I will be talking about different robo-advisors and their pros and cons as platforms to potentially invest your money. If you are new to investing, you will first need to decide which platform you want to use and what you want to invest in.

This is a mix of my opinions and indirect experiences with these different robo-advisor platforms. I have not personally used any of them, but I wanted to bring these platforms to the attention of anyone who is new to investing and needs guidance on where to start their investing journey or feels like they don’t have the time to manage their money themselves. PLEASE do your own research to stay informed about the features, investment strategies, fees, and investment options for any platform or robo-advisor you ultimately choose for your investing journey.

My personal favorite of the group I’m talking about today is Titanvest, but they’re called Titan. They’re trying to bring hedge fund style investing to the average investor, which is typically not available due to high minimum deposit requirements and high fees. Their flagship strategy is unique in that they invest your money in 20 large cap stocks and also a custom hedge depending on market conditions to actively manage risk. They’re trying to target outperforming the S&P 500 within a 3-5 year time horizon. As an added bonus, the platform offers the investor some research if they choose to read up on it to learn how the stocks in their portfolio are selected. They also have a low minimum to start investing, which is $100 as of 2020. They also have another similar strategy for 20 mid-cap and small cap stocks called Titan opportunities.

M1 Finance stands out for a few reasons. You can choose your investments as you would with a regular brokerage account and set your asset allocation percentages, but M1 manages it for you. This is ideal for investors who have some knowledge of investing and want to manage their money themselves, but may not have the time or discipline to do so. It also allows you to buy fractional shares, which can be helpful for investors who are just getting started with investing with as little as $100 for non-retirement accounts or $500 for retirement accounts. There are no management fees to use M1, but they do charge miscellaneous fees.

I will categorize Acorns and Stash together because they are both aimed at people who are just starting out with their first investment account and they offer very similar features. These 2 robo-advisors try to solve the first problem beginners have, which is not having enough savings to start or continue investing. Acorns takes the change from your daily purchases and deposits it into your investment account. Stash rounds up your purchases to the next dollar and once those savings reach $5, they are deposited into your investment account.

With Wealthfront, you can invest in more real estate options, open 529 college savings accounts, offer a portfolio line of credit, and take tax-loss harvesting on your non-retirement or taxable portfolio. The additional PassivePlus tax-loss harvesting feature applies to accounts with balances of $100,000 or more.

Betterment Premium offers the ability to speak with or email certified financial planners for portfolio guidance for a higher annual fee and a minimum account size. Betterment has no minimum to open an account and allows the purchase of fractional shares. Additionally, it has some tax coordination to optimize tax-efficient investments in non-retirement accounts and less tax-efficient investments in retirement accounts to help you grow your money tax-efficiently. Betterment also offers the ability to make charitable donations if you are far enough along in your investing journey to give away stocks to charity. Investors can select socially responsible investments for their portfolio.

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Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored video.
The ideas, content and opinions presented in this video are for entertainment purposes only. Bryan does not provide tax or investment advice. All information is presented without considering the investment objectives, risk appetite or financial circumstances of any specific investor. Past performance is not an indication of future results. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of capital. Bryan is not a financial advisor, tax advisor or CPA/accountant. You are solely responsible for the financial decisions YOU make.

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