- Betterment is an online financial adviser that helps you invest your money, plan for retirement, start a college fund, and tackle other important financial manners.
- It costs an annual fee of 0.25% of your investment.
- I recently tried Betterment and found it easier to use and more transparent than other brokerage services.
Planning for retirement can be outright daunting.
It can seem like a harrowing challenge to set up an investment account or roll over a 401(k), especially if you’re new to the world of financial management.
But not planning for retirement is a terrible plan.
I recently tried using Betterment, an online financial adviser that’s one of the more popular “robo-advisors” out there.
Rather than investing your money with the simple goal of making more money, Betterment helps you identify specific goals and then creates a portfolio oriented to meet them. This can be the big stuff, like paying for college for your kids, or smaller goals, like a vacation next year.
I've worked with traditional brokerage houses in the past, and frankly, I never really understood what was going on with the money I entrusted to them. With Betterment, I understood each step of the process from the moment I first opened the app to the time when I could check my account balances, see how my portfolio was balanced, and start tracking progress toward the financial goals I'd established.
Here's a step-by-step guide to using Betterment.
I created my Betterment account in about eight minutes. First I entered some basic info like my address and phone number, as well as some financial information. Once you link a bank account, you're ready to move cash into Betterment so it can start building your portfolio.
Betterment helps you create a plan for just about any goal, from buying a boat to starting a restaurant to retirement. It customizes your portfolio to accommodate each of these goals accordingly.
Many brokerage firms offer access to employees with knowledge of matters financial. Betterment just makes that access easier. Rather than an in-person appointment or even a phone call, you can send a message to their customer support team right through the app.
Betterment charges you an annual fee of 0.25%, which is $25 if you have $10,000 invested with them. Or $250 if you have $100,000. Or $2,500 if you invest a million. There are no additional costs.
Rather than being an intimidating, opaque process, using Betterment actually made managing my money enjoyable. And it made planning for future financial goals feel rewarding, not overwhelming.
