Best Online Financial Advisors in March 2024: Ultimate Guide (2024)

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Online financial advisors are more accessible and often cheaper than human advisors who actively manage investment portfolios. Online financial advisors may refer to automated investment platforms such as robo-advisors.

Online financial advisors are a good option for beginner and hands-off investors at any wealth level.

Best Online Financial Advisors

• SoFi Invest: Best for low fees
• Betterment Investing: Best for diversified investing
• Wealthfront Investing: Best for 529 plans
• Ellevest: Best for financial planning and personal development
• Ameriprise Financial Investments: Best for retirement savings

For this list, we didn't consider online advisors that match clients and advisors for comprehensive financialplanning services, such as Zoe Financial or Facet Wealth. Instead, we focused on tech-driven firms where you can access an automated and personalized portfolio and consult a professional for advice when needed.

Here are our top picks for the best online financial advisors as picked by Business Insider editors in 2024.

Compare the Best Online Financial Advisors

Online Financial Advisor Reviews

Best Online Advisor for Low Fees

SoFi Automated Investing

Investment account types: Individual and joint taxable brokerage accounts, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and SEP IRA.

What stands out:

• Zero advisory fees
• Free one-on-one consultations with CFPs, a service that isn't offered by some robo-advisors who charge an annual fee
• Portfolios invest in both SoFi ETFs and non-SoFi ETFs
• Account includes portfolio rebalancing and goal planning
• Investors get to choose between five portfolios: moderate, moderately conservative, conservative, moderately aggressive, and aggressive
• Additional SoFi membership perks include loan discounts and career counseling
• IRA match on all contributions to a individual retirement account

SoFi Invest review

What to look out for:

• No tax-loss harvesting
• Portfolios, while broadly diversified, are limited

Best Online Advisor for Diversified Investing

Betterment Investing

Investment account types: Individual and joint taxable brokerage, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, inherited IRA, and trust.

What stands out:

• Premium plans come with unlimited access via phone and email to Betterment CFPs
• Open an FDIC-insured cash account*
• Invest in socially responsible portfolios (ESG investing); cryptocurrency portfolios available
• Get free checking and cash reserve accounts (nice feature for recurring deposits into investments)
• Use goal-setting, advice, and retirement-planning tools
• Link various accounts to clear and easy-to-use financial dashboard
• Buy one-off financial advice packages at standard industry rates
• Automatic rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting

*Cash Reserve is only available to clients of Betterment LLC, which is not a bank, and cash transfers to program banks are conducted through the clients' brokerage accounts at Betterment Securities. Learn more.

What to look out for:

• Accounts with a $100,000 balance can upgrade to get advisor access, but the annual fee increases from 0.25% (an industry low) to 0.40%

Betterment review

Best Online Advisor for 529 Plans

Wealthfront Investing

Investment account types: Individual and joint taxable brokerage, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, trust, and 529 college savings plan.

What stands out:

• Only top online advisor to offer 529 plans
• Invest in cryptocurrency trusts
• Borrow up to 30% of your investment balance at a low-interest rate with a portfolio line of credit
• Open an FDIC-insured bank account
• Invest in socially responsible portfolios
• Get personalized recommendations with smart financial planning software

What to look out for:

• On-staff financial advisors don't offer personalized advice

Wealthfront review

Best Online Advisor for Financial Planning and Personal Development

Ellevest

Investment account types: Individual taxable brokerage, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and SEP IRA (all held at Folio Investments).

What stands out:

• Get an investment strategy built around women's unique needs and challenges
• Access an extensive library of content and advisor-led workshops
• Invest in socially responsible portfolios
• Get monthly progress reports

What to look out for:

• Financial coaching costs extra (but members get 30%-50% off)
• Upgrade required for access to retirement account management

Ellevest review

Best Online Advisor for Retirement Saving

Ameriprise Financial Investments

Investment account types:Three managed account options that can be opened as an individual brokerage account, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Simple IRAs, SEP IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 529 plans, and Coverdell education savings accounts (CESA).

What stands out:

• Best for experienced investors looking for advanced charting and investing features
• Access to fiduciary financial advisors to consult or manage your account
• Trade through online brokerage, over the phone, or with a registered service representative from Ameriprise's client service center
• Offers stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, UITs, structured notes, options, and multiple alternative investments
• One of the largest registered investment advisors (RIAs) in the US

What to look out for:

• High account minimums (varies by managed account option)
• Hard to navigate website
• Complex fee structure

Ameriprise Financial Services review

Other Online Financial Advisors We Considered

• Vanguard Digital Advisor: You can think of Vanguard Digital Advisor as Vanguard's second robo-advisor offering. The difference between Vanguard Digital Advisor and Vanguard Personal Advisor Services comes down to fees and human advisor access. Though you'll pay less for Vanguard Digital Advisor ($3,000 minimum deposit and a 0.20% annual fee), you won't be able to utilize personalized support from a professional financial planner.
• Empower Personal Dashboard™: Empower offers competitive robo-advisor services. The investment app also gives you access to human financial advisors, and it offers account features like tax-loss harvesting, single stock diversification, Retirement Planner, and more. The biggest drawback is cost. You'll need a minimum balance of $100,000 to get started, and you'll pay between 0.49% and 0.89% in management fees.
• Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios: This advisor offers several attractive features, least of which is a $0 advisory fee. But you'll need at least $5,000 to get started, and you won't have access to Financial Planners (though you will have access to professionals who can answer customer service and investing/portfolio questions) unless you upgrade to the premium service, which requires a balance of $25,000, a one-time planning fee of $300, and a monthly fee of $30.
• Fidelity Go: Created as Fidelity Investments' robo-advisor offering, Fidelity Go provides low-cost automated investment management and expense ratio-free funds but doesn't offer tax-loss harvesting. There's a tiered pricing structure that charges 0.35% for balances above $25,000. And you won't be able to consult human advisors unless you upgrade to Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice, which requires a $25,000 minimum and 0.50% annual fee.
• E-Trade Core Portfolios: E-Trade's robo-advisor charges a reasonable annual fee of 0.30% on all balances (with a $500 minimum), but doesn't offer tax-loss harvesting. While E-Trade Core Portfolios' customer service is strong, investors have no access to human financial advisors.

Online Financial Advisors Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How Much Do Online Financial Advisors Cost?

Financial advisors providing financial advice often charge by the hour, typically between $100 to $300. Advisors creating a comprehensive financial plan tend to charge a flat rate between $1,000 and $3,000.

If you hire an advisor to manage your investment portfolio, you'll be charged a percentage of your account balance, typically between 1% and 3% annually. In comparison, that's much higher than the fees that the best robo-advisors charge, you get the added benefit of building a relationship with a trusted source who can adjust your strategy as needed, provide personal recommendations, and answer questions when they arise.

What's the difference between a financial advisor and a financial planner?

A financial advisor is a catch-all term that includes financial planners and investment advisors. Most online advisors offer investment management — whether it's carried out by a human or a sophisticated computer algorithm — and financial planning services or tools.

Certified financial planners, or CFPs, are trained extensively in several areas of financial planning, including retirement, taxes, insurance, and estate planning. They also abide by the fiduciary rule, which means they're legally obligated to put their client's interests ahead of their own and their firm's. All CFPs must be fiduciaries, but not all fiduciaries have to be CFPs.

Fiduciaries are financial planners or financial advisors who are ethically and legally bound to put the best interest of their clients first. Fiduciaries follow what is called fiduciary duty, which includes the duty of care and loyalty.

Find a Financial Advisor Online

How to Find an In-person Financial Advisor

You can also meet with an expert in person for financial guidance. So if you prefer to meet face-to-face, here are some tools to find some in your area:

• CFP Board's Let's Make a Plan
  • This is a database of all CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals who are authorized to use their CFP® marks by the CFP® Board and are accepting new clients.
  • Using the advanced search function, you can choose from over 40 focus areas you're looking to get help with and include your current amount of investable assets.
  • Click here to visit the CFP Board website.
• XY Planning Network
  • This database helps connect young professionals — those in generations X and Y (millennials) — with individual advisors.
  • Every advisor holds the CFP® certification, is a fiduciary, does not require a minimum net worth to take on new clients, and does not earn commissions.
  • Click here to visit XY Planning Network.
• The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
  • This platform maintains a database of fee-only financial advisors, not specifically CFP® certificates, who commit to a fiduciary oath once a year.
  • You can filter by location to see a list of advisory firms in your area.
  • Click here to visit the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors website.

Why You Should Trust Us: Our Methodology

We Reviewed the best online financial advisors using Personal Finance Insider's methodology for rating investment platforms. We compared a long list of Registered Investment advisors (RIAs), considering fees, investment selection, access, ethics, and customer service. The best online advisors have top marks in all five categories. Investment platforms are given a rating between 0 and 5.