A
Titan
★★★★★
Finder rating 3.8 / 5
Available asset types
ETFs
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$500
Complete signup bonus
N/A
How we rate trading platforms
★★★★★ 5/5 — Excellent
★★★★★ 4/5 — Good
★★★★★ 3/5 — Average
★★★★★ 2/5 — Subpar
★★★★★ 1/5 — Poor
We analyze top online trading platforms and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include fees, securities available for trade, customer support, customer feedback, platform resources and overall reliability.
For a complete breakdown of how we score each category, read the full methodology of how we rate robo-advisors.
For a complete breakdown of how we score each category, read the full methodology of how we rate robo-advisors.
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