WiseBanyan, “the world’s first free financial advisor,” might be the easiest, least expensive way to get a diversified investment plan and have it automatically managed.
Like other “robo-advisors,” WiseBanyan uses takes information you supply about your goals and risk tolerance and develops algorithms to choose investments (EFTs) with low-fees and in a diverse pool of asset classes. It also rebalances your portfolio quarterly, reinvesting dividends and making sure your portfolio stays on track with your risk tolerance.http://ift.tt/1HuaHy6…
Unlike other robo-advisors, there are no management, trading fees, custodial fees, or other fees charged by WiseBanyan. There’s only a $10 minimum to invest and no minimum additional investment requirements. The funds themselves do charge fees, which—as with other brokerage accounts—are accounted for in your portfolio. The average fund fee is a relatively low 0.12%.
You can create or transfer a Roth, SEP IRA, traditional IRA, or personal investment account with WiseBayan and set up auto deposit on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis to take advantage of dollar-cost averaging.
You’re probably wondering what’s the catch. WiseBanyan plans to make money from additional products and services, such as tax-loss harvesting, which the company is shortyly rolling out. They state that they will never make money off clients by selling personal info, getting commissions or kickbacks for recommending specific funds, or show ads.
WiseBanyan doesn’t offer a lot of investment guidance, analysis, or flexibility. You answer questions when you create a new account and then everything is done for you. You can change your “risk number” (how risk tolerant you are), but can’t get back to the questions to change your answers. You also get only one view of your portfolio and can’t change the EFTs picked or how much is allocated to each. However, your WiseBanyan account can be accessed through Folio Investing, a popular online brokerage, where you can see more statistics and investment information.
The service is currently on a waitlist beta, but I got my invite in a couple of weeks. If you’re looking for a completely fuss-free way to invest in the broad market—even with as little as $10 a month—WiseBanyan is worth a look.
via Lifehacker
WiseBanyan Creates and Manages Investment Portfolios for You, for Free