Betterment is one of the most well-known robo-advisor platforms on the market.
The Betterment platform is primarily a robo-advisor, but also gives customers access to live human financial advisors.
In this Betterment review, well tell you everything it’s crucial that you know.
What Is Betterment?
Its best known as a robo-advisor for its automated investing service.
Betterment Features
Betterment is on its way to becoming a one-stop shop for all your financial needs.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
Betterment Review: Services and Features
How Does Betterment Work?
Betterment is arobo-advisorthat lets you select a portfolio aligned with your investment goals.
Youll deposit funds for investment (without having to worry about a minimum balance requirement).
Did you know?
Heres what happens when you open an account with Betterment.
To create a Betterment account, you cansign up onlinewith your email address.
Betterment is all about goal-based investing.
Betterments algorithms and technology build a unique investment portfolio for each punch in of goal you select.
Premium customers get more in-depth financial advice and unlimited access to phone calls with a financial advisor.
Betterments average expense ratios are around 0.11%.
The account management fee and expense ratios are the only fees youll pay on Betterment.
It will automatically rebalance your portfolio based on yourrisk toleranceand time horizon.
However, you cant choose individual companies to invest in.
Betterment buysfractional shares of stocks portions of equity that arent a full stock.
That means all your money will be invested.
Betterment gives users not one, but three different socially responsible investment portfolios to choose from.
Betterment also offers crypto portfolios designed for long-term investing.
More Betterment Features
Betterment does more than robo-advising.
Its other top features include banking services and access to human financial advisors.
Betterment also offers a joint checking account option and joint savings accounts.
Tax Management
Betterment offers automatic tax-loss harvesting on every taxable account.
Tax-loss harvesting helps lower your tax burden by reducing your overall capital gains from investing.
It does this by selling your stocks and other assets that drop in value.
Youll take a loss, but it helps lower your tax bill by offsettingcapital gains tax.
Betterment automatically manages the tax-loss harvesting feature, so you dont have to worry about the details.
Betterment also offers a Tax-Coordinated Portfolio that spreads investments in certain assets across taxable and tax-advantaged retirement accounts.
Finally, Betterment offers charitable giving.
Access to Human Financial Advisors
Betterment offers access to certified financial planners and personalized investment advice.
Betterment Premium users get unlimited access to human financial advisors for free.
Pros and Cons
All robo-advisors have their pros and cons.
Here are some of the advantages and drawbacks of Betterment.
Betterments new fee structure for investment accounts is a big drawback for us.
In November 2022, Betterment switched to a $4 monthly subscription fee model for Digital plans.
Thats more expensive than micro-investing apps likeAcornsandStash, which both charge $3 a month.
Previously, you would have paid just $2.50.
This makes Betterments pricing much less appealing to small investors than it used to be.
Is Betterment Right for You?
Betterment is a large independent investment firm well-known for its user-friendly, accessible investment accounts.
Depending on your financial goals, it may or may not be a great fit for you.
It also doesnt own the funds it helps you invest in.
And it employs two-factor authentication to keep your account secure.
You risk losing money with any investment, so your Betterment accounts could drop in value.
Remember, all investing involves risk.
Rachel Christian is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance and a senior writer for The Penny Hoarder.
Contributor Timothy Moore updated this report.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
