Best Robo-Advisors: 2017 Top Picks

Arielle O’Shea January 5, 2017:

The robo-advisor has officially gone mainstream, with a series of automated advisory launches over the past year by incumbent online brokers. E-Trade put out E-Trade Adaptive Portfolio, Fidelity now has Fidelity Go, and TD Ameritrade soft launched TD Ameritrade Essential Portfolios. And yet despite — or perhaps because of — their ties to established heavy hitters in the field, these newcomers brought little innovation. Most failed to stand out in NerdWallet’s in-depth analysis of the industry, falling short of independent startups like Betterment and Wealthfront or merely mimicking those services at a higher price.

What is a robo-advisor?

A robo-advisor is an online, automated portfolio management service. Because these companies use computer algorithms to manage client investments, robo-advisors can offer their services for a fraction of the cost of a human financial advisor. That lower-cost management, combined with features like automatic portfolio rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting, can translate into higher net returns for investors. To help you pick the best robo-advisor for you, we’ve selected the top two online advisors in six categories.

The best robo-advisors overall

Wealthfront and Betterment offer low management fees, reasonable minimums and innovative tools.

It takes a lot for smaller, independent companies to maintain their footing amid a slew of new launches, but Betterment and Wealthfront have managed to do that. They pioneered this industry, and they remain the best two options for most consumers, according to NerdWallet’s objective ranking system. That’s due to their low account minimums, easy-to-use interfaces and innovative features. Both robo-advisors offer automatic rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting and diversified portfolios.

They also share the same fee, to an extent: Both services charge 0.25%. Wealthfront manages $10,000 of every account balance for free, which makes that service slightly less expensive overall. But Betterment has two premium offerings that gain customers access to a team of financial advisors for an additional fee: Betterment Plus customers get unlimited emails with those advisors and one planning call a year for 0.40%, and Betterment Premium customers get unlimited email and phone calls for 0.50%. Betterment Plus requires a $100,000 minimum balance, and Betterment Premium requires $250,000.

Best robo-advisors for free management

These robo-advisors will manage your portfolio free of charge.

Let’s make one thing clear: Very little in financial services is completely free. Both WiseBanyan and Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios offer portfolio management free of charge, but the investments used — primarily exchange-traded funds — still carry expense ratios.

Investment expenses are an added cost at all of these robo-advisors, so overall, you’re still likely to pay less for these services. Do you get what you pay for? In some ways. WiseBanyan offers tax-loss harvesting only as a paid add-on. Opting in will bring your total cost to 0.25%, up to a maximum of $20 a month. That’s in line with top choices Betterment and Wealthfront. Schwab offers tax-loss harvesting only on taxable account balances of $50,000 or more. The company uses many of its own funds in client portfolios — meaning those aforementioned expense ratios add to its bottom line — but the portfolios are impressive, drawing from over 20 asset classes.

Best for access to a financial advisor

These robo-advisors combine the lower costs of online investment management with human advisors.

If you’re not comfortable with a computer taking the reins, but you’re intrigued by the lower management fees involved, you might be interested in a hybrid service that pairs computer automation with human financial advisors. The best of these hybrid services come from Vanguard Personal Advisor Services and Personal Capital.

Both have high minimum investments — $50,000 and $100,000, respectively — but offer personal service with customized portfolios and access to financial advisors. Vanguard’s management fee is more in line with the rest of the robo-advisor competition at 0.30%. It is subsidized, at least in part, by the use of Vanguard’s own funds in portfolios. That service offers a dedicated advisor to investors with balances of $500,000 or more. Below that, accounts are serviced by a rotating cast. Personal Capital’s fee skews high — accounts with balances under $1 million pay 0.89% — and clients are served by a team of advisors until they hit a $200,000 account balance, at which point they’re assigned two dedicated advisors.

Best robo-advisors for taxable accounts

These robo-advisors offer first-rate tax efficiency and optimization services.

Both Wealthfront and Personal Capital offer superior tax optimization services for customers with taxable accounts — like individual or joint non-retirement accounts — especially those with high balances. Wealthfront’s direct indexing service, available on accounts of $100,000 or more, buys individual securities rather than index funds or ETFs, zeroing in on tax-loss harvesting opportunities. The company says the service can add as much as 2.03% to annual investment performance.

At balances of $200,000 or more, Personal Capital also uses individual securities, though it draws from a smaller selection. The company says its tax optimization strategies can increase returns up to 1% annually.

Best robo-advisors for IRA management

Betterment and newcomer Fidelity Go both offer quality resources for retirement investors.

Nearly all robo-advisors will manage your IRA, so what makes these guys special? Both services are retirement focused. Betterment’s RetireGuide allows users to link non-Betterment accounts, including outside 401(k)s, then offers comprehensive retirement planning guidance and behavior-finance rooted tools that can push you to save more.

Fidelity is one of the biggest 401(k) plan providers, making for easy 401(k) to IRA rollovers if you already have other accounts held there. But this robo-advisory offering adds to that lineup: Fidelity Go users get full access to the broker’s retirement planning tools and apps.

Fidelity Go breaks from the traditional robo-advisor pricing model to charge an all-in fee that includes investment expenses; that cost is just 0.35% for retirement accounts. The company has a high minimum investment requirement, however, at $5,000 to Betterment’s $0.

Best robo-advisors for 401(k) management

These advisors will manage your employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Most robo-advisors manage IRAs and taxable accounts but leave you in the dark about your 401(k). These two advisors attempt to fill that hole. Blooom, which charges a flat monthly fee of $10, focuses on management of employer-sponsored plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s. The company works within the investments offered by your plan and offers free analysis so you can test the service before signing up. It also provides financial advisors who can help investors with a range of financial planning questions.

FutureAdvisor manages an array of account types held at Fidelity or TD Ameritrade for a 0.50% management fee, but the real shining star is its 401(k) management. The service will manage Fidelity 401(k)s that are enabled with BrokerageLink for free. You don’t have to have another account enrolled in FutureAdvisor’s paid service, but your 401(k) does have to meet its $10,000 account minimum.

Best robo-advisors: Summary

Robo-Advisor	Best for	Highlights	Annual Fee	Promotion	Account minimum
Review	Overall and minimizing taxes	Tax efficient direct indexing (accounts $100,000+)	0% – 0.25% of account balance	$15,000 managed free (NerdWallet readers)	$500
Review	Overall, IRAs	Goal-based tools help savings, guide asset allocation	0.25-0.50% of account balance	One month free management with $10,000 deposit.	$0
Review	Free	Free management; add-on services are paid	Free	n/a	$0
Review	Free	Trusted leader in financial services	Free	n/a	$5,000
Review	401(k)s	Manages Fidelity 401(k)s for free	0.5% of balance; several services free	Three months free	$10,000 (premium service)
Review	401(k)s	Manages employer 401(k) plans for flat fee	$10 per month	n/a	$0
Review	Access to financial advisor	Portfolios built on client-by-client basis with advisor	0.30% of account balance	n/a	$50,000
Review	Access to financial advisor + Minimizing taxes	Hybrid service; some tools free; individual securities ($200,000+)	0.49-0.89% of account balance	n/a	$100,000
Review	IRAs	Retirement planning tools; all-in fee	0.35% of account balance; includes investment expenses	n/a	$5,000

Arielle O’Shea is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: aoshea@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @arioshea.

Updated March 2, 2017