Wealthfront’s customization features are among the best of all of the automated investment platforms that we cover. You pick your portfolio from Classic, Socially Responsible, Automated Bond, or Direct Stock Indexing. Then you’re able to customize it by adding and subtracting ETFs.
This all comes with a low assets under management (AUM) fee of 0.25%.
Wealthfront’s algorithmic portfolio management is grounded in best practices and research-supported theory. Portfolio rebalancing is not automatic, but it is adopted when deposits or withdrawals are made or if the asset allocation significantly deviates from its target. Tax consequences are also programmed into asset allocation decisions. The original Wealthfront portfolios and those with added ETFs or client-customized options are all rebalanced according to this plan.
Wealthfront claims that the daily tax-loss harvesting benefits offset the 0.25% management fee for taxable accounts. This service is included in the management fee and is available to all investors. The platform sells ETFs with losses and replaces them with an alternate ETF that tracks a different but correlated index to maintain the risk and return characteristics. This avoids falling prey to the IRS’s wash sale rule.
Clients with over $100,000 who participate in the U.S. Direct Indexing portfolio receive both stock-level and ETF-level tax-loss harvesting.
| Key Portfolio Management Features | |
|---|---|
| Automatic Rebalancing | When deposits or withdrawals occur and when percentage allocations deviate from their goal |
| Reporting Features | Tax and monthly statements are available on the website |
| Tax-Loss Harvesting | Yes—daily |
| External Account Syncing/Consolidation | Yes—anyone can link accounts and receive net worth, saving, spending, and “what if” planning information |
Account Management Questions
Here are the answers to a range of frequently asked account management questions.
- Can you take money out of Wealthfront? Yes.
- Does Wealthfront have a monthly fee? The automated investment options charge 0.25% of assets managed, which is levied monthly. There are no fees or commissions for the Path financial planning tools or the stock and cash accounts.
- Do I have to pay taxes on Wealthfront? You’ll typically pay taxes on income and capital gains if you have a taxable (not retirement) account.
- How much do you need to invest in Wealthfront? The minimum is $500.
- Can I choose my own stocks on Wealthfront? Yes. You can do this in a self-directed trading account.
- Is Wealthfront good for beginners? Yes, but make certain to do your own research and review the platform before you invest.
User Experience
Desktop
The Wealthfront user experience is a good one, with a clean interface and easy access to menu items. The platform menu includes Cash, Bonds, Index Investing (which leads to the automated investment options), Stocks, and Learn. The home page continues with important information about each vertical. It’s simple to access more information and related frequently asked questions with the click of a button.
For users seeking more detail about the platform, the footer links to additional information such as:
- Explore all investments
- Retirement
- College
- Socially responsible
- Pricing
- Tax-loss harvesting
- Historical performance
- Whitepaper
- ATM locator
- Help center
- Blog
- Home Planning and Financial Health guides
Mobile
The mobile apps are highly ranked on both the Android and iOS platforms. The user experience is good and the apps approximate the functionality of the desktop version. The opportunity for non-Wealthfront users to link their accounts, use the financial planning software, obtain financial planning insights, and have a true 360-degree view of their spending and net worth is an enormous benefit.
While the Wealthfront app reviews occasionally mention bugs, the company is extremely responsive to comments and updates the app weekly.
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Customer Service
Customer service is available through three avenues:
- Help center with access to FAQ and a search bar
- Online form
- Phone support on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT
The Help Center articles and frequently asked questions are comprehensive. Email is the second option if you can’t find what you need from the Help Center.
There is a phone customer service number, but it is difficult to find. When you call, there are eight menu options for questions ranging from deposits to investing. When we reached a product specialist, he was poised to answer account-related questions. Although the product support specialists are not financial planners, they are registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and hold Series 7 licenses. Many also possess additional credentials such as CFA, CFP, or CPA.
The company makes it difficult to access a human on the phone and does not offer live financial planners. The expectation with Wealthfront is that you will help yourself using the FAQs and perhaps email, but other robo-advisors have found better ways to keep the human element for those needing it. We found customer service a rare weak spot for Wealthfront, as the firm lacks live chat and phone customer service reps are difficult to access.
Security
Wealthfront takes security seriously, with limited access by employees to your data and a team that actively monitors and reviews security protocols.
Key security features include:
- Two-factor authentication
- Wealthfront Cash accounts protected by $8 million of FDIC insurance through its member banks (and up to $16 million FDIC insurance for joint accounts)
- Wealthfront Investment accounts protected with up to $500,000 SIPC insurance covering up to $250,000 in cash (SIPC insurance protects against investment firm failure, not against the normal volatility of the financial markets)
Education
Wealthfront’s education vertical is strong, with a comprehensive blog, educational articles, and videos.
The self-directed nature of Wealthfront is supported by an excellent Learn vertical, which is made up of the following:
- Blog
- Help center and FAQs
- Risk assessment tools
- Home Planning, Financial Health, and Equity and IPO Guides
- IRA contributions calculator
- YouTube channel with 287 videos
The educational content covers how to use the platform, taxes, financial planning, account types, general investing, and scores of other topics. For investors looking for deeper explanations of how the platform operates, Wealthfront has some excellent blog posts as well as white papers discussing major elements of the model and some of the research underpinning it.
Commissions and Fees
The Wealthfront cost structure applies to automated accounts only and is 0.25% of AUM (assets under management). The cash and stock accounts are fee-free. Wealthfront does not charge commissions.
The fees for the 529 account are a bit higher and range from 0.42% to 0.46%, except for Nevada residents.
All ETFs charge an expense ratio, which averages 0.08%.
Wealthfront has several referral programs that lower management fees and increase returns for the cash management program.
Cash accounts are free of any fees, but there are several fees for the Wealthfront debit card, including:
- Out-of-network ATM: $2.50 + ATM owner fee
- Bank teller: $2.50 + teller fee
- International transaction fee: 2.75%
- Cash deposits at select retailers: Up to $5.95
The Bottom Line
There’s a reason why Wealtfront is our pick for best overall robo-advisor, along with several other Investopedia awards. At its core, Wealthfront is an extremely well-thought-out and well-built robo-advisor that continues to add value in new ways. In recent years, Wealthfront has added the Automated Bond investment platform, ETFs for customization, and stock trading. Along with the high-yield cash management and lending offerings, investors can satisfy a wide range of financial needs at Wealthfront or just stick to the excellent robo-advisory to manage their portfolio needs.
It is really Wealthfront's customization features that differentiate it from the competition. You can tweak Wealthfront's portfolios in ways that very few robo-advisors can match and then turn them over to the platform to manage. The only group of investors that might be disappointed with Wealthfront are those who crave additional in-person financial planning guidance. Simply put, Wealthfront is hard to beat if you are willing to overlook the human element (or willing to lean on the excellent Path financial planning service).
How Does Wealthfront Help You Save Money on Taxes?
In order to get the full tax-saving features of Wealthfront, you need to be invested through the Automated Investing account. Wealthfront prioritizes tax efficiency whenever there is a rebalancing event, but it also monitors portfolios daily for tax-loss harvesting opportunities. Wealthfront's tax-loss harvesting looks for ETFs that tend to move in tandem but track different indices. The program will swap out ETFs of this nature while maintaining overall allocations in order to realize losses that offset gains elsewhere in the portfolio.
How Does Wealthfront Work?
Sign-up is fast and easy. Answer a few questions and set up an account. Respond to the risk-related questions and account preferences and you can review a recommended portfolio. There is no need to divulge personal information like your Social Security number before looking into the platform. Users get well-managed investment portfolios aligned with their goals and risk tolerance, and ETFs for customization are available. Other features include stock trading, a high-yield cash account, and borrowing.
Is Wealthfront FDIC Insured?
Yes, Wealthfront carries FDIC insurance for your cash deposits through partner banks. The FDIC insurance covers your cash deposits up to $8 million, as it is spread across Wealthfront’s banking affiliates. This insurance protects your deposits against financial institution malfeasance or bankruptcy.
Is Wealthfront Safe?
Wealthfront carries the same safety protocols that you’ll find in most major financial institutions. Your cash is insured by the FDIC, while investments are insured by the SIPC. No insurance protects your investments from the price fluctuations of the stock and bond markets.
Does Wealthfront Have a Monthly Fee?
Wealthfront doesn’t have a set monthly fee. The 0.25% charge for automated accounts is charged monthly and is based on the value of your automated investment assets.
Who Owns Wealthfront?
Andy Rachleff and Dan Carroll founded Wealthfront. The company has received a total of $274.2 million in funding from 39 investors. Because Wealthfront is a privately owned company, the exact ownership percentages are not public.
How We Review Robo-Advisors
Providing readers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of digital wealth management companies, more commonly known as robo-advisors, is a top priority of Investopedia. We used our 2023 consumer survey to guide the research and weightings for our 2024 robo-advisor awards. To collect the data, we sent a digital survey with 64 questions to each of the 21 companies we included in our rubric. Additionally, our team of researchers verified the survey responses and collected any missing data points through online research and conversations with each company directly. The data collection process spanned from Jan. 8, to Feb. 9, 2024.
We then developed a quantitative model that scored each company to rate its performance across nine major categories and 59 criteria to find the best robo-advisors. The score for each company’s overall star rating is a weighted average of the criteria:
- Goal Planning - 21.00%
- Portfolio Contents - 17.00%
- Portfolio Management - 17.00%
- Fees - 15.00%
- Account Services - 10.00%
- Account Setup - 5.00%
- Customer Service - 5.00%
- Security & Education - 5.00%
- User Experience - 5.00%
Additionally, during our 2023 research, many of the companies we reviewed granted our team of expert writers and editors access to live accounts so they could perform hands-on testing.
Through this all-encompassing data collection and review process, Investopedia has provided you with an unbiased and thorough review of the top robo-advisors.
Read more about how we research and review robo-advisors.
Separately, our research team conducted a survey of 205 U.S. adults aged 18 to 72 who are current clients of one of 18robo-advisors. While the information collected did not influence the development of our ratings model, it was instrumental in gathering the valuable insights published inInvestopedia's 2023Robo-Advisor Consumer Survey.
Participants in our 2023Robo-Advisor Survey opted in to an online, self-administered questionnaire from a market research vendor. Data collection took place between Aug. 30 and Sept. 15, 2023, with 11 video interviews conducted with volunteer respondents from Sept. 7 to Sept. 17, 2023. Multiple quality checks, including screeners, attention gauges, comprehension evaluations, and logic metrics, among others, were used to ensure only the highest quality responses were included.
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Dotdash Meredith receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Advisers LLC (“Wealthfront Advisers”) for each new client that applies for a Wealthfront Automated Investing Account through our links. This creates an incentive that results in a material conflict of interest. Dotdash Meredith is not a Wealthfront Advisers client, and this is a paid endorsem*nt. More information is available via our links to Wealthfront Advisers.
