|
Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Review (2025)
Does Charles Schwab have a robo-advisor service? Is Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios good and worth it?
|
Does Charles Schwab Offer a Robo-Advisor?
In addition to a wide range of self-directed trading tools for brokerage accounts, Schwab also offers robo accounts. These accounts are a good choice for people who want professionals to handle all trading decisions for them.
Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Overview
Schwab’s automated investing service is called Intelligent Portfolios®. This is an investment-advisory program. Instead of having a person manage investments, the service uses a computer program to make all trading decisions. Robo customers answer an online questionnaire, and the software uses those answers to choose investments. The investments are limited to a group of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
If you give more conservative answers, your account will have more bond ETFs and fewer stock funds. If your answers show a higher risk tolerance, the account will have more stock ETFs. A part of every robo account is kept as a cash position with Schwab Bank.
Hybrid Program
Robo customers who want more help than just a computer program can choose Schwab’s Intelligent Portfolios Premium®. This setup includes access to a human financial advisor who is a Certified Financial Planner™. In this hybrid program, the software manages trading and rebalancing, while the advisor provides personal guidance and a financial plan. Premium customers can meet with their advisor by phone or video chat. The advisor can help with:
- Goal setting
- College saving
- Retirement planning
- Portfolio recommendations
- Saving for a house
Premium clients also get some extra digital tools that regular robo customers do not have. For example, Play Zone® is an online tool that can run different “what-if” scenarios. You can change things like retirement age, long-term care costs, and savings rate to see possible outcomes.
Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Features
Schwab’s automated accounts are divided into three portfolio themes: global, U.S. focused, and income. The income theme includes many bond and dividend funds. The global theme includes international ETFs. Every portfolio has a risk profile, and Schwab offers six, from conservative to aggressive growth.
Taxable robo accounts with $50,000 or more qualify for tax-loss harvesting, which must be turned on online. Accounts with less than $50,000 do not have this feature. Even so, all robo accounts get free automatic rebalancing.
There is also Intelligent Income®, a service that helps robo customers make withdrawals in a tax-efficient way. Schwab’s computer program decides which assets to sell to get cash for a withdrawal. This service is also free.
Charles Schwab Website
Visit Schwab Website
Available Funds
Schwab uses many different fund families for its robo portfolios. Some of the ETFs are Schwab’s own funds, which is a conflict of interest. Other fund families include Invesco, Vanguard, and iShares.
Here are some examples of funds and the categories they represent:
| Fund | Category |
|---|
| Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SCHA) | U.S. Small Company |
| Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) | International Developed Large Company |
| SPDR Portfolio TIPS ETF (SPIP) | U.S. Inflation Protected Bonds |
| iShares Gold Trust (IAU) | Gold and Other Precious Metals |
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Fees
The standard robo program is free. The minimum investment is $5,000. The hybrid program is not free. It costs $30 per month, a $300 one-time planning fee, and requires a $25,000 minimum deposit. Both programs have no commissions on trades.
Opening an Intelligent Portfolios Account
You can open an automated account at Schwab on the mobile app or website. On the app, tap the top-left head-and-shoulders icon, then look for “Automated Investing” to open a new account. The hybrid program is not available on the mobile app.
On the website, you can open either an Intelligent Portfolios or Intelligent Portfolios Premium account. Look for the orange-brown “Open Account” button, usually at the top of the page. You will fill out the required robo questionnaire during the application.
Many types of accounts can be opened in Schwab’s robo program, including joint, individual, custodial, trust, and IRA.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Judgement
Schwab offers a solid automated investing service with several good features. The hybrid option is helpful, but has higher costs and deposit requirements. The required cash balance and the $50,000 minimum for tax-loss harvesting are not ideal. Still, Intelligent Portfolios offers strong value for customers with a 0.00% management fee.
Open Charles Schwab Account
Visit Schwab Website
Updated on 5/21/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
|