Which Robo-Advisor is Best for You?
It can be hard to filter through all the available robo-advisors when new ones pop up frequently. Wealthfront vs Schwab are both good firms and among the top five robo advisors, by assets under management (AUM).
When faced with so many choices for investment options, minimum balances, and extra features, you may start wondering: Are free robo-advisors worth it? Do I really need human financial advice, or can I DIY my investments? What extra features are worth paying for?
Today we will be comparing robo-advisors from two big names: Wealthfront and Charles Schwab.
Wealthfront is a large independent robo-advisor, and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, is backed by well-known investing firm Charles Schwab.
After reading this article, you’ll have answers to questions like:
- Which is better: Wealthfront or Schwab?
- Is there a catch to Schwab’s $0 management fees?
- Do I need a robo-advisor with a human financial planner?
Contents
- Which Robo-Advisor is Best for You?
- What is Wealthfront?
- What is Schwab Intelligent Portfolios?
- Schwab Intelligent Portfolios vs Wealthfront – at a Glance
- Wealthfront vs. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios – Who Benefits?
- Wealthfront vs. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios – Fees and Minimums
- Wealthfront vs. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios – Robo Investing Deep Dive
- FAQ
- Wealthfront vs. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios – Which is Best? The Takeaway
- More Comparison Articles
*Disclosure: Please note that this article may contain affiliate links which means that – at zero cost to you – I might earn a commission if you sign up or buy through the affiliate link.
What is Wealthfront?
Founded in 2008, Wealthfront is an independent robo-advisor with approximately $21 billion in assets under management (AUM). This puts them just below Betterment, another independent robo-advisor, in terms of robos with the most AUM in 2020.
Wealthfront is an all-digital robo-advisor, which means it does not offer access to human financial planners although Wealthfront has an outstanding digital financial planner, PATH. Wealthfront specializes in digital financial tools as well; clients can access loans or high-yield savings accounts along with IRAs, trusts, and 529 accounts.
In addition to these varied accounts, Wealthfront also offers goal setting and a homebuying guide to help coach clients through larger life milestones.
What is Schwab Intelligent Portfolios?
Owned by Charles Schwab, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios has over $40 billion in AUM in 2020. This robo-advisor places second in our ranking of robos with the most AUM, slightly above Wealthfront but below powerhouse Vanguard.
Schwab Intelliegent Portfolios offers two robo-advisor plans:
- Schwab Intelligent Portfolios-Free digital investment manager
- Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium-Subscription-based digital investment manager with unlimited access to Certified Financial Planners
Clients can open many different account types through the robo-advisor; customers who want additional services can also benefit from the host of financial products available at Charles Schwab.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios vs Wealthfront – at a Glance
Wealthfront Top Features:
- Savings accounts, loans, and 529 College accounts set Wealthfront apart from competitors
- All-digital financial planner
- First $5,000 managed for free
- Daily tax-loss harvesting
- Individual stock investing for large accounts
- Smart Beta and Risk Parity funds
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Top Features:
- Branch access
- Free account management on Intelligent Portfolio package
- Unlimited Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) for premium clients
- 24/7 live phone support
- Exceptionally broad diversification
- Monthly income paycheck available
Wealthfront vs. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios – Who Benefits?
Wealthfront
You will benefit from Wealthfront if you don’t have a large initial investment or just want to dip your toes into robo-advising. With a $500 minimum, Wealthfront certainly isn’t the robo-advisor with the lowest minimum; however, it’s much more accessible for small investors than the Schwab robo advisors.
Investors who prefer an all passive investment strategy will benefit from Wealthfront. Wealthfront is an all-digital robo-advisor, so the entire investment process – from portfolio suggestions to tax-loss harvesting – is run by technology.
If you want the chance to beat the market and mediate risk, Wealthfront offers Smart Beta and Risk Parity funds.
Choose Wealthfront if:
- You’re a small investor
- You want a 529 college savings account
- You want automated investment management, high yield cash management, and lending, within one platform
- You prefer to avoid cash in your robo-advisor portfolio
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
Between these two robos, you’ll have to choose Schwab if you value certified financial planners. The Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium package comes with unlimited guidance from CFPs and uses a monthly subscription style for their fees. You will need to have a minimum of $25,000 to invest, however.
Wealthier clients will also benefit from Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. For only $30/month for Premium, clients who have a lot to invest can receive high-quality service for an affordable price.
Choose Schwab if:
- You like all your financial products within one larger institution
- You perfer live financial advice and have the $25,000 minimum
- You prefer a robo-advisor and the chance to trade stocks, funds and bonds through one company
We like both robo-advisors and believe that you would be satisfied with either.
The best robo-advisor for you depends upon what you prioritize most in your investment management.
Wealthfront vs. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios – Fees and Minimums
Minimums Winner: Wealthfront.
Fees Winner: It’s a tie – kind of.
The fee-free Schwab basic robo is the winner if you have over $5,000 to invest for the Intelligent Portfolios. For the Premium, smaller accounts are less expensive at Wealthfront, but as AUM (assets under management) rise, the percentage fee declines at Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium.
Wealthfront Fees and Minimums
You can open a portfolio at Wealthfront with a minimum investment of $500. Though there are other low-minimum investment robo-advisors – such as Fidelity Go, which only requires $10 to begin investing – a $500 start allows for healthy beginning investment.
Wealthfront’s fees are 0.25% AUM, regardless of how much money is in a portfolio. However, they are currently offering to manage the first $5,000 for free.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Fees and Minimums
Schwab’s robo-advisor comes in two tiers, both with substantially better fees than most big-bank robo-advisors.
The basic robo-advisor, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, requires a minimum investment of $5,000. There are no account management fees for this service.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium requires a minimum investment of $25,000. This service follows a subscription plan model, which means that clients will pay $30 each month for as long as they want premium services. There is also a one-time $300 fee for setting up the Premium account.
As account size grows, the $30 per month becomes a smaller percent of AUM. For example at a $100,000 portfolio, the $360 annual fee is .36%, higher than the expense ratio at Wealthfront. Although Schwab Premium offers financial planners.
Nearly all exchange traded funds (ETFs) charge very small management fees, that go directly to the fund management company. Both Wealthfront and Schwab recommend low-fee ETFs.
Wealthfront vs. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios – Robo Investing Deep Dive
Human Financial Planners
Winner: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium.
Schwab Premium clients with at least $25,000 to invest can pay for unlimited access to CFPs. Their fee of $30/month is reasonable for this service.
However, clients who might only want occasional human financial assistance would be better off with Betterment. Betterment offers texting availability for their financial professionals at all account levels and even has a la carte financial packages for those who want a one- or two-time check-in with a professional.
Tax-Loss Harvesting
Winner: Wealthfront, due to frequency and affordability.
Although both robos offer tax-loss harvesting, Wealthfront offers it to all clients regardless of account size. Wealthfront also performs tax-loss harvesting daily, if needed.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios only offers tax-loss harvesting to accounts with over $50,000. This makes it impossible for smaller-scale investors to benefit from this feature.
Remember that tax loss harvesting, only applies to taxable, not retirement accounts.
Investment Funds
Winner: It’s a tie!
Both Schwab and Wealthfront have a diverse set of investment funds. Of course, they offer the basic funds you’d expect, such as stocks and bonds; however, they also have more untraditional investments, such as real estate investments.
There are some unique investments for each robo. Schwab clients have the option to invest in master limited partnerships, and gold, while Wealthfront clients can invest in natural resources.
Wealthfront
Wealthfront investments are diversified across the U.S. and globally as well as covering various asset classes.
| Investment Fund Category | Index Fund Ticker Symbol |
|---|---|
| US Total Stock Market | VTI and SCHB |
| Foreign Stock - Developed Market | VEA and SCHF |
| Foreign Stock - Emerging Market | VWO and IEMG |
| Dividend Appreciation Stock | VIG and SCHD |
| US Treasury Inflation Protected Bond (TIPs) | SCHP and VTIP |
| US Government Bond | BND and BIV |
| Municipal Bond | VTEB and TFI |
| US Corporate Bond | LQD |
| Foreign-Emerging Market Bond | EMB |
| Real Estate | VNQ and SCHH |
| Natural Resources (Energy) | XLE and VDE |
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
Scwab offers a wider range of investments and asset classes than Wealthfront. Yet, beyond a certain point, there’s no guarantee that more asset classes will outperform a robo advisor with fewer funds. Thus, the tied ranking.
| Category | Primary ETF | Secondary ETF |
|---|---|---|
| STOCKS | ||
| US Large Company | SCHX–Schwab U.S. Large-Cap | VOO–Vanguard S&P 500 |
| US Large Company–Fundamental | FNDX–Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company | PRF–PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1000 |
| US Small Company | SCHA–Schwab U.S. Small-Cap | VB–Vanguard Small-Cap |
| US Small Company–Fundamental | FNDA–Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company | PRFZ–PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1500 Small-Mid |
| International Developed Large Company | SCHF–Schwab International Equity | VEA–Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets |
| International Developed Large Company -Fundamental | FNDF–Schwab Fundamental International Large Company | PXF–PowerShares FTSE RAFI Developed Markets ex-U.S |
| International Developed–Small Company | SCHC–Schwab International Small-Cap Equity | VSS–Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small Cap |
| International Developed Small Company–Fundamental | FNDC–Schwab Fundamental International Small Company | PXF–PowerShares FTSE RAFI Developed Markets ex-U.S |
| International Emerging Markets | SCHE–Schwab Emerging Markets Equity | IEMG–iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets |
| International Emerging Markets–Fundamental | FNDE–Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Large Company | PXH–PowerShares FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets |
| US Exchange-Traded REITS | SCHH–Schwab U. S. REIT | VNQ–Vanguard REIT |
| International Exchange-Traded REITS | VNQI–Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate | IFGL–iShares International Developed Real Estate |
| US High Dividend | SCHD–Schwab US Dividend Equity | VYM–Vanguard High Dividend Yield |
| International High Dividend | HDEF-xTrackersMSCI EAFE High Dividend Yield Equity ETF | VYMI-Vanguard International High Dividend Yield |
| Master Limited Partnerships | MLPA–Global X MLP | ZMLP–Direxion Zacks MLP High Income |
| FIXED INCOME | ||
| US Treasuries | SCHR–Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury | IEI-iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond |
| US Investment Grade Corporate Bonds | SPIB-SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond | VCIT–Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond |
| US Securitized Bonds | VMBS–Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities | MBB-iShares MBS |
| US Inflation Protected Bonds | SCHP–Schwab U.S. TIPS | IPE-SPDR Bloomberg Barclays TIPS |
| US Corporate High Yield Bonds | HYLB-X trackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond | USHY-iShares Broad USD High Yield Corp Bond |
| International Developed Country Bonds | IAGG-iShares Core International Aggregate Bond | BNDX-Vanguard Total International Bond |
| International Emerging Markets Bonds | EBND-SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Bond | EMLC-VanEck Vectors JP Morgan EM Local Currency Bond |
| Preferred Securities | PFFD-Global X US Preferred | PSK-SPDR Wells Fargo Preferred Stock |
| Bank Loans | BKLN–PowerShares Senior Loan | N/A |
| Investment Grade Municipal Bonds | VTEB–Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond | TFI–SPDR Nuveen Barclays Municipal Bond |
| Investment Grade California Municipal Bonds | VTEB-Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond | TFI-SPDR Nuveen Bloomberg Barclays Muni Bond |
| COMMODITIES | ||
| Gold and Other Precious Metals | IAU–iShares Gold Trust | GLTR–ETFS Physical Precious Metal Basket Shares |
Rebalancing
Winner: Another tie!
Both Wealthfront and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios monitor their clients’ portfolios daily and will rebalance as necessary.
Customer Support
Winner: Schwab is undefeated in this category.
It’s hard, if not impossible, to beat Schwab in terms of customer support. The Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, brokerage services, and trading services phone lines all have 24/7 availability. If you’d prefer virtual customer support, they have that too – also with 24/7 availability!
Schwab also offers branch access nationwide.
Wealthfront’s customer service is available Monday through Friday from 10am to 8 pm EST. Its important to note that all customer service representatives have a minimum of a Series 7 securities licence and some are Certified Financial Planners. That means that you’re likely to receive some investment guidance on the phone in addition to help with technical questions.
Cash Management
Winner: Wealthfront.
Wealthfront might be a surprising victor in this category, since Charles Schwab is such a large financial institution. However, this is one moment where Wealthfront’s all-digital platform really pays off.
With no overhead costs, Wealthfront can offer high-yield savings accounts that pay out about 8 times more in interest than other banks across the nation. As of September 2020, this was 0.35% APY.
To learn more about this feature, read our Wealthfront Cash Account Review.
In comparison, Schwab’s High Yield Investor Savings account was at 0.05% APY as of September 2020. This account is available outside the Intelligent Portfolios robo-advisors and can be invested in through a Schwab brokerage account.
Visit the Robo-Advisor Selection Wizard, take a quick quiz, and find out which robo-advisor is the right one for you.
Both companies offer FDIC insurance, but again, Wealthfront comes out on top: as a virtual bank, Wealthfront can invest your money in up to 4 partner banks for a whopping $1 million in FDIC coverage as opposed to Schwab’s $250,000.
FAQ
Emphatically, yes! This is particularly true in the case of Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, although M1 Fiance is another great option for FREE investment management.
Free robo-advisors can still offer careful account monitoring, provide a diversified batch of investment options, and have excellent account security. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios does all of this and more.
Both Schwab and Wealthfront have desktop and mobile-friendly client dashboards, so they’re fairly evenly matched. Clients will be able to see their account balances and track portfolio growth on intuitive charts, regardless of which robo-advisor they use.
That said, since Wealthfront does robo-advising first, and Schwab has many services, we prefer the Wealthfront dashboard, as it is more comprehensive.
We recommend asking yourself nine easy questions to determine which robo-advisor is right for you. These questions will help you determine which robo-advisor features are best for you.
You might be tempted to use robo-advisor performance to choose which robo to go with. While these numbers are good indicators of a robo-advisor’s potential, remember that the market can fluctuate even in the most stable market – and 2020 has been anything but stable!
Wealthfront vs. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios – Which is Best? The Takeaway
When put head-to-head, Wealthfront and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios are practically tied. They both have the basic features one would expect in a robo-advisor, yet each stands out in a unique way.
When it comes to low minimum investments, tax-loss harvesting, and cash management, Wealthfront is clearly ahead of Schwab. If these features are important to your financial situation, that’s a great indication that Wealthfront may be the best choice for you.
However, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is free at the basic level; clients with at least $5,000 to invest may be more interested in working with a robo-advisor designed to assist wealthier clients.
Investors seeking live financial advisors would choose Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium. Although you’ll need $25,000 for this option. Learn more about the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium features on the Schwab website.
Schwab also wins in the customer service category, with 24/7 availability by phone or online chat. Wealthfront’s access to customer service representatives is more opaque, with undisclosed phone hours available only for existing customers.
Is there a happy medium? The good news is that yes, many robo-advisors combine the best of both Wealthfront and Schwab. If you like low minimum investments, reasonable account management fees, and access to financial planners, you might check out a robo-advisor like Ellevest or Betterment.
Get $5,000 managed for free when you sign up below!
Sign up for fee-free high yield cash management:
Read the full Wealthfront Review.
Read the full Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Review.
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- Wealthfront vs. Vanguard
- M1 Finance vs Schwab
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Disclosure: Please note that this article may contain affiliate links which means that – at zero cost to you – I might earn a commission if you sign up or buy through the affiliate link. That said, I never recommend anything I don’t believe is valuable.
