Zillow Home Loans is the direct lending arm of Zillow, the highly popular real estate listing website. The lender offers a standard lineup of purchase and refinance loans and can handle the loan process online. It may be a good fit if you have strong credit and plan to work with an affiliated real estate agent. Here’s what to know about working with Zillow Home Loans.
Zillow Home Loans overview
Zillow opened in 2006 and has since become one of most well-known marketplaces to browse real estate listings online. The company purchased Mortgage Lenders of America in 2018, then rebranded the company as Zillow Home Loans in 2019. The direct mortgage lender is headquartered in Irvine, California, and is licensed in the District of Columbia and all states except New York.
Zillow mortgage products
Zillow Home Loans offers the following types of mortgages:
Conventional purchase loans.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans.
Refinance loans.
Adjustable-rate mortgages.
Jumbo purchase loans up to $2.5 million.
You can choose between a fixed-rate mortgage, with terms ranging from 15 to 30 years, or an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), with a fixed rate for a certain amount of time. Zillow Home Loans offers ARM terms where the rate is fixed for either seven or 10 years. After the fixed period ends, the rate may reset every six months.
Borrowers also have several options if they’re looking to refinance a mortgage. Zillow Home Loans offers rate-and-term refinances, where you get a loan with new terms, and cash-out refinances, where you borrow more than your current loan balance and get the difference in cash. The lender also offers the FHA streamline refinance loan and the VA interest rate reduction refinance loan (IRRRL), both designed to speed up the refinance process.
Looking for the right home loan? Check out the best mortgage lenders
How to qualify for a Zillow Home Loans mortgage
Zillow Home Loans’ qualification requirements depend on the type of mortgage you want to get. With a conventional loan, you’ll need a minimum credit score of 620 and a maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of 43%. And while your down payment can be as low as 3%, you’ll pay private mortgage insurance if it’s less than 20%.
The lender also offers jumbo mortgages, which are home loans that exceed the conforming loan limit in the county where you’re buying a home. Qualification requirements are higher for jumbo loans because they’re generally riskier for the lender. For jumbo loans, Zillow will lend up to $2.5 million and requires a minimum credit score of 700, a down payment of 20% and a maximum DTI ratio of 43%.
Borrowers can also get FHA loans through Zillow, but they’ll need a credit score of at least 620, along with a minimum down payment of 3.5%. Other lenders accept a credit score more in line with the Federal Housing Administration’s minimum of 580 or 500, depending on the borrower’s down payment. So if you’re looking for an FHA loan, you might consider working with another lender that accepts lower credit scores.
Another option with Zillow is the VA loan, available to eligible current and former service members of the armed forces and qualifying surviving spouses. These loans offer reduced closing costs and don’t require a down payment or mortgage insurance. With Zillow, you’ll need a credit score of at least 620 to qualify.
How to apply for a Zillow mortgage
The pre-approval process takes about five to 10 minutes and can be completed online or over the phone with a loan officer. Once you’re ready to submit the mortgage application, you can fill out the application online or over the phone. There are no branches to get in-person help.
To get a preapproval letter with Zillow Home Loans, you’ll need:
A recent pay stub.
A W-2 form from the most recent tax year.
Two most recent bank and investment statements.
Tax returns from the two most recent tax years.
You’ll also need these documents when applying for the mortgage. If you do the preapproval with Zillow, they’ll have everything on file when you’re ready to take the next step.
Pros of a Zillow Home Loans mortgage
Offers a post-closing rebate.
Provides a dedicated representative throughout the loan process.
Website offers solid consumer resources.
Cons of a Zillow Home Loans mortgage
No in-person branches.
Charges lender fees.
Doesn’t offer USDA loans, construction loans or home equity products.
Zillow Home Loans perks and special features
Rebate program
Zillow offers a rebate of up to $1,500 that you’ll receive after closing. To qualify, you’ll need to work with a real estate agent affiliated with the company and get the loan through Zillow Home Loans.
Helpful website
The Zillow Home Loans website offers several consumer resources, including articles that help explain mortgage topics and calculators that help you estimate your potential monthly payment. You can also get prequalified on the Zillow Home Loans website. The company will run a soft credit pull, so the prequalification won’t affect your credit. And while there are no mortgage rates on the Zillow Home Loans website, potential buyers can compare mortgage rates for different loan types on Zillow’s homepage.
How Zillow could improve
No in-person branches
Zillow Home Loans isn’t currently allowing homebuyers to visit their offices. You can apply for a mortgage and complete the underwriting process completely online, and contact your dedicated representative at any time. The online process can be helpful to some homebuyers, but if you want to visit a branch in person, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Lender fees
For purchase and refinance mortgages, Zillow Home Loans charges a lender fee of $1,500 when borrowers apply for conventional loans, FHA loans and jumbo loans. The fee drops to $499 for VA loans. Some mortgage originators don’t charge a lender fee at all, which is why it’s important to shop around. You may even be able to negotiate with Zillow Home Loans if you find a better offer elsewhere.
Loan menu
Zillow Home Loans offers a pretty standard menu: You can apply for conventional loans, FHA loans, VA loans and jumbo loans. But you’ll need to shop with a different lender if you’re interested in a niche product, such as USDA loans, construction loans or home equity products.
Zillow Home Loans customer service and reviews
For routine questions or to get help with a loan application, you can visit Zillow Home Loans at its website or call 888-852-2212. If you have complaints or feedback, you can submit a message through an online contact form, call 877-661-3166 or send postal mail to:
Zillow Home Loans, LLC ATTN: COMPLIANCE/LEGAL DEPT. 1301 Second Avenue, 31st Floor Seattle, WA 98101
The lender also has a highly rated app, Zillow Mortgage, that’s available on iOS and Google Play. The app allows you to get a customized rate quote, calculate your estimated housing payment, get prequalified and check how much you can afford to borrow. But you won’t be able to submit a mortgage application, upload documents, and track your loan status using the app.
People who have worked with Zillow Home Loans tend to give the lender above-average ratings. As of June 2023, customers on the Better Business Bureau’s website gave the company 3.66 out of 5 stars, and Trustpilot reviewers gave the lender 4 out of 5 stars.
Positive reviews focus on strong customer service and competitive mortgage rates. However, there are some complaints regarding discrepancies in loan documents and confusion surrounding payment processing. Some customers also say they received poor customer service from loan officers.
Zillow Home Loans alternatives: Zillow vs. Rocket Mortgage vs. LoanDepot
Every mortgage lender has its own system of setting rates, qualification requirements and fees, so it’s important to shop around. According to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau study, mortgage rates can vary by 0.5% or more for similarly qualified borrowers. That may not seem like much, but it can add up over time. For instance, say you want to get a home loan for $400,000 with a down payment of 20%, and two different lenders offer rates of 6% and 5.5%. Taking the lower rate would save you $102 a month or $36,720 over the life of the loan.
If you’re considering a mortgage with Zillow Home Loans, check out some alternatives.
Rocket Mortgage is a fully online mortgage lender that offers home loans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to J.D. Power, it has earned the designation as best in customer satisfaction for the past 12 years.
LoanDepot launched in 2010 and is now the second-largest nonbank retail mortgage lender in the U.S. It earned an above-average score in the J.D. Power 2022 mortgage origination survey and offers home loans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Unlike Zillow Home Loans and Rocket Mortgage, applicants with loanDepot can get in-person help at branch locations or complete the mortgage process entirely online.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Yes, Zillow Home Loans is a legitimate company. Zillow is also accredited with the Better Business Bureau and verified on Trustpilot.
Yes, you can get prequalified for a home loan with Zillow in about three minutes. You’ll need to answer a few questions about your purchase timeline, what you’re looking for, how much you want to spend, and details about your financial situation. The lender will run a soft credit pull that doesn’t impact your credit and then confirm whether you’re prequalified for a home loan.
Borrowers need a credit score of at least 620 to qualify for a conventional, FHA, or VA loan with Zillow Home Loans. The minimum credit score requirement increases to 700 for jumbo mortgages. The lender will also consider other factors, such as your employment status, income and debt-to-income ratio.
According to a study from Tessian, the vast majority of people who share things online put their identities at risk. People know not to share information such as their Social Security number on social media, but did you know you could be giving up sensitive information without realizing it?
For example, the Tessian study noted that 72% of people mention birthday celebrations, giving hackers insight into when their date of birth is. More than half of people share names and pictures of their kids, often on public social profiles, and more than 80% said they update social media when they get a new job. All this information can be used by hackers and cybercriminals to steal your identity. or better target you for various scams, including phishing emails.
But what about documents? Is it bad to post a picture of your driver’s license online, for example? Find out about seven types of information and documents you should keep off the internet below.
7 Things You Should Avoid Posting Online
Images of your driver’s license
Information about bank accounts or other financial accounts
Vacation itinerary or location information
Medical records, including COVID-19 vaccine forms
Health insurance cards
Photographs with location identifiers
Information about your internet-connected devices
1. Driver’s License
What can someone do with a photo of your driver’s license? A lot, actually. Your driver’s license includes a lot of information, including:
Your full name
Your address
Your date of birth
Approximate height and weight
Your driver’s license number, which is a unique ID number that might be used for official purposes
A picture of you
Rope all that together and it’s enough to give a cybercriminal a huge head start when it comes to identity theft. Access to this information could allow identity thieves to open new lines of credit in your name or find ways to access your existing accounts. Obviously, you should never post a picture of your driver’s license on social media.
But is it safe to send someone a picture of your driver’s license? Or, is it safe to send a picture of your ID to someone? It depends.
Sometimes, you need to send a picture of your ID to verify your identity. A common example might be when you’re applying for an online loan. In such cases, as long as you’re dealing with a reputable organization and sending the information via a secure process, it’s usually safe.
2. Information About Financial Accounts
Don’t post specific information about your financial accounts or any documents showing that information online. That includes account numbers, routing numbers, specific balance information or pictures of checks or contracts with payment information. It also includes tax returns or other tax-related documents.
You might think you can use photo-editing apps to cover the most sensitive information, but that’s not always a permanent way to hide the information. It’s a better idea just to leave these types of documents and information off your social profiles, blogs or other public-facing sites.
3. Vacation Information or Itinerary
It’s natural to be excited about a fun getaway and want to share the experience with others. But consider holding off on all the vacation info and photo dumping until you get home from your trip. Avoid sharing information about your getaway beforehand on social media, such as how long you’ll be gone and where you’re going.
If you share information beforehand, potential thieves can know that you’ll be out of your home for that period of time. They could take advantage of your absence and burglarize your property.
4. Medical Records, Including COVID-19 Vaccination Cards
Medical records contain a lot of sensitive information, including personal details that could help hackers steal your identity. From interesting X-ray pictures to written prescriptions, it’s a good idea to keep your medical records between you and your health care providers.
That’s true even of things that are fun or popular to share on social media, including COVID-19 vaccination cards and sonograms of your upcoming family addition. The Federal Trade Commission has publicly advised people against sharing their COVID-19 vaccination cards on social media. And if you really want to share a sonogram picture, ensure you crop out all the written information, such as names and medical record numbers.
5. Health Insurance Cards
Your health insurance card is your passport to medical care. If you post it online, you could be giving that passport to someone else. If someone steals your identity and uses your benefits, that can make it more difficult for you to get the medical care you need in the future.
6. Photographs With Location Identifiers
Depending on your camera settings as well as your social media settings, you could be sharing location information when you share images. Check your mobile device or camera settings and turn off GPS data for photographs. This is possible to do on iOS or Android.
It’s a good idea to avoid posting location data when you share images or posts on social too. Turn off any default settings that do this, and avoid “checking in” at businesses with apps or devices.
Giving away your location can clue people to the fact that you’re not home, increasing the risk of burglary or other crimes. But you should also ensure you’re not sharing photos on public blogs or social media accounts that let people know exactly where you live. Pictures that show street signs, the front of your home or a business on your street, for example, can be a potential risk when sharing publicly.
7. Information About Internet-Connected Devices
Finally, you might want to limit what you share about the internet-connected devices you have in your home. Avoid posting images of those devices or the manuals and instruction cards they came with. Those are all locations where passwords or log-in information might reside. The more a potential hacker can learn about your devices, the easier they may be able to access your home network.
Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
You can take a number of preventive steps to reduce your risks of identity theft, including being careful about what you post online. And if you do find you’ve been targeted, there are things you can do to protect yourself even after identity theft.
In both cases, signing up for credit monitoring and identity theft protection may be a good idea. You might want to check out ExtraCredit—it includes Guard It, a tool that offers includes $1 million identity theft insurance, dark web monitoring and much more.
Whether you live in the Philly metro area, the Rust Belt or on the shores of Lake Erie, you’re probably interested in finding the best car insurance in Pennsylvania. But every driver is different, and that means your insurance needs will be unique from other drivers, even if they live next door.
NerdWallet analyzed 32 insurance companies in Pennsylvania to help you find the best option for you. We split our top picks into four categories:
If you’d rather just see a full list of the best car insurance companies in Pennsylvania, you can jump to the bottom of the page.
See what you could save on car insurance
Easily compare personalized rates to see how much switching car insurance could save you.
How we found the best car insurance in Pennsylvania
NerdWallet’s editorial team considered pricing, discounts, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and more to determine the best car insurance companies in Pennsylvania. Our “ease of use” category includes factors such as website transparency and how simple it is to file a claim. As we continue to evaluate more insurance providers and receive fresh market data, our list of best car insurance companies is likely to change over time. In our analysis, we only include insurance companies that have achieved a minimum NerdWallet star rating of 4.5.
Why you can trust NerdWallet
Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines to ensure fairness and accuracy in our coverage so you can choose the insurance company that works best for you. Our ratings are specific to auto insurance; a company’s rating for other products may be different on our site. See our criteria for evaluating auto insurance companies.
Best car insurance in Pennsylvania overall: NJM
NJM had the highest overall score in our car insurance analysis for Pennsylvania drivers, out of 32 eligible companies. These star ratings focus primarily on factors that affect a customer’s experience with the insurer.
Best overall
NJM
NJM is among our best car insurance companies for 2023, but it is available in only five states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best overall
NJM
NJM is among our best car insurance companies for 2023, but it is available in only five states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best Pennsylvania car insurance for your budget: State Farm
Depending on your driver profile, the best car insurance in Pennsylvania may not be the cheapest for you. But it’s possible to get car insurance from a company that’s highly rated and also affordable.
The cheapest top-rated company in Pennsylvania is State Farm. Our analysis showed that the average rate for full coverage insurance from State Farm is $1,194 a year, or $100 a month for Pennsylvania drivers. Of course, your rate will be different. (You can read our methodology to see how we determine average rates.)
🤓Nerdy Tip
We don’t have data for every single company that offers coverage to Pennsylvania drivers, so compare car insurance rates from several companies to make sure which one is the cheapest for you.
Best budget pick
State Farm
State Farm offers numerous discounts and extras including travel expense coverage, making it a good choice for most drivers.
Average set of discounts
Ease of use
Above average
NAIC complaints
Fewer than expected
Best budget pick
State Farm
State Farm offers numerous discounts and extras including travel expense coverage, making it a good choice for most drivers.
Average set of discounts
Ease of use
Above average
NAIC complaints
Fewer than expected
Best Pennsylvania car insurance for customer satisfaction: Auto-Owners
Auto-Owners is the best car insurance company in Pennsylvania in terms of customer satisfaction. It has the fewest customer complaints to Pennsylvania insurance regulators for a company of its size out of all of NerdWallet’s 5 star-rated insurers in the state.
Best for customer satisfaction
Auto-Owners Insurance
Auto-Owners offers generous perks and a wide range of coverage options but is available in only 26 states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Below average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best for customer satisfaction
Auto-Owners Insurance
Auto-Owners offers generous perks and a wide range of coverage options but is available in only 26 states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Below average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best Pennsylvania car insurance for ease of use: State Farm
State Farm is the best car insurance company in Pennsylvania in terms of how easy it is to use and navigate both the company website and mobile app. Drivers can view their policy and submit claims online, and the State Farm mobile app has high user ratings for iOS and Android devices.
Best for ease of use
State Farm
State Farm offers numerous discounts and extras including travel expense coverage, making it a good choice for most drivers.
Average set of discounts
Ease of use
Above average
NAIC complaints
Fewer than expected
Best for ease of use
State Farm
State Farm offers numerous discounts and extras including travel expense coverage, making it a good choice for most drivers.
Average set of discounts
Ease of use
Above average
NAIC complaints
Fewer than expected
Full list of the best car insurance companies in Pennsylvania
If you’re looking for even more options, NerdWallet analyzed 32 car insurers to find the best car insurance companies in Pennsylvania. Here are the insurers that earned a NerdWallet star rating of 4.5 or higher.
Every driver is different. So when it’s time to research car insurance companies, you’re probably going to prioritize different factors than other people. That can make it hard to find the best car insurance in Utah — if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, you may not know whether or not a company will fit your needs.
To make it easier for you, NerdWallet analyzed 27 car insurance companies in Utah to find the top picks for the following categories:
If you prefer to see a full list of the best car insurance companies in Utah, jump to the bottom of this page.
How we found the best car insurance in Utah
NerdWallet’s editorial team considered pricing, discounts, complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and more to determine the best car insurance companies in Utah. Our “ease of use” category includes factors such as website transparency and how simple it is to file a claim. As we continue to evaluate more insurance providers and receive fresh market data, our list of best car insurance companies is likely to change over time. In our analysis, we only include insurance companies that have achieved a minimum NerdWallet star rating of 4.5.
Why you can trust NerdWallet
Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines to ensure fairness and accuracy in our coverage so you can choose the insurance company that works best for you. Our ratings are specific to auto insurance; a company’s rating for other products may be different on our site. See our criteria for evaluating auto insurance companies
Best car insurance in Utah overall
American Family had the highest overall NerdWallet star rating for Utah drivers, out of 27 eligible car insurance companies. These star ratings focus primarily on factors that could affect a customer’s experience with the insurer.
Best star rating
American Family
American Family offers a wide range of coverage, including rideshare and gap insurance, but doesn’t sell policies in all states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best star rating
American Family
American Family offers a wide range of coverage, including rideshare and gap insurance, but doesn’t sell policies in all states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best Utah car insurance for your budget
Out of the 27 companies we looked at, Auto-Owners is the cheapest option on our list of insurance companies rated 4.5 or higher.
Our analysis showed that the average rate for full coverage insurance from Auto-Owners is $1,378 per year or $115 per month for Utah drivers. (However, your rate may be different.)
🤓Nerdy Tip
We don’t have data for every single company that offers coverage in Utah, so compare car insurance rates from several companies to make sure Auto-Owners is actually the cheapest for you.
Check out NerdWallet’s analysis of cheap car insurance in Utah for a detailed breakdown of the most affordable insurers in your state.
Best budget pick
Auto-Owners Insurance
Auto-Owners offers generous perks and a wide range of coverage options but is available in only 26 states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Below average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best budget pick
Auto-Owners Insurance
Auto-Owners offers generous perks and a wide range of coverage options but is available in only 26 states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Below average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best Utah car insurance for customer satisfaction
In addition to being relatively affordable, Auto-Owners is also the best car insurance company for Utah drivers when it comes to customer satisfaction. This is based on a comparison across auto insurers with a NerdWallet 5-star rating.
Auto-Owners had the fewest number of complaints to state regulators for a company of its size, and you can learn more in our Auto-Owners insurance review.
Best for customer satisfaction
Auto-Owners Insurance
Auto-Owners offers generous perks and a wide range of coverage options but is available in only 26 states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Below average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best for customer satisfaction
Auto-Owners Insurance
Auto-Owners offers generous perks and a wide range of coverage options but is available in only 26 states.
Great set of discounts
Ease of use
Below average
NAIC complaints
Far fewer than expected
Best Utah car insurance for ease of use
State Farm is the best car insurance company in Utah in our ease of use category. State Farm customers can manage their policy and submit claims online, and the mobile app has excellent user ratings for both iOS and Android devices.
Best for ease of use
State Farm
State Farm offers numerous discounts and extras including travel expense coverage, making it a good choice for most drivers.
Average set of discounts
Ease of use
Above average
NAIC complaints
Fewer than expected
Best for ease of use
State Farm
State Farm offers numerous discounts and extras including travel expense coverage, making it a good choice for most drivers.
Average set of discounts
Ease of use
Above average
NAIC complaints
Fewer than expected
Full list of the best car insurance companies in Utah
Out of all 27 car insurers we analyzed, here is the full list of the best car insurance companies in Utah, all with a NerdWallet star rating of 4.5 or higher.
Looking for an app that does it all – automate savings, track spending, investing, and get a free $250 cash advance?
Welcome to my Albert App Review.
Looking for an all-in-one personal finance app that will help you manage your money, save for your future, or even get a free cash advance when you need it?
In that case, you’ve come to the right spot!
In this Albert App Review, I’ll go over everything you need to know about the popular Albert app, and I will discuss its features, benefits, how the app can help you, and more.
You can sign up for the Albert app here.
The Albert app is becoming more and more popular as a money tool that can simplify your life. Instead of needing a bunch of different financial apps, Albert can help you consolidate your phone and need less. The app is a one-stop shop for your monthly financial needs – it automates savings, helps you manage your budget, and has spending, borrowing, and investing tools. With this easy app and the wide range of tools that you can use, Albert has many benefits.
This app reduces the need for multiple apps since it offers a wide range of tools and features.
If you’re looking for a money saving app, Albert can be a great option to start with. There’s a reason why it’s one of the top money apps in the App Store!
9
Albert is one of the most popular personal finance apps, and it is designed to make it easier to save and invest all in one place. This app has features for saving, investing, and budgeting.
Quick Summary – Albert App Review
Albert app is a financial management tool that helps you to save, spend, and invest right in the app
The Genius feature allows you to ask any money question and get a real response from a real person
Albert app’s cash advance feature can get you up to $250
The app is free, but some features do require a monthly subscription
Albert App Review
What Is The Albert App?
The Albert app is a personal finance app that will help you manage your money better by making it easier to save and invest all in one place. This app has features for saving, investing, budgeting, and more.
It has many different features, such as budgeting tools, real-time alerts, and a helpful service where you can ask an expert money questions and get real answers catered to your situation. The app strives to make financial management easier and more organized for everyone.
Albert makes it easy to manage your finances, eliminating the need for visits to physical bank branches or formal phone calls with a financial expert. With the ease of using an app, you can easily track your financial well-being, helping you stay organized, reach goals, and find smart ways to save, spend, and invest. Albert stands out by simplifying your personal finances, all while keeping things very easy to use.
Albert also has a feature where you can get a small cash advance of up to $250 with no late fees, interest, or credit check. This advance is repaid from your next paycheck, giving you the option to avoid high-interest personal loan lenders for those in need of quick cash.
There are no hidden fees, and it is free to sign up. They do have a paid subscription plan that you can sign up for which will give you access to different features such as financial advice from experts. I talk about the paid part further below.
Does The Albert App Give You Money?
Albert provides instant cash advances to users who need small amounts of money before their payday. They do not charge late fees, interest, or run a credit check for this feature.
This can be a great way to not pay high rates on payday loans for when you just need a little bit of cash.
How it works is that the Albert app will send you up to $250 from your next paycheck straight to your bank account. Then, you simply repay them when you get paid. You can pay a small fee to get your money instantly, or you can wait 2-3 days and get the cash advance for free.
Albert Instant is available to all members of the Albert app who qualify, whether they are a paid subscriber or not. Now, not everyone will qualify. To determine your eligibility for a cash advance, they look at things such as if your income is direct deposited into your connected bank account, if your bank account has been open for at least 2 months and has a balance greater than $0, and if you’ve received consistent income in the past 2 months from the same employer.
Albert App Features
The Albert App has many other features, such as:
Banking with Albert
Albert has a user-friendly banking service through its partnership with FDIC-insured Sutton Bank. This includes features like no minimum balance requirement and access to your paycheck up to two days early.
With an Albert account, you can also earn cash back rewards, such as getting a cash back bonus on gas, groceries, and more when you purchase items with your Albert debit card. You can earn an average of $2.00 per gas tank fill-up. You do need to be a Genius subscriber to take advantage of this benefit.
The app also has fee-free ATMs for their paid subscribers at over 55,000 ATMs (when using the Albert Mastercard debit card).
Albert Savings
Albert Savings is the app’s automatic savings tool that is available to Genius subscribers. It saves money from your linked bank account to your Albert Savings account.
This automated savings tool helps you build up your funds without the stress of manual transfers. It analyzes your income and expenses to calculate the amount you can save comfortably. Or, you can manually set your own savings schedule.
The Albert saving feature can help you to save more money and reach your goals.
The money in your Albert Savings account is yours, and you can withdraw it at any time.
Albert Budgeting
The Albert Budgeting feature is super handy and packed with a bunch of useful tools to help you manage your money with ease.
The Albert app has budgeting tools to help you track your income and expenses, find fees that you shouldn’t be paying, and watch your financial progress. The app will send real-time alerts and notifications to help you stay on track with your budget. But, that’s not all.
Other features of Albert Budgeting include:
The Albert app can negotiate your bills so that you can save money. The app will help you lower your bills such as for cable TV, internet, cell phone, and more.
The Albert app also makes it easy to see all of your budgeting info in one quick place, such as tracking your recent bills, seeing how much you’re spending in different categories, and more.
The app will categorize your spending so that you can see where your money is going (this can help you to realize where you may need to cut back)
Also, the app will help you find hidden charges and subscriptions that you may not be using.
These are all very helpful features that can help you save a lot of money in the long run.
Albert Investing
If you’re new to investing or you’re looking for an easier way to invest, the Albert Investing side of the app can make getting started much, much easier.
With Albert Investing, you can start an investment portfolio that matches the amount of investment risk you want to take on and your financial goals. The app even provides investment guidance and lets you start investing without any minimum investment amount needed.
So, that means that you can start investing with Albert Investing with just $1.
You can get started investing in the app by answering some questions (the app wants to learn more about you so that it can make selections based on your personal situation). The app will then choose individual stocks or funds for you to invest in (or, you can choose these yourself if you know what you want to invest in). You can even ask the app to only invest in themes as well, such as companies that are interested in sustainability and the environment. You can then continue to invest automatically or on a recurring schedule. The auto-investing feature can be a great tool if you are looking to save time and invest regularly without really thinking about it.
Albert Genius
This is one of my favorite parts in the app.
The Albert Genius service gives you financial advice from a team of expert financial advisors (this is a team of real human experts that you are able to talk to – not a robot), available through a paid monthly subscription in the app.
You can ask their experts any money question that you have, whether it’s a big or small question, a general question, or something more specific to your personal situation. Your questions can be about anything from credit cards, budgeting, student loans, investing, credit card rewards, life insurance, your personal financial life, and more. These experts will help you answer your questions 7 days a week too. And, there’s no limit to the amount of questions you can ask.
This is a very nice feature to have access to.
Some of the questions you can ask include:
How do I start a budget?
How do I lower my car insurance? Am I paying too much?
How much can I personally afford to spend on a house?
How can I improve my credit score?
How much money should I have in my emergency fund?
Should I use extra cash to pay off debt or invest?
Can you help me to better under travel miles and credit cards?
There are so many different questions that you can ask the team at Albert!
Albert Protect
Albert Protect is a feature for paid subscribers on the app.
The Albert Protect feature monitors your money around the clock. The app will alert you if something suspicious comes up for any of your connected financial accounts or your identity. The app continuously watches for suspicious activity on your credit report, the dark web, data breaches, and unusual charges.
How Does The Albert App Work?
Signing up for Albert is easy!
Simply click here to get started.
Or, you can head to the Google Play or App Store, depending on your device (Android or iOS), and download the app. Once installed, the app will walk you through the setup process. There’s no need to worry about a credit check as Albert doesn’t require one for signing up.
Next, you’ll be asked some questions about yourself such as your name and age. The app is trying to learn more about you. Here’s what Albert says specifically about the questions that they ask: “We do this in order to best serve your needs: a 19-year-old single student has different financial objectives and priorities than a 37-year-old professional with two kids who will be starting college soon.”
Then, you’ll be asked to connect your financial accounts to the app. So, you may connect your bank account that your bills come out of, your credit card accounts, student loans, mortgage, investments accounts, and more. You can connect as many or as little as you want. This information helps the app better serve you so that it can give you recommendations, track your spending, give you alerts, and more.
After you sign up, you’ll have access to the many features mentioned above to help you manage your finances. As you learned above, there are a lot of tools in this app, so I recommend just playing around in the app at first to better familiarize yourself with it and see how it can help you. Maybe sit down for a few minutes at a time until you understand how to use the app in the best way for your financial situation. That’s exactly what I did when I first downloaded the app because it was a little intimidating at first trying to see all of the different things that the app can do. But, it’s so nice that everything can be done right from one app!
To sign up for the app, they do require that you be a U.S. citizen or resident, be at least 18 years old, and have a bank account with a U.S. financial institution. Unfortunately, at this time, the app is not available to those outside the U.S.
How Much Does Albert App Cost?
The Albert app has a lot of different features, so you may be wondering what the cost is or if there are any monthly fees.
The great thing is that many of the tools and features on the Albert app are free.
For example, the Albert App has a fee-free cash advance feature to help you cover unexpected expenses. If you need some extra cash until your next paycheck, you can get up to $250 as a cash advance, with no cost. There are no late fees, overdraft fees, or maintenance fees associated with this service.
You can also start investing with as little as $1 and use the free cash advances feature (as long as you meet eligibility requirements) without the need for a subscription.
Now, the Genius subscription does have a cost.
If you’re looking to unlock all of Albert’s helpful budgeting, saving, and investing tools, you might want to consider their Genius subscription. This subscription starts at just $14.99 per month and gives you access to some helpful benefits like cash bonuses and personalized financial advice. Keep in mind that the true value of the Genius subscription depends on how often you use the app and all its features. So, if you’re a frequent user of the app, it could be a great investment in your financial well-being.
Is Albert App Safe to Use?
Yes, Albert is safe to use.
Let’s start with the basics – the Albert app isn’t a bank, but it teams up with FDIC-insured Sutton Bank to offer you banking services. That means that the money in your Albert Cash account is safe because it’s protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (also known as FDIC). That’s a fancy way of saying your funds are insured for up to $250,000.
Your Albert Savings accounts are held at FDIC-insured banks, including Coastal Community Bank, Axos Bank, and Wells Fargo.
When it comes to data security and privacy, Albert takes that seriously too. The app has security measures to protect your sensitive personal and financial information.
As for customer service, if you ever face any issues with the Albert app, you can easily reach out to their support team for assistance. Many Albert app reviews have mentioned their responsive customer service.
Pros and Cons of Albert
Like with any personal finance app, there are pros and cons. I can’t write an Albert app Review and not talk about the pros and cons, so that you can make the best decision for yourself.
Some of the benefits of using Albert include:
The app aggregates all of your accounts – Albert gives you an overview of your financial life by combining all your accounts in one place.
Savings and investments – The app offers customizable savings goals and can create a custom portfolio for your investment needs. It will also keep track of your transactions and help you identify potential savings opportunities as well as avoid late fees.
The Albert app is safe – Your information is kept safe with the same level of security used by major banks, as well as FDIC insurance.
Albert Genius – This feature provides personalized money advice from financial experts (real people, not a robot!) to help you make smarter financial decisions. You can ask any money question and will get personalized advice.
Free cash advance – Get a cash advance on your next paycheck without any late fees using Albert Instant, or access your paycheck up to two days early with direct deposit.
Free ATM withdrawals – This is a feature paid monthly members get to have.
While Albert has many helpful tools and features, there are some potential downsides to using the app such as:
App-only functionality – All features of Albert are limited to the app, which may be inconvenient for some people who prefer to be on their computer instead of their cell phone.
Fees – While many features in Albert are free to use, some, such as the Albert Genius service, require a subscription fee. The fee is quite affordable for the services you receive, though.
No phone calls – If you need to talk to customer support, there is no phone number to call. Instead, it’s all done through the app, text message, or email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to commonly asked questions about the Albert app.
Is Albert a trustworthy app?
Yes, Albert is a trustworthy app. Your banking money is FDIC-insured, with coverage up to $250,000, and your investments are SIPC-insured. The app has many financial tools and you can even get personalized advice from experts.
How much can you borrow with Albert?
The maximum for a cash advance is $250.
How do you get $250 from Albert app?
Albert offers a cash advance feature called Albert Instant. After you enable this feature and meet the requirements, you can access funds quickly, sometimes up to $250.
Does Albert give you money right away?
In some cases, Albert can provide instant cash advances or help you get your paycheck up to two days early via direct deposit, depending on your employer and banking situation.
How long does it take to get money from Albert?
Getting your hands on the cash you need from Albert is all about the service you’re using. If you’re in a hurry, instant cash advances could have those funds in your pocket right away. But for paycheck advances and other features, it might take a couple of days before you see the money.
What are the requirements to get a cash advance on Albert?
Requirements for a cash advance with Albert include a history of consistent income, using the Albert app for a certain period, and having a bank account linked.
Does Albert hurt your credit?
Albert does not directly impact your credit score as it is not a lender. However, using the app’s guidance to improve financial management can help you work towards building or maintaining a higher credit score.
Does Albert need your social security number?
Yes, when signing up for the Albert app, it will ask you for your SSN. This is because it is an investment app and they need to verify that it is actually you signing up.
Is Albert or Chime better?
Albert and Chime are different financial apps with different features. Albert focuses on money management, investing, and advice, while Chime is a mobile banking app offering checking and savings account services. Your choice should depend on your financial goals and preferences.
Why is Albert taking money from my account?
If you’re already an Albert user, this may be a troubleshooting question that you have (and perhaps you searched Google and found this blog post). Albert takes money from your account (such as your bank checking account) to fund the services you’ve opted into, such as investments or automatic savings. You can check the app’s settings or contact Albert to learn more,
Is Albert app affiliated with a specific local bank?
Albert is backed by Sutton Bank.
Is the Albert app reliable and secure for banking?
Yes, Albert is a reliable and secure app for managing your finances. It is FDIC and SIPC-insured and has a variety of financial tools and resources to help you improve your financial situation.
How is Albert app customer service?
I did some research and I found great Albert app reviews on their customer service. The Albert app has customer service options within the app and online. They do not have an option to call their customer service and speak on the phone. But, if you’re like me, you probably prefer to get your questions answered via text message or email anyways.
Is Albert app legit?
Yes, the Albert app is a legitimate personal finance app that can help you manage and improve your finances. Millions of people (last I checked, over 10,000,000 people use this app) use the app’s many helpful tools. The app is available for people on Apple or Android devices and it has great reviews.
Who is Albert app best for? Who should not use it?
The Albert app is a helpful all-around financial app that can help many different people. If you’re looking for an all-in-one app to help you save, spend, borrow, and invest, Albert might be a good fit for you. The app is helpful for people who:
Want fee-free cash advances up to $250 (this is a feature that many people like because they don’t have to sign up for high-interest rate loans when they just need something for a short amount of time)
Need an app that gives you an overview of all your accounts in one place
Are interested in automatic savings and easy investing tools
Albert takes the work out of managing your finances and may be helpful for people who are trying to stay on top of their personal budget without having to juggle multiple apps.
However, Albert may not be the best fit for everyone and not everyone needs to have it. So, if you fall into any of the below, then this may not be the app for you
If you’re an experienced investor looking for more advanced trading tools, then this may not be the best investing app for you (the Albert app is basic in this area because I think it caters more to those who are new investors or are looking for something easier to manage)
If you’re someone who doesn’t feel comfortable linking their bank accounts to a third-party app (you will need to link accounts in order to get full use of the app – I understand that some people may not want to do this)
Albert App Review – Summary
I hope you enjoyed my Albert App Review.
I think this is a very helpful app, and I can see why it’s one of the most popular money apps today.
Albert is an app designed to help manage your saving, budgeting, investing, and more, all in one easy app. The app has all of the different money tools that you would want, plus some extras that you may have not realized you needed yet.
Albert is an app that helps you to manage many different parts of your financial life right from your cell phone (it’s not available on computers).
They even have the Genius feature (one of my favorite parts of the app), which is an in-app chat where you can ask one of their experts anything related to money, from credit cards, buying a car, student loans, and more. This is very helpful if you ever have questions about money.
And, if you need cash now, Albert may be able to give you a small advance of up to $250. There are no late fees, interest, or a credit check. If you want to avoid personal loan lenders who have high-interest rates, and only need a small cash advance, then Albert may be a place to start with. How this works is that they send you $250 from your next paycheck. You simply repay them when you receive your next paycheck.
You should keep in mind that investment options don’t include retirement plans and customer service can only be reached via email and text. Though the app’s budgeting tools are more basic compared to budgeting-focused apps, the Albert app still has many, many benefits to help you manage your finances effectively and it’s all from one easy-to-use app.
You can learn more about Albert here.
What’s your favorite personal finance app? Do you use the Albert app?
In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with Marshall Beck from BrokerAssist. He’s a recent addition to the Geek Estate Mastermind.
Who are you, and what do you do?
Marshall Beck here, Co-founder and CEO of BrokerAssist, and I do lots! Currently, my main focus is to add great value in helping real estate professionals manage and grow their businesses, with the BrokerAssist collaboration and referral network. I also write unscripted television shows and have a few projects in the works with a production company. I co-host quarterly wellness seminars and promote a vegan lifestyle; for the health and happiness of ourselves, the planet, and animals.
What problem does your product/service solve?
Think gig economy for real estate. As a real time, mobile marketplace for agents and brokers to collaborate on fractional assistance and referral needs, BrokerAssist solves the logistical problems brokers face with last minute showings, coverage while on vacation, referral needs, and more.
How do agents grow their businesses? By building teams. BrokerAssist is a cost-effective solution for the agent trying to grow their business without the budget for a full or part time assistant. It’s for the agents who would rather knock out a few more listing appointments than sit at an inspection, which could easily be covered for them by a fellow quality, licensed agent or broker. It’s also for the agents who have some free time to earn extra cash, and maybe a newer agent who’d like more experience at these tasks.
There is no industry wide platform for fractional assistance and referral networking where independent and national firms may collaborate for business growth. Agents and brokers are resorting to Facebook groups, email threads, phone/text, and other outdated and non-integrated payment options.
It’s time to move on from the expensive industry referral models that take as much as 33% of broker and agent commissions. These platforms have lengthy processes and are not on-demand as agents and broker expect, to ensure their referral opportunities are not lost. BrokerAssist solves this as the free on demand referral connection service for real estate professionals. We help keep brokers and agents at the center of their transactions.
What are you most excited about right now?
The BrokerAssist team is deep in QA, wrapping up some development features and starting the Beta testing process. These are exciting times as we move closer to our national launch to android and iOS app stores very soon! I am most excited to see how our technology is adopted and to learn from brokers and agents on how we can improve and expand our products and services as we grow.
What’s next for you?
Growth is next with a deep dive into building a robust BrokerAssist network. Our team has so many great ideas on next generation features and how to expand this platform into other real estate horizontals for additional application. To accomplish this, our next move involves fundraising among friends/family and angel investors.
What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?
I am a vegan wellness and lifestyle advocate because I care deeply about our responsibility to sustain the happiness and health of ourselves, the planet, and the animals. It’s as simple as supply and demand. We vote with our dollars, and conscious consumption with a vegan lifestyle is a part of the future as we learn to live in harmony with Mother Nature during these modern times.
Thanks to Marshall for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.
We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).
As a homeowner, you probably have a rough sense of where your property starts and finishes. It might be the driveway, the border of your lawn, or even the fence you’ve set up as your visual marker. However, these familiar markers might not necessarily align with the official property lines. It’s worth considering where your property lines actually fall..
Before embarking on any outdoor projects, such as building a garage, replacing a fence, installing a pool, or enhancing your landscaping, it’s important to take a moment to evaluate your property’s true boundaries. This careful assessment ensures that you can savor the improvements you make to your home and yard without inadvertently encroaching on your neighbors’ territory or causing any potential disputes. So, whether you own a townhouse in Seattle, WA, or a home with 5 acres in Atlanta, GA, it’s important to be sure of where your property’s lines are located.
What are property lines?
Property lines are necessary during construction by the developer, city, county, or state to show where ownership of one plot of land starts and ends. A surveyor establishes the formal boundaries and marks them. When the property is legally split, the new property lines are established in a survey. The property line at the front of your house is known as your frontage, the measured distance across the front of the plot you own. The property lines on the side of your plot are known as sidelines. Local zoning laws often dictate these distances.
Why is it important to know the location of your property lines?
Property lines are the borders that tell you exactly where your property begins and ends. They keep one property owner from encroaching on another owner’s land or compromising their privacy by building too close to their house. A typical encroachment might be tree limbs that grow past your property and overhang into a neighbor’s roof or a driveway poured to extend onto a neighbor’s property. When you know exactly where your property lines fall, you’ll avoid accidentally encroaching on your neighbor’s land.
If you plan to build a permanent structure, you’ll want to be as accurate as possible, and ordering your own land survey is the best option. In most states, you are required to call a diggers hotline 811 to request buried utility information before you build a fence, plant a tree, or extend your driveway. This call ensures you know the location of any buried wires or irrigation systems to avoid causing damage. Within a few days’ notice, someone from your local utility company should be able to mark county wires or pipes with spray paint or flags.
Since property line information can be valuable to someone you may sell your house to, you will want to keep all records. Keep a copy of a new survey you’ve completed, a plat map, or any information from the city or county offices in digital or hard copy format. If you do a new survey, you may also need to register it with your county assessor or recorder. During the sale of a property, the title company will search for encroachment of one property into another. They may refuse title insurance to the seller if they find a property line dispute.
When you know how to find your property lines, you’ll gain peace of mind for any project that could come close to the edge of the property. Showing respect for your neighbor and their property rights can help you avoid a lawsuit.
To avoid issues with property lines and prevent confrontation with your neighbors, here are 12 easy ways to find property lines.
1. Use Google Maps to find property lines
In the world of digital mapping, it’s worth noting that Google Maps does have the capability to display property lines, although it’s not always a guaranteed feature. The availability of this information can vary due to several factors, and there may be instances where Google lacks access to the necessary data, resulting in the inability to provide property lines. However, it’s a simple process worth exploring to get an initial rough idea of your property’s lines.
You’ll want to start by navigating to the Google Maps website. Once you are on the website find the search bar located at the left side of the screen and type in your exact property address. Once you have searched, you’ll be presented with a standard grid-like GPS view. To switch to a satellite photo view, click on the “Layers” button.
Next, tap the “+” button located at the lower right-hand corner of the screen to continue zooming in. Continue to zoom in on the property you’re interested in until you spot those property lines. You’ll recognize them as slender gray lines. If these lines don’t pop up, it’s likely that this feature isn’t accessible in your region.
Are there other apps that show property lines?
Other GPS apps can provide you with accurate plat maps. LandGlide and Landgrid are two used most commonly by property owners.
LandGlide app: The LandGlide app uses GPS to pinpoint your property’s location accurately. The app includes parcel records in 3,000 counties throughout the country, covering more than 95% of the United States. The app is available on IOS and Android devices and it offers a free trial. A paid subscription service is available after your trial expires.
Landgrid Map: The Landgrid app allows users to view more than 149 million properties nationwide and includes ownership & address information. The app has a survey editor that will allow you to create your survey. The pro version allows users to access premium fields, bookmark properties, run surveys, and utilize various web features.
2. Hire a licensed land surveyor
The most accurate way to know where your land begins and ends is to hire a surveyor to determine your property lines. The property surveyor will first check county records to understand the history of the lot. Then they will find out about easements, subdivisions, and any other important factors that could affect your land and what you choose to do with it. The cost to hire a licensed land surveyor typically runs between $330 and $670 per survey and depending on the location, size, and property history, it could be up to $1,000 per survey.
2. Review your property deed
Your property deed will give you a tax description of your property. This tax description explains the boundaries of your plot of land. The description often references the names of subdivisions and other land references that may no longer be in the area, such as a row of trees. You can get a copy of your deed online or from your county recorder’s office for a fee.
3. Check the metes and bounds survey
A metes and bounds survey identifies a landmark to define the property boundaries, such as a tree, creek, road, or intersection. This is the “place of beginning” or POB. You can then use a compass to follow the directions provided. This survey can be hard to understand because it often uses landmarks that may no longer exist. For example, the survey may state that a property line extends “fifty meters from the tall maple.” However, that maple tree may no longer be standing.
4. Read the property line map, or ‘plat’
When you buy a house, you typically receive a plat map or property line map. If you don’t, you can find it at the county clerk’s office. The plat will give you the exact dimensions of your lot related to other lots on your block. For a property on a residential street, expect to see similarly sized rectangles lined up on each side of the street, showing each privately owned property. Every individual property will be labeled with an identifying number. This number is separate from the parcel number for tax purposes. Your neighbors may be able to help as well. You can ask them if they have a copy of their plat map, which would show the neighborhood.
5. Ask for the property survey from your mortgage or title company
If you finance your home purchase through a lender, the lender will typically require a property survey. Your mortgage company should have a copy of this survey from the purchase transaction. The title company will also run a property search and may have a copy of any surveys or property line maps completed for your property.
6. Review the existing property survey from your county or local municipality
Property surveys are public records and you can request a copy of any existing surveys from your county or local municipality. If the county or municipality has completed a survey for your plot of land, they will have a copy. They usually charge a fee to reproduce it.
7. Locate a hidden survey pin
During construction, builders often use survey pins to mark the plot of land. Look for thin iron bars staked into the ground in the general area you expect your property lines to be. A metal detector can be a helpful tool for your search along the perimeter of your property. You’ll often find survey pins close to a sidewalk or the curb of the property. However, survey pins can be misleading as utility companies, tree-removal companies, and other contractors may have moved them in the course of their work.
8. Look for property line markers
Locating property line markers is another alternative to finding survey pins. Property line markers can be made of metal, wood, or concrete. For a relatively new home, the property boundary markers might still be in place. If you find survey pins or concrete boundary markers, they are likely to be more accurate, as wooden stakes are more easily moved. Check your plat map to see where to look for property line markers.
9. Check sidewalks and street lights
Sidewalks and street lights can give you a good visual reference if you don’t know how to find property lines. While they are not a perfect reference, installers may have aligned sidewalks or streetlights with the property lines. Start by looking at the lines cut into the sidewalk in front of the house. A contractor may have cut lines to meet up with the edge of the property or used slightly different concrete to separate properties. This method is a good starting point but be sure to use it in conjunction with a survey or plat map to ensure accuracy.
10. Visit the local zoning department
Your municipality’s zoning department records plats showing land division, and will have maps drawn to scale for your property. Unless your home was built over a hundred years ago, you can ask for a copy of your neighborhood and lot plat for a minimal fee. The zoning department records will give you the exact dimensions of your lot.
11. Measure the property yourself
You could measure your lot by hand. To do this, you’ll need a long measuring tape, a compass, and perhaps an assistant. Retrace the surveyor’s steps by locating the starting point labeled on the plat. This will be the “common point” or POB. Once you find the starting point, use the measuring tape to follow the plat, recording measurements as you go. The plat measurements should correspond with the ones you record yourself.
As a homebuyer, exercise caution regarding property lines as you move through the purchasing process. The previous owners may have failed to account for property lines before they started various home improvements and could have encroached on a neighbor’s property. Ask your lender for a copy of the completed survey – you may learn that the property is smaller than you expected. Or, an encroachment issue could prompt you to renegotiate the deal or walk away altogether.
If you love the home, a suitable compromise could involve a boundary line agreement after the purchase. A boundary line agreement is a legal contract to settle disputes between neighbors over property boundaries and provides an agreement on property line usage without going to court.
There are fast, easy, precise, and cost-effective ways to find property lines, whether it’s for a property you own or one you plan to purchase. Make sure to gather accurate information when buying a home or starting any construction or landscaping project.
One of the most powerful financial combinations is the ability to invest and bank through the same financial institution. But J.P. Morgan isn’t just any financial institution. It’s the largest bank in the U.S., and it also offers the ability to engage in self-directed trading–commission-free. There are many brokerage firms you can invest with, but this is the only one with the power of J.P. Morgan behind it!
If you’re already a J.P. Morgan customer or client–either with a deposit account or through one of their many top-of-the-line credit cards–you should know that you can also invest through the company. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offers commission-free trades for self-directed investors, as well as a low-cost managed portfolio option. You can open an account with no money, and handle all your trading and account monitoring through the mobile app. And if you’re not already a J.P. Morgan customer or client, you may be interested in investing through the largest banking organization in the U.S., with all the advantages and benefits that provides.
What is J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing?
J.P. Morgan is the largest bank in the United States and the sixth-largest bank in the world, with assets of nearly $2.7 trillion. Founded all the way back in 1799, the bank currently has more than 5,000 branches operating in 36 states. J.P. Morgan is also one of the leading providers of credit cards.
But while the company is best known as a bank, it’s also one of the largest asset managers in the world. J.P. Morgan’s asset management arm has nearly $3 trillion in assets under management (AUM), while its investment and corporate banking arm has more than $25 trillion in AUM.
Given the company’s experience in managing investments for individual and business clients, as well as its massive banking footprint across the U.S., it’s only natural that J.P. Morgan would eventually roll out a retail brokerage platform for individual investors. That platform is J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing. Originally launched as You Invest in 2018, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is already showing plenty of promise with innovative investment options.
J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Product Features
J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offers two different investment programs. Self-Directed Investing (SDI) is a self-directed investment platform, while SDI portfolios offers several fully managed investment plans for those who want to turn the investing job over to the professionals.
Self-Directed Investing
This is the trading account offered by J. P. Morgan. There is no minimum initial investment required to open an account. Available accounts include individual and joint taxable brokerage accounts, and traditional and Roth IRA accounts. There, you can trade individual stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, fixed income securities, and mutual funds.
Self-Directed Investing offers commission-free trades in thousands of securities. You can manage your portfolio online or on the go from your mobile device.
The platform also has resource pages that can help with basic investing, investing strategies, planning, and market insights.
Portfolio Builder
This tool helps create an asset allocation based on your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. This tool requires a minimum account balance of $500. It can be used to select securities within the designated portfolio allocations, and even places trades for you.
Self-Directed Investing Portfolios
If you prefer to have your investment portfolio professionally managed–or if you want to add managed portfolios to your self-directed investing–you can take advantage of SDI Portfolios.
You’ll need a minimum of $500 to open an account, and the account will be managed for a single annual percentage fee, regardless of account size (see J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Pricing & Fees below).
The specific mix in your portfolio will depend on your investor profile, which may be Conservative, Moderate, Growth, or Aggressive. A Conservative portfolio will be more heavily invested in fixed income and cash investments, while Growth and Aggressive will be slanted towards stocks. The Moderate portfolio will use an equal mix of both.
After you open an account, you’ll determine your asset allocation and your portfolio is put in place–it will be rebalanced as necessary. At that point, all you’ll need to do is fund your account, and all aspects of your portfolio will be fully managed for you.
If self-directed investing isn’t for you, you can work with a J.P. Morgan advisor, or schedule a check-up to see if you’re on track to meeting your investment goals.
Self-Directed Investing Portfolios Glide Path
Your portfolio allocation doesn’t remain static. SDI Portfolios employs a Glide Path, adjusting your portfolio as you age. Your portfolio will be gradually reallocated toward a more conservative mix as you approach retirement and have less time available to recover from losses that may occur in a down market.
J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Pricing & Fees
Self-Directed Investing Trade
There are no fees to open and maintain a SDI Trade account. Trading commissions are as follows:
Stocks and ETFs: You’ll have unlimited commission-free trading online with stocks and ETFs. However, if you make representative-assisted trades there is a fee of $25 per trade.
Option: Also commission-free, but there is a charge of $0.65 per contract. And similarly, there will be a $25 commission for any representative-assisted trade.
Mutual funds: Commission-free for online trades, with a $20 per transaction commission if representative-assisted.
Fixed income/bonds: There are no commissions or fees charged for trades of U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, or new issues of corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government agency bonds or brokered certificates of deposit.
However, trading of secondary market corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government agency bonds and brokered CDs have the following fees:
Online – $10 per trade, plus $1 per bond over 10 bonds, up to a maximum of $250.
Representative-assisted – $30 per trade, plus $1 per bond over 10 bonds, up to a maximum of $270.
Self-Directed Investing Portfolios
SDI Portfolios come with a low percentage annual advisory fee of 0.35% of your account balance, paid monthly. There are no other fees involved in the management of your account.
J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Sign-up Bonus
J.P. Morgan is currently offering a bonus of between $50 and $700 if you open an account with at least $5,000. The bonus is structured as follows:
$700 when you fund with $250,000 or more
$325 when you fund with $100,000-$249,999
$150 when you fund with $25,000-$99,999
$50 when you fund with $5,000-$24,999
(All accounts must be funded at these levels in the first 45 days and remain in the account for at least 90 days)
Disclosure: INVESTMENT AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS ARE: NOT A DEPOSIT • NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE
How to Sign Up with J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
To open a SDI account you must be at least 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number, and a U.S. home address. You’ll be asked to provide a valid driver’s license or state-issued ID for identity verification purposes.
You can open the account from YouInvest.com. There you can choose a Self-Directed Investing Trade or Self-Directed Investing Portfolios option, either as a taxable brokerage account or an IRA. If you choose to open a SDI Portfolios account, you’ll need to complete a questionnaire that will help determine your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
If you are an existing Chase account holder, much of your application information will be transferred over from in-house records.
When completing the application, you’ll first be asked if you are an existing Chase customer. If you are, you can simply enter your username and password, and your application will be populated from information already on file with Chase.
If you are not an existing Chase customer, you’ll need to complete the online application. You’ll then need to manually supply the following information:
Your full name
Country or citizenship
Date of birth
Social Security number
The type of ID (driver’s license or state-issued ID), as well as the ID number, expiration date, and the issuing state
Your home address
Your email and phone number
Funding your account
You can fund your account either through an existing Chase account or from an external financial institution. If you already have a Chase account, you can transfer funds into your Self-Directed Investing Account by choosing Pay & transfer, then Transfer money.
If you are linking an external account, you can simply choose “Add new external account”, then enter the routing number and personal account number from your institution. You can set up either a one-time transfer or recurring transfers.
J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Security
All investment accounts are protected against broker failure by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Your account is covered for up to $500,000 in cash and securities, including up to $250,000 in cash.
J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Mobile App
You can invest with SDI using the Chase Mobile App, which is available at The App Store for iOS devices, 11.0 and later. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Its also available at Google Play for Android devices, 6.0 and up.
You can use the mobile app to manage all your accounts with J.P. Morgan including your Self-Directed Investment accounts. That includes trading securities and funds and taking advantage of all the tools and research information available on the platform.
J. P. Morgan Customer Service
Customer service is available by phone Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, Eastern time. However, you can place online trades anytime between 6:00 am and 2:00 am Eastern time.
FAQ
Do I need to be an existing Chase account holder to open a Self-Directed Investing account?
No. There is no requirement for you to be a current Chase account to participate in the service, nor is there a requirement for you to open a Chase bank or credit card account as a condition of your SDI account.
Can I open a Self-Directed Investing account in the name of my business?
No. SDI accounts are only available to individuals and joint personal account holders. The platform is not designed for business customers.
I like that Self-Directed Investing offers commission-free trades on stocks, options, and ETFs. But why do they charge such high fees for representative-assisted trades?
The practice of charging fees for trading with live assistance is common in the brokerage industry, even now that most brokers have eliminated commissions for online trades. Self-Directed Investing representative-assisted trade fees are consistent with those charged by other brokerage firms. A major reason brokerage firms are able to offer commission-free trades is because they don’t require assistance from broker employees. Fewer assisted trades means lower payroll costs for the brokerage firm, enabling them to charge no fees for online trades.
If I use the Portfolio Builder, what kind of investments can I hold?
The Portfolio Builder tool enables you to invest through ETFs and stocks. This includes both U.S. and international equities, as well as core fixed income and commodities. However, the tool does not allow mutual funds in the portfolio.
Open to non-Chase customers — Self-Directed Investing is available to both Chase and non-Chase customers and investors.
Commission-free trades — This applies to stocks, ETFs, and options (though like most brokers, there is a per contract fee with options).
Generous sign-up bonus — These range from $50 to $700.
Both self-directed investing or professionally managed — Ability to choose either self-directed investing through Self-Directed Investing Trade or a professionally managed option through SDI Portfolios – or you can use a combination of both.
Tools to help create and manage a portfolio — The Portfolio Builder tool helps create and manage your portfolio, even as a self-directed investor.
Investment options are a bit limited — The platform doesn’t allow you to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs) or penny stocks (stocks that either aren’t listed on a major exchange and have a price of less than $5).
Limited customer service hours — J.P. Morgan’s customer service live support is limited to business days until 7:00 pm. This is substantially less than the 24/7 customer support available with most major competitors.
High Advisory fee — The advisory fee of 0.35% on SDI Portfolios is higher than the industry average of 0.25% for robo-advisors.
Alternatives to J. P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
The investment brokerage field is a crowded one, and some of the alternatives you may want to consider include the following:
E*TRADE
E*Trade operates similarly to J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing in that it has both commission-free self-directed trading, as well as managed portfolio options. But the platform offers a more comprehensive suite of investment tools, and also a wider range of investment options. For example, you can also trade futures and FOREX.
Ally Invest
Ally Invest, with both self-directed investing and a managed portfolio option. And just as is the case with J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, you can also take advantage of the banking services and high-yield savings accounts and CDs offered through Ally Bank. Much like E*TRADE, Ally Invest also offers more diverse investment options than J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing.
TD Ameritrade
Tied in with TD Bank, TD Ameritrade also enables you to invest where you bank. They similarly offer no commission trading on stocks, ETFs, and options. And like most brokerage firms, they also offer managed portfolio options. Once again, TD Ameritrade offers something that J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing doesn’t, and that’s commission-free mutual fund trades. In fact, they offer more than 4,000 no transaction fee mutual funds to choose from.
Is J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing for You?
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investment will work best for existing customers and clients of J.P. Morgan. If you already have a banking relationship and/or a credit card through the company, investing with them will be a natural choice.
If you’re not an existing J.P. Morgan customer client, or even if you are, you should be aware that this is strictly for self-directed investors. It doesn’t have quite as many investment tools and resources as other major brokerage platforms. For that reason, it’s best suited to self-directed investors who have their own investment resources and tools.
However, the platform was launched less than two years ago and is still evolving. With J.P. Morgan behind it, we can expect better things to come.
If you’re not a self-directed investor, you can still invest through Automated Investing. This is a robo-advisor, and provides all the benefits that come with low-cost, professional investment management. However, the annual advisory fee of 0.35% is higher than the industry standard fee of 0.25%. Those are the fee levels you can expect from popular competitors, like Betterment and Wealthfront.
But if you’re looking to combine investing with banking, there’s no better place to do it than with J.P. Morgan. As the largest bank in the U.S., operating in 36 states–and determined to enter the remaining 14–they offer something for everyone.
Bottom Line
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is a solid investment platform for self-directed investors who have access to a reliable source of investment tools and research. The platform may expand those tools and resources going forward, but they’re not quite there yet. In the meantime, they offer commission-free trades, as well as a managed portfolio option if you’re not quite ready for self-directed trading.
Disclosure: INVESTMENT AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS ARE: NOT A DEPOSIT • NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE
Robo-advisors have barely been around for 10 years, but in the past couple of years several have been steadily expanding their investment menus, and even offering valuable add-on services. One of the leaders in this regard is Wealthfront. The robo-advisor has been growing its investment capability in every direction but is now even offering financial planning. The platform now bills itself as offering High-Interest Cash, Financial Planning & Robo-Investing for Millennials. If you’re looking for more than just investing, Wealthfront has it. And as has become their trademark, it’s all available at a low cost.
What is Wealthfront?
Based in Palo Alto, California, and founded in 2011, Wealthfront has about $25 billion in assets under management. It’s the second-largest independent robo-advisor, after Betterment. And while dozens of robo-advisors have arrived in recent years, Wealthfront stands out as one of the very best. There isn’t any one thing Wealthfront does especially well, but many. And they’re adding to their menu of services all the time.
Their primary business of course is automated online investing. You can open an account with as little as $500, and the platform will design a portfolio for you, then manage it continuously. Your money will be invested in a globally diversified portfolio of ETFs–just like most other robo-advisors. But Wealthfront takes it a step further, and also adds real estate and natural resources.
Like other robo-advisors, Wealthfront uses Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) in the creation of portfolios. They first determine your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance, then build a portfolio designed to work within those parameters. MPT emphasizes proper asset allocation to both maximize returns, and minimize losses.
But in a major departure from other robo-advisors, Wealthfront now offers the ability to customize your portfolio and get access to a variety of investment methodologies and portfolios, including Smart Beta, Risk Parity and Stock-Level Tax-Loss Harvesting. And more recently, they’ve also stepped into the financial planning arena. They now offer several financial planning packages, customized to very specific needs, including retirement planning and college planning.
If you haven’t checked out Wealthfront in the past year or so, you definitely need to give it a second look. This is a robo-advisor platform where things are happening–fast!
How Wealthfront Works
When you sign up with Wealthfront, they first have you complete a questionnaire. Your answers will determine your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. A portfolio invested in multiple asset classes will be constructed, with an exchange-traded fund (ETF) representing each.
The advantage of ETFs is that they are low-cost, and enable the platform to expose your portfolio to literally hundreds of different companies in each asset class. With your portfolio invested in multiple asset classes, it will literally contain the stocks and bonds of thousands of companies and institutions, both here in the U.S. and abroad.
Wealthfront offers tax-loss harvesting on all portfolio levels. But they’ve also added portfolio options for larger investors, that include stocks as well as ETFs. The inclusion of stocks gives Wealthfront the ability to be more precise and aggressive with tax-loss harvesting.
Each portfolio also comes with periodic rebalancing, to maintain target asset allocations, as well as automatic dividend reinvestment. As is typical with robo-advisors, all you need to do is fund your account–Wealthfront handles 100% of the investment management for you.
More recently, Wealthfront has also added external account support. The platform can now incorporate investment accounts that are not directly managed by the robo-advisor. This will provide a high-altitude view of your entire financial situation, helping you explore what’s possible and providing guidance to optimize your finances.
And much like many large investment brokers, Wealthfront now offers a portfolio line of credit. It’s available only to investors with $25,000 or more in a taxable account, but if you qualify you can borrow money against your investment account and set your own repayment terms in the process
Wealthfront Features and Benefits
Minimum initial investment: $500
Account types offered: Individual and joint taxable accounts; traditional, Roth, rollover and SEP IRAs; trusts and 529 college accounts
Account access: Available in web and mobile apps. Compatible with Android devices (5.0 and up), and available for download at Google Play. Also compatible with iOS (11.0 and later) devices at The App Store. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.
Account custodian: Account funds are held in a brokerage account in your name through Wealthfront Brokerage Corporation, which has partnered with RBC Correspondent Services for clearing functions, such as trade settlement. IRA accounts are held with Forge Trust.
Customer service: Available by phone and email, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Pacific time.
Wealthfront security: Your funds invested with Wealthfront are covered by SIPC, which insures your account against broker failure for up to $500,000 in cash and securities, including up to $250,000 in cash.
Wealthfront uses third-party providers to maintain secure, read-only links to your account. The providers specialize in tracking financial data, as well as employ robust, bank-grade security, and in general, they follow data protection best practices. In addition, Wealthfront does not store your account password.
Wealthfront Investment Methodology
For regular investment accounts, Wealthfront constructs portfolios from a combination of 10 different specific asset classes. This includes four stock funds, four bond funds, a real estate fund, and a natural resources fund.
Each portfolio will contain various allocations of each asset class, based on your investor profile as determined by your answers to the questionnaire. The one exception is municipal bonds. That allocation will appear only in taxable accounts. IRAs don’t include them since the accounts are already tax-sheltered.
Notice in the table below that most asset classes have two ETFs listed. This is part of Wealthfront’s tax-loss harvesting strategy. In each case, the two ETFs are very similar. To facilitate tax-loss harvesting, one fund position will be sold, then the second will be purchased at least 30 days later, to restore the asset class. (We’ll cover tax-loss harvesting in a bit more detail a little further down.)
The ETFs used for each asset class are as follows, as of December 29, 2018:
Specific Asset ClassGeneral Asset ClassPrimary ETFSecondary ETF
US Stocks
Stocks
Vanguard CRSP US Total Market Index (VTI)
Schwab DJ Broad US Market (SCHB)
Foreign Stocks
Stocks
Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex-US Index (VEA)
Schwab FTSE Dev ex-US (SCHF)
Emerging Markets
Stocks
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index (VWO)
iShares MSCI EM (IEMG)
Real Estate
Real Estate
Vanguard MSCI US REIT (VNQ)
Schwab DJ REIT (SCHH)
Natural Resources
Natural Resources
State Street S&P Energy Select Sector Index (XLE)
Vanguard MSCI Energy (VDE)
US Government Bonds
Bonds
Vanguard Barclays Aggregate Bonds (BND)
Vanguard Barclays 5-10 Gov/Credit (BIV)
TIPS
Bonds
Schwab Barclays Capital US TIPS (SCHP)
Vanguard Barclays Capital US TIPS 0-5 Years (VTIP)
Municipal Bonds (taxable accounts only)
Bonds
Vanguard S&P National Municipal (VTEB)
State Street Barclays Capital Municipal (TFI)
Dividend Stocks
Bonds
Vanguard Dividend Achievers Select (VIG)
Schwab Dow Jones US Dividend 100 (SCHD)
Wealthfront’s historical returns are as follows (through 1/31/2019). But keep in mind these numbers are general. Since the portfolios designed for each investor are unique, your returns will vary.
Specialized Wealthfront Portfolios
As mentioned in the introduction, Wealthfront has rolled out several different investment options, in addition to its regular robo-advisor portfolios. Each represents a specific, and generally more specialized investment strategy, and is typically available to those with larger investment accounts.
Smart Beta: You’ll need at least $500,000 to be eligible for this portfolio. Smart beta departs from traditional index-based investing, which relies on market capitalization. For example, since Apple is one of the most highly capitalized S&P 500 stocks, it has a disproportionate weight in strict S&P 500 index funds. In a smart beta portfolio, the position in Apple will be reduced based on other factors.
In general, under smart beta, the weighing of stocks in the fund uses a variety of factors that are less dependent on market capitalization. There’s some evidence this investment methodology produces higher returns. This portfolio is available at no additional fee.
Wealthfront Risk Parity Fund: This is actually a mutual fund–the first offered by Wealthfront. It involves the use of leverage with some positions within the portfolio. It attempts to achieve higher long-term returns by equalizing the risk contributions of each asset class. It’s based on the Bridgewater Hedge Fund, and requires a minimum of $100,000, with an additional annual fee of 0.25% (0.50% total). This is the only Wealthfront portfolio that charges a fee over and above the regular advisory fee.
Socially responsible investing (SRI): Wealthfront just recently began to offer a specific SRI portfolio option. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to customize your portfolio and add socially responsible ETFs.
Sector-specific ETFs: If you want to invest in a particular portion of the market, such as technology or healthcare, Wealthfront gives you the option to build a portfolio that focuses on certain industries to portions of the stock market.
Customized Wealthfront Portfolios:
Wealthfront also lets investors build their own portfolios, which is somewhat uncommon among robo-advisors.
Most robo-advisors will build your portfolio automatically based on your risk tolerance and goals. If you like that service, Wealthfront can do it. However, more hands-on investors are free to make tweaks to the automatically designed portfolio by adding or removing ETFs.
You can also build a portfolio entirely from scratch if you’d rather. You can choose which ETFs to invest in and how much you want to invest in them. You can then let Wealthfront handle things like rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting while maintaining the portfolio you desire.
Wealthfront Tax-loss Harvesting
If there’s one investment category where Wealthfront stands above other robo-advisors, it’s tax-loss harvesting. Not only do they offer it on all regular taxable accounts (but not IRAs, since they’re already tax-sheltered), but they also offer specialized portfolios that take it to an even higher degree.
Wealthfront starts with a tax location strategy. That involves holding interest and dividend-earning asset classes in IRA accounts, where the predictable returns will be sheltered from income tax. Capital appreciation assets, like stocks, are held in taxable accounts, where they can get the benefit of lower long-term capital gains tax rates.
But for larger portfolios, Wealthfront offers Stock-level Tax-Loss Harvesting. Three specialized portfolios are available, using a mix of both ETFs and individual stocks. The purpose of the stocks is to provide more specific tax-loss harvesting opportunities. For example, it may be more advantageous to sell a handful of stocks to generate tax losses, than to close out an entire ETF.
Given that Wealthfront puts such heavy emphasis on tax-loss harvesting, it’s not surprising they’ve published one of the most respected white papers on the subject on the internet. If you want to know more about this topic, it’s well worth a read. The paper concludes that tax-loss harvesting can significantly increase the return on investment of a typical portfolio.
US Direct Indexing
US Direct Indexing is an enhanced level of tax-loss harvesting that Wealthfront offers to people with account balances exceeding $100,000.
Instead of building a portfolio of ETFs, Wealthfront will use your money to directly purchase shares in 100, 500, or 1,000 US companies. By buying shares in so many companies, Wealthfront can emulate an index fund in your portfolio while owning individual shares in the businesses.
Owning individual shares in hundreds of companies makes tax-loss harvesting easier as it lets Wealthfront’s algorithm trade based on movements in individual stocks rather than in funds. This can increase the number of tax losses that Wealthfront harvests each year, reducing your income tax bill.
Other Wealthfront Features
Wealthfront Cash Account
Wealthfront offers acash account where you can safely and securely store your money for anything–emergencies, a down payment for a home, or to later invest. By working with what they call Program Banks, Wealthfront has quadrupled the normal FDIC insurance on this account, so you’re protected for up to $5 million.
There’s also no market risk since it’s not an investment account and the money isn’t being invested anywhere. You can make as many transfers in and out of the account as you’d like, and it only takes $1 to start.
So what’s the catch?
There really isn’t one. Wealthfront will skim a little off the top to make some money before giving you an industry-leading 4.30% APY, but other than that, you’re just giving them more financial data. Since we’re doing this all the time with technology anyway, it shouldn’t make that big of a difference.
I see no downside, especially if you’re already a client of Wealthfront.
They’re really making a play to be your all-in-one financial services provider, too.
A new feature, just launched, is the ability to use your cash account as a checking account. This includes the ability to access your paycheck up to two days early when you set up a direct deposit. Additionally, you can invest in the market within minutes using your Wealthfront Cash account. Put the two together and you give yourself the ability to invest more than 100 days more in the market. The account also allows you to auto-pay bills and use apps like Venmo and PayPal to send money to friends or family. Account-holders also get a debit card to make purchases and get cash from ATMs. And you can use the account to organize your cash into savings buckets – like an emergency fund, down payment on a house, or other large purchase – and use Wealthfront’s Self-Driving Money offering to automate your savings into those buckets.
If you have cash that’s getting rusty in a traditional bank account and you want to earn more, the Wealthfront Cash Accountis a great place to keep it.
Read more about the cash account in our Wealthfront Cash Account full review.
Wealthfront Portfolio Line of Credit
This feature is available if you have at least $25,000 in your Wealthfront account. It allows you to borrow up to 30% of your account value, and currently charges interest rates between 3.15% and 4.40% APR depending on account size. You can make repayments on your own timetable, since you’re essentially borrowing from yourself. And since the credit line is secured by your account, you don’t need to credit qualify to access it.
Wealthfront Free Financial Planning
This is Wealthfront’s entry into financial planning. But like everything else with Wealthfront, this is an automated service. There are no in-person meetings or phone calls with a certified financial planner. Instead, technology is used to help you explore your financial goals, and to provide guidance to help you reach them. And since the service is technology-based, there is no fee for using it.
The service can be used to help you plan for homeownership, college, early retirement, or even to help you plan to take some time off to travel, like an entire year!
Simply choose your financial objective, enter your financial information, and Wealthfront will direct you on how to plan and prepare.
Self-Driving Money
One of the biggest and largely unrecognized obstacles for most investors is something known as cash drag. That’s when you have too much of your portfolio sitting in cash, which may earn interest, but it doesn’t provide the investment returns you can get in a diversified investment portfolio.
Wealthfront has addressed the cash drag dilemma with their newly released Self-Driving Money features. It’s a free service offered by the robo-advisor that essentially automates your savings strategy. It does this by automatically moving excess cash to help meet your goals, including into investment accounts where it will earn higher returns. And in the process, it eliminates the need to make manual cash transfers, and the judgment needed to decide exactly when to make that happen.
Our vision of Self-Driving Money is going to be a complete game-changer for people’s finances, said Chris Hutchins, Head of Financial Automation at Wealthfront. We want to completely remove the burden of managing your money so you can focus on your career, your family or whatever is most important to you.
You can take advantage of Self-Driving Money from the Wealthfront Cash Account. You’ll set a maximum balance for the connected account, which should be an amount that’s more than you expect to spend or withdraw on a monthly basis.
How It Works
When Wealthfront determines you’re over your maximum balance by at least $100 it will schedule an automatic transfer of the excess cash based on your goals. For example, you can tell Wealthfront you want to save $10,000 in an emergency fund, then max out your Roth IRA, then put the rest toward saving for a down payment on a house. Once you set the strategy, Wealthfront will automate the rest.
And before it happens, you’ll receive an email alert, then always have 24 hours to cancel the transfer if you need to cover unexpected expenses. You’ll also be able to turn on and off your Self-Driving Money plan at any time.
It’s usually possible to set up automated transfers from external accounts into most investment accounts. But what sets Wealthfront apart is the fact that it will make those transfers automatically. They will make sure you always have enough cash to pay your bills, then automatically transfer any excess into your savings buckets or investment accounts to improve the return on your money.
The strategy is designed to optimize your money across spending, savings, and investments, and to make it all flow with no effort on your part. You can simply have your paycheck direct deposited into your external checking account or Wealthfront Cash Account, cover your expected monthly spending, then have excess funds automatically transferred into the Wealthfront account of your choice.
By delivering on its Self-Driving Money vision, Wealthfront is taking the robo-advisor concept to a whole new level. Not only do you not need to concern yourself with managing your investments, but now even funding those investments will happen automatically. The result will be near complete freedom from the financial stresses that plague so many individuals.
Wealthfront Fees
Wealthfront has a single fee structure of just 0.25% per year for their advisory fee. That means you can have a $100,000 portfolio managed for just $250, or only a little bit more than $20 per month.
The one exception is the Wealthfront Risk Parity Fund, which has a total fee of 0.50% per year.
How to Sign Up with Wealthfront
To open an account with Wealthfront, you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, and a U.S. citizen.
You’ll need to provide the following information:
Your name
Address
Email address
Social Security number
Date of birth
Citizenship/residency status
Employment status
As is the case with all investment accounts, you’ll also be required to supply documentation verifying your identity. This is usually accomplished by supplying a driver’s license or other state-issued identification.
As mentioned earlier, you complete a questionnaire that will be used to determine your investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. Your portfolio will be based on your answers to that questionnaire, and will be presented to you upon completion of the questionnaire.
For funding, you can use ACH transfers from a linked bank account. You will also have the option to schedule recurring deposits, on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. The platform can even enable you to set up dollar-cost averaging deposits.
If you already have a brokerage account with another company, Wealthfront makes it easy to transfer your funds to your new account. If you’re invested in ETFs that Wealthfront supports, Wealthfront will assist with an in-kind transfer.
That means that you won’t have to sell your shares before transferring funds, which lets you avoid capital gains taxes that would be triggered by a sale.
Wealthfront Alternatives
Wealthfront’s closest competitor, and the robo-advisor that offers the most comparable services, is Betterment. They also have an annual advisory fee of 0.25%, but require no minimum initial investment. That could make it the perfect robo-advisor for someone with no money, who plans to fund their account with monthly deposits. Read the full Betterment review here.
Related: Wealthfront vs. Betterment
Another alternative is M1. Also a robo-advisor, M1 enables you to invest your money in what they call “pies”. These are miniature investment portfolios comprised of both stocks and ETFs. You can invest in existing pies, or create and populate pies of your own design. Once you invest in one or more pies, the platform will automatically manage it going forward. What’s more, M1 is free to use. Read more about M1 here.
Related: Wealthfront vs. Vanguard
Read More: The Best Robo Advisors – Find out which one matches your investment needs.
Wealthfront Pros and Cons
Investment options: Wealthfront offers more investment options than just about any other robo-advisor, particularly for investors with at least $100,000.
Reasonably priced: The annual fee of 0.25% is extremely reasonable, especially when you consider the degree of sophistication offered by Wealthfront’s investment methodology.
Tax-loss harvesting: This is available on all accounts, and Wealthfront is probably better at this investment strategy than any other robo-advisor.
Portfolio credit line: Gives you the ability to borrow against your portfolio with ease, and represents a form of margin investing.
Financial planning feature: The financial planning service is free to use and is available to all investors.
Limited access for smaller investors: Some of the more advanced investment portfolios and services are available only to investors with $100,000 or more to invest.
$500 minimum initial investment: It’s a minor issue, though some competitors require no funds to open an account.
FAQs
[faqs-content id=”MXKBSNXLNBBI5PDCYD4XJTU4PM” /]
Should You Sign Up for Wealthfront?
In a word, absolutely! Wealthfront is one of the very top robo-advisors, and you can’t go wrong with this one. Not only do they offer far more services than most other robo-advisors, but they also allow you to grow along the way. For example, as your account increases in value, you can take advantage of more sophisticated investment strategies, including advanced tax-loss harvesting.
That Wealthfront offers its portfolio line of credit and free financial planning services only makes the platform a bit more attractive, But the real benefit is the actual investment service. Wealthfront’s investment service comes extremely close to that of traditional human investment advisors, but at only a fraction of the annual cost.
It’s pricey to borrow to buy a business, car or home these days. Interest rates are expected to fall in coming years — how much is up for debate.
485
Aug. 7, 2023
Dr. Alice Mills was thinking of selling her veterinary practice in Lexington, Ky., this year, but she decided to put the move off because she worried that it would be difficult to sell in an era of rising interest rates.
For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio, a new iOS app available for news subscribers.
“In a year, I think that there’s going to be less anxiety about the interest rates, and I’m hoping that they’re going to go down,” Dr. Mills, 69, said. “I have to put my faith in the fact that the practice will sell.”
Dr. Mills is one of many Americans anxiously wondering what comes next for borrowing costs — and the answer is hard to guess.
up sharply from 2.7 percent at the end of 2020. That is the result of the Federal Reserve’s campaign to cool the economy.
The central bank has lifted its policy interest rate to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent — the highest level in 22 years — which has trickled out to increase borrowing costs across the economy. The goal is to deter demand and force sellers to stop raising prices so much, slowing inflation.
But nearly a year and a half into the effort, the Fed is at or near the end of its rate increases. Officials have projected just one more in 2023, by a quarter of a point, and the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, John C. Williams, said in an interview that he didn’t see a need for more than that.
“We’re pretty close to what a peak rate would be, and the question will really be — once we have a good understanding of that — how long will we need to keep policy in a restrictive stance, and what does that mean?” Mr. Williams said on Aug. 2.
The economy is approaching a pivot point, one that has many consumers wondering when rates will come back down, how quickly and how much.
several years before rates return to a level between 2 and 3 percent, like their peak in the years before the pandemic. Officials do not forecast a return to near zero, like the setting that allowed mortgage rates to sink so low in 2020.
That’s a sign of optimism: Rock-bottom rates are seen as necessary only when the economy is in bad shape and needs to be resuscitated.
In fact, some economists outside the Fed think that borrowing costs might remain higher than they were in the 2010s. The reason is that what has long been known as the neutral rate — the point at which the economy is not being stimulated or depressed — may have risen. That means today’s economy may be capable of chugging along with a higher interest rate than it could previously handle.
A few big changes could have caused such a shift by increasing the demand for borrowed money, which props up borrowing costs. Among them, the government has piled on more debt in recent years, businesses are shifting toward more domestic manufacturing — potentially increasing demand for factories and other infrastructure — and climate change is spurring a need for green investments.
could hover around 4 percent, while those who expect them to be lower see something more in the range of 2 to 3 percent, said Joseph Gagnon, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
That is because some of the factors that have pushed rates down in recent years persist — and could intensify.
“Several of the explanations for the decline in long-term interest rates before the pandemic are still with us,” explained Lukasz Rachel, an economist at University College London, citing things like an aging population and low birthrates.
Jeanna Smialek writes about the Federal Reserve and the economy for The Times. She previously covered economics at Bloomberg News. More about Jeanna Smialek
A version of this article appears in print on , Section B, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Puzzling Out When Rates Will Decline. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe