Wealthfront review: Low-cost automated and DIY investing

Wealthfront at a glance

Feature	Rating	Details
Costs and fees	★★★★★	Pay 0.25% in annual advisory fee but no outgoing account transfer fee.
Trading costs	★★★★★	Zero commission stock, option and ETF trades, with competitive margin rates and no options contract fees.
Portfolio mix	★★★★★	Access 3 prebuilt portfolios with broad market exposure, including international equities, commodities, real estate and cryptocurrency.
Features and amenities	★★★★★	Automatic tax-loss harvesting Automatic dividend reinvestment Individual stock investing
Account minimums	★★★★★	Investment accounts require a $500 minimum deposit.
Account types	★★★★★	Individual and joint-managed brokerage accounts Trust accounts Traditional, Roth, rollover and SEP IRAs 529 college savings plan accounts
Customer support	★★★★★	Contact Wealthfront customer support by phone at 844-995-8437 or email support@wealthfront.com on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Mobile app ratings and security	★★★★★	Google Play app reviews: 4.8/5 stars based on over 8,425 reviews, as of August 2024 Apple App Store app reviews: 4.8/5 stars based on over 16,760 reviews, as of August 2024
Cash management account	★★★★★	Earn 4.5% APY on your uninvested cash, with up to $8 million in FDIC insurance.

To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read our methodology.

Wealthfront is best for hands-off investors

Wealthfront is primarily a robo-advisor, offering easy access to automated portfolios of bonds and low-cost index funds across up to 17 global asset classes. Wealthfront will automatically rebalance your portfolio, harvest tax losses and reinvest dividends.

Additionally, Wealthfront features a high-yield cash account with a 4.5% APY and commission-free individual stock investing, allowing investors greater control over both short-term and long-term financial goals.​

Latest Wealthfront updates

October 8, 2024: Wealthfront announced a waitlist for its new S&P 500 Plus Indexing Portfolio, a direct indexing portfolio designed to track the S&P 500, with tax-loss harvesting capabilities and the ability to exclude specific stocks. The new portfolio will come with a 0.09% annual fee.

What we like about Wealthfront

Wealthfront stands out by combining automated and DIY investing with cool perks like automatic tax-loss harvesting, dividend reinvestment and a high-yield cash account for your uninvested cash.

Invest in individual stocks

Alongside its automated stock and bond portfolios, Wealthfront lets you invest in over 1,500 individual stocks with as little as $1 and no commissions. Explore Wealthfront’s curated stock collections to discover new opportunities by theme and quickly review company analyses with a pros and cons snapshot.

Automation tools

Wealthfront’s portfolio automation features include automatic rebalancing, automatic tax-loss harvesting and automatic dividend reinvestment. Unlike some robo-advisors, Wealthfront automatically identifies opportunities to offset gains with losing positions, potentially lowering your year-end tax bill. Additionally, Wealthfront reinvests your dividends with each payout, helping your portfolio grow through the power of compounding.

Earn a 4.5% APY on your uninvested cash

Wealthfront’s cash account offers a competitive 4.5% APY, with no account fees, unlimited withdrawals and no minimum balance requirements to earn interest. Plus, get up to $8 million in FDIC insurance through Wealthfront’s partner banks.

Where Wealthfront falls short

Wealthfront requires a $500 minimum deposit for its investing accounts and charges a 0.25% annual advisory fee. While this is fairly standard, some alternatives like SoFi Automated Investing and Titan offer no minimum deposit requirements and waive advisory fees altogether.

Additionally, Wealthfront doesn’t offer access to human financial advisors. If you want to discuss your portfolio in detail or get tailored investment advice and recommendations, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

Wealthfront fees

Type of fee	Fee details
Minimum opening deposit	$500
Annual advisory fee	0.25%
Individual stock trading commissions	$0
Account transfer fee	$0

Is Wealthfront legit?

Wealthfront is a legitimate company and investing platform. Founded in 2008 as one of the first robo-advisors, Wealthfront today has over 1 million clients and manages more than $70 billion in total assets. Wealthfront is a registered investment adviser with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member of both the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

Wealthfront reviews and customer feedback

Wealthfront generally receives positive reviews on Reddit but mixed-to-poor reviews across platforms like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot.

On Reddit, discussions tend to focus on its simplicity and effectiveness for hands-off investors. Customers often praise its user-friendly interface, robust automation tools and effective tax-loss harvesting features. The high-yield cash account is also a favorable feature among Redditors. However, some users compare it unfavorably to platforms offering more personalized advice or lower fees.

On Trustpilot, Wealthfront earns a 3.2 out of 5 stars based on just 12 reviews, as of August 2024. Many negative reviews center around poor customer service. Likewise, on the BBB, Wealthfront earns 2.45 out of 5 stars based on 11 customer reviews.

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