Robo-advisors can be a great way to easily set up the right asset allocation and keep your portfolio balanced. You provide some basic information such as age, goals and risk tolerance and the computer does the rest. Since their business is developed around the idea that a computer program can manage everything easily, it would make sense that these firms would have great apps for your smartphone to go with the service — especially since many of them are attempting to target tech-savvy Millennials. Following are five robo-advisors that also have apps to go with their services. All of the companies listed below offer both an Android version and an IOS version of their apps.
Betterment
With the Betterment app for IOS and Android, you can access your account to check the balance and your investment returns for the funds that you have invested with them. Within the app, you can also link your checking account and review investing goals. It also allows you to make deposits and withdrawals. The ISO version also syncs with your Apple Watch and allows you to review your investing goals. (For more, see: Are Robo-Advisors a Good Idea for Young Investors?)
Wealthfront
Wealthfront also offers an app that allows you to monitor your investments for both IOS and Android. The app allows you to track and managed your investments in a streamlined platform. The app’s mobile activity feed gives you timely updates on any account activity, for example, it will alert you that your deposit has been received. It also provides investment recommendations and graphs of how your investments have performed over time. Using the app, you can sign-up for an account, create a retirement plan, edit it and more.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital has one of the most comprehensive apps and some of the best reviews. You can use this app even if you are not using their advisor services. The app allows you to monitor all of your investments in one place, including the ones that are not at Personal Capital. It includes what your returns are, how your investments are doing compared with market benchmarks, and it also has up to date asset allocation information. Additionally, it pulls in spending information from your bank accounts to help with budgeting and cash flow management. About the only thing you can’t do within the app is handle investing transactions if you are a part of their advisory services.
SigFig
This app is similar to Personal Capital in that you can see all investments, no matter where they are held, in one place. SigFig is one of the few investment monitoring apps that will pull in and classify your options correctly if you invest in them. The only difference between SigFig and Personal Capital is that SigFig does not offer budgeting and cash flow management tools. As with the others, if you want to trade you must go to the website.
Schwab
The app from Charles Schwab Corp is fantastic because it allows you to manage your investments within the app itself. Not only can you view your accounts and get return information, but you can also trade, edit trade orders, cancel orders, deposit checks and more. You can do this for both their robo-advising services and for any other account that you may hold with them. You cannot see what is in other investment accounts outside of Schwab or manage your cash flow from within this app.
The Bottom Line
While the major robo-advisors do offer apps for your smart phone, right now there is only one where you have the same functionality as the website. That firm is Schwab. The others are basically apps to check in on your balance and see what your return is. With Personal Capital and SigFig, you do get the benefit of seeing all your investments in one place, no matter where they are invested. If you are investing with Betterment or Wealthfront, it may be a better option to monitor your investments with either SigFig or Personal Capital and then do your transactions on their websites. This way you can at least see a complete picture of your investments.