Wealthfront is a robo-advisor and investment app that allows you to manage all your finances in one place. Wealthfront gives you access to financial planning tools, a brokerage account to buy and sell stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds, and more and a Wealthfront cash account, all accessible on one platform or the Welthfront mobile app.
What Is Wealthfront?
Wealthfront is an online financial service that can help you take control of your finances. It encompasses many of the financial services you need, from banking to investing and loans. They also have a mobile app to make it easier to use if you’re always on the go.
How Does Wealthfront Work?
With Wealthfront, you deposit the funds you want to invest and define your goals for investing, and the company invests for you. You can also open banking accounts and enjoy a line of credit based on your investments. You can borrow up to 30% of your portfolio and get an interest rate as low as 7.65%.
Should You Use Wealthfront?
If you’re a hands-off investor or don’t have the time to research investments, then Wealthfront might be a good fit for your financial needs. You can set the parameters and have Wealthfront’s robo-advisor take care of the rest. You do need to meet an account minimum of $500, so it isn’t for small investors looking to buy fractional shares or round up the change on their debit cards.
Wealthfront may not be the best choice for investors who actively monitor the stock market and the individual assets within their portfolios. Some investors enjoy reviewing press releases and earnings reports to gauge if companies are worth buying. Investing can be a lot of work, and some people want to take on that work. However, it’s possible to achieve similar returns while not working as hard if you invest with Wealthfront.
Investing With Wealthfront
Wealthfront offers several ways to invest with their company. You do need an account minimum of $500, but the platform can help advise you on investments to choose the ones to meet your goals. Wealthfront comes with several investing features that can help you get more mileage out of your money.
Wealthfront Portfolio
The Wealthfront platform makes it easy to create an investment portfolio. Investors can diversify their holdings across stocks and other types of assets to build long-term wealth. With a Wealthfront investment account, you can adjust your holdings based on your risk tolerance.
Tax-loss Harvesting
Tax-loss harvesting is a strategy to lower your tax liability by selling investments at a loss. You then buy a similar investment, but you’re able to write the loss off your taxes. Many investors use this strategy near the end of the year to offset their capital gains. Generating a net loss for the year on paper can result in a tax deduction. Wealthfront Financial can help you make the most of this strategy. The company does automated tax-loss harvesting, allowing investors to turn market dips into lower taxes.
Smart Beta
A Wealthfront account gives clients access to Smart Beta, an advanced feature that lets investors weigh the securities in their portfolios to maximize returns. Smart Beta works best for long-term investment strategies and focuses on six key areas: market cap, market beta, dividend yield, momentum, volatility, and profitability. Institutional investors have used multi-factor investment management models like Smart Beta since the 1970s.
Risk Parity Fund
Wealthfront offers a risk parity fund to help you diversify your investment portfolio. To be effective and make more money with this type of investment, you need to plan to use this strategy for five years or longer.
The Wealthfront App
If you need the flexibility of a mobile app, Wealthfront Financial has you covered. The Wealthfront app has the features you need to check your investments, handle your banking needs, and withdraw cash quickly.
Wealthfront Cash and Checking Account
All-in-one financial solutions make it easier to manage your money and save on various fees. Wealthfront has many of the key features you would expect from an online banking and investing experience. With the Wealthfront cash and checking account, you can do this. You don’t pay any fees, and you can easily transfer money to your investment fund. Some people can conduct all of their financial activity on Wealthfront.
Tailored Transfers
When you need to transfer your stocks into a new financial instrument, you can transfer them without a penalty. Also, they will tailor transfers to meet your financial needs and savings goals.
Homebuyer’s Planning
Wealthfront has all the resources and information you need to start planning to buy your first home. They make it easy to estimate the cost of homeownership and the size of the down payment you need to qualify for a mortgage. Knowing these details in advance can help you set reasonable expectations for your first home instead of buying more home than you can afford.
Travel Planning
Is your dream trip to Australia or to see the pyramids in Egypt? These vacations can create unforgettable memories, but you have to play them in your budget to make them happen. Wealthfront can help. The financial company has a guide to help you plan for travel, whether it’s a weekend getaway or a few months bumming around Europe.
College Planning
College tuition is one of the largest expenses parents incur for their children. Tuitions only seem to be going up, and it’s better to prepare now than get caught by surprise. With Wealthfront, you can create a college savings and investing plan to help you manage the costs when your child is ready to go to school.
Retirement Savings
No one wants to be dependent on a Social Security check, and companies don’t offer retirement programs like they used to. Wealthfront can help you determine how much you need to save and then come up with an investing plan to get you there.
Automated Investing
With automated investing, you can define your goals, transfer the funds, and allow the Wealthfront app to take care of your investing needs. There’s no need to spend hours researching the investments that are most likely to help you become successful.
Education and Security
Wealthfront is a secure platform to protect your investment from hackers or other tricks. The Wealthfront website offers a variety of ways to learn more about investing. The blog has many interesting articles to help you learn more, and if you have specific goals, such as traveling or buying a home, you can pursue one of their plans to learn more.
Customer Service
When you have questions that need to be answered, or something goes wrong, Wealthfront customer service is ready to help. This company is dedicated to providing you with outstanding support and customer service.
Wealthfront Costs and Fees
You need a minimum deposit of $500 to open the account, but you can invest it. The company will manage the first $5,000 of your assets for free, but the additional money has a 0.25% management fee per year.
How To Get Started With Wealthfront
To get started with Wealthfront, you need to visit the website to open an account and make a minimum deposit of $500. As part of opening the account, you’ll need to provide some personal details, including:
- Legal name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
It’s possible that you might need to upload some paperwork to prove your identity and citizenship.