Overview of Wealthfront, Betterment, and SoFi Invest
Three brokerage firms that market their services to Millennial investors are Wealthfront,
SoFi Invest, and Betterment. They do differ quite a bit in what they offer, however. This guide
will help you pick the right one for your trading needs.
Sofi Invest and Betterment Cost
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Sofi Invest
|
$0
|
na
|
na
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Betterment
|
na
|
na
|
na
|
0.25%
|
0.25%
|
|
Wealthfront
|
$0
|
na
|
na
|
0.25%
|
0.25%
|
Sofi Invest and Betterment Services
Open Account
Sofi Invest:
Trade stocks, including partial shares, at no cost. There are no account minimums.
Betterment:
Get 1 month free of Betterment service if you invest $5,000 – $24,999.
Wealthfront:
None
Securities and Account Types
Wealthfront and Betterment use ETFs to create digitally-managed portfolios for their clients. These are the only investment choices traders with the two firms have, and even worse, not all ETFs are available.
SoFi Invest customers get all U.S.-listed ETFs, plus the following securities:
- Stocks
- Cryptocurrencies
- Closed-end funds
Unlike Betterment and Wealthfront, SoFi Invest offers both self-directed and robo accounts. The latter option uses just exchange-traded funds.
Winner: SoFi Invest
Trading Tools
Managing investments in the 21st century does require the use of software programs. All three brokerage firms in this appraisal do have user-friendly websites. However, you won’t find other advanced tools, such as desktop platforms.
SoFi Invest’s website has small charts with only one graph format and zero charting tools. There is a trade ticket for self-directed customers. It is very simple, however, without many advanced features. There is a watchlist on the site, one of the few highlights.
The Wealthfront site has no trade ticket because there is no self-directed trading. Instead, the firm provides user-friendly account management tools. For example, there is a chart that shows account value over time. Another widget can be used to establish automatic transfers, and goals can be tracked.
Betterment has a similar website. There are no trading tools because there are no self-directed accounts. The broker’s site is easy to use and provides simple tools for tracking account performance.
Winner: SoFi Invest
Mobile Platforms
Since all three broker-dealers in this matchup are modern, digitally-focused firms, you probably can guess that they have mobile apps. Like the websites, they tend to be on the elementary side with few actual trading tools.
The SoFi app does have basic charts and an order ticket in case you want to do some actual trading. The other two apps provide account management tools, and that’s it.
Winner: SoFi Invest
Education and Research
Although trading is not high on any of the brokers’ list of priorities, education is a different story. Because SoFi Invest targets young traders, the company has plenty of learning materials on its site. Some of these actually cover products that SoFi doesn’t offer, like fixed-income securities. And SoFi goes much further than investing by providing a lot of personal financial articles. For example, we found materials on:
- Term life insurance
- Home Loans
- Undergraduate Student Loans
Besides articles, there are some videos, too.
Betterment has a helpful FAQ section on its website that hosts answers to many questions, such as:
- What are your fees? How does pricing work?
- How do I plan for my retirement? (answered in just 3 paragraphs, probably not a very sufficient answer)
That’s about the extent of Betterment’s educational materials.
Moving on to Wealthfront, we do find more resources. The company’s website has articles covering a very wide range of subjects, from home ownership to retirement to education savings. There is also a list of FAQs.
Winner: SoFi Invest
Other Services That Are Available
Dividend Reinvestment Program: SoFi Invest self-directed clients can sign up for the broker’s DRIP service.
IRAs: Individual Retirement Accounts (including the SEP IRA) are available at all three brokerage firms.
Recommendations
ETF and Stock Trading: SoFi Invest for reasons already mentioned.
Beginners: This one is a little trickier. Although all three firms do cater to young investors, SoFi Invest has a larger selection of learning materials. Plus, it’s the only firm in this survey to offer self-directed trading, and this we view as a must have to really learn the ropes of investing.
Long-Term Investors and Retirement Savers: We pick Betterment for its human-advisory service that comes with unlimited access to Certified Financial Planners® (although a $100,000 balance is required).
Small Accounts: Wealthfront or SoFi Invest.
Open Account
Sofi Invest:
Trade stocks, including partial shares, at no cost. There are no account minimums.
Betterment:
Get 1 month free of Betterment service if you invest $5,000 – $24,999.
Wealthfront:
None
Betterment vs Sofi Invest Results
Wealthfront and Betterment may have started the robo-advisory craze, but they have a lot of
competition today. Not only is SoFi’s robot cheaper (it’s free), the company succeeds in delivery
cryptocurrency trading and much more.
Open Account
Open Account
Open Account
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