Do you have money you want to invest or grow? Can you trust the company you currently let manage your accounts? WiseBanyan boasts being the world’s first free financial advisor. There are many robo-advisors (which is a class of online portfolio management with minimal human intervention because they use an algorithm) out there, so choosing the right one may seem difficult.
There is minimal human interaction, but your financial advice is based on efficient business and algorithms. With WiseBanyan, you get a free advisor without any investment, trading, or rebalancing fees.
According to Morningstar, the average expense ratio for an equity mutual fund is 1.2% for a managed fund, and the expense ratio is .9% for investment grade bond funds. WiseBanyan offers a fee-free service which rebalances your money regularly and invests your money in ETF index funds. Why not save the money on fees and services when there is a free option to use?
What is WiseBanyan?
WiseBanyan is a free robo-advisor service with no fees or hidden charges. With a minimum investment of $1, users can transfer all of their various accounts into one investment portfolio. The company focuses on having no hidden fees or charges which is the backbone of the business.
WiseBanyan does not make money from fees; the brand has a long-term plan for revenue generation through clients with a higher net worth choosing to opt into paid investments. They promise to:
- Never sell personal information
- Give honest recommendations without kickbacks or commissions for specific recommendations
- Make recommendations to maximize your money, not get more cash from fees
- Calculate your risk score through an easy to understand questionnaire
- Simple opening of accounts including Taxable Investment Account, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Traditional IRA
- Invest based on passively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
You have nothing to lose and some serious money to gain by transferring all of your funds to WiseBanyan. The company is built on an investment philosophy which covers four pillars including valuable diversification, keeping fees low, passively investing, and starting sooner rather than later.
You don’t need a high net worth to invest your money with WiseBanyan. Individuals with outside investment accounts like 401(k) and 403(b) accounts from other companies can be consolidated in one location. Invest in Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs, and SEP-IRAs to achieve goals like saving for retirement, long-term investments, savings funds, and more.
How It Works
Choose WiseBanyan for access to an easy to understand interface and immediate investment with a simple questionnaire about your personal preferences. All you need to do as a new user is to sign up and get started. After signing up, just fill out a simple questionnaire to determine individual risk factors. Based on your risk factors, an investment recommendation is made for a percentage of stocks and bonds.
After filling out a risk profile, you include your personal information and then connect your other investments. It takes a few days for everything to transfer and the account to be fully operational. Fill out your information to set up goals for retirement, long-term investments, and financial goals. Some of their key features include:
- Two-Factor Authentication: This verifies your account and keeps it safe.
- Milestone Tracker: Watch your money grow with a milestone tracker to remind you of your progress.
- Automatic Deposits: Set an amount you’d like to deposit on a certain day of the month or day of the week.
- Innovation: The company is committed to rolling out new ideas on a regular basis.
- Premium Packages: If you need extra services, add services on to your base account.
- WiseHarvesting: This strategy turns small losses in your portfolio into tax deductions.
The Costs
There are no costs associated with WiseBanyan which is perhaps their most valuable value proposition to new users. There are no account minimums and no cost for working with this company. The only costs associated with account management come directly from the ETFs, which average at .12% to manage.
Steps to Get Started
Getting started is simple with WiseBanyan, just follow these steps:
- Click to ‘Become a Client’
- Give the company your email address
- Click your email to open a WiseBanyan account
- Complete the questionnaire to start building your financial plan, including your birthday, annual income, net worth, milestones you wish to implement, and more
- Answer the questionnaire to determine the right allocation to assist in achieving your targets
- Make an initial deposit of at least one dollar in your account
- Set an auto deposit plan to reach your long-term goal
- Enter your personal information
- Connect any accounts relevant to your investment portfolio
- Wait for an email confirmation once the account is fully approved
Pros and Cons of WiseBanyan
Just like any product, there are positives and negatives to switching your investment portfolio to WiseBanyan.
Pros
The advantages of selecting WiseBanyan are:
- No service fees which translates to more money in your bank in the long term
- No trading or rebalancing fees
- Support of a useful algorithm for making investment decisions
- An investment strategy mission which notes the value of diversification
- Factoring length of time, risk aversion, and money saved
- Get the highest level of return based on a set level of risk
Cons
The cons of choosing WiseBanyan include:
- Working with a company that is newer to the robo-advisors space
- Less interaction with an actual person for investment decisions
- The company has not proven a revenue stream yet
- Has fewer assets under management than other companies
- Limit to the number of taxable accounts you can open, cannot open an account with a spouse
Public Perception (Other WiseBanyan Reviews)
Users of this service offering are pleased with the WiseBanyan services. In a recent customer review, a client says, “Very smooth! No sales pitch, nothing to aggravate me. Called customer service once just to see how I was treated. Excellent! I rate this a 10 for sure.”
A website review said, “It does seem like a good option for newer investors. Not only can you start investing with no account minimums, and no management fees – buy you can buy fractional shares with as little as $10 and get a highly-diversified portfolio that should match the market in the long-term.”
Competition
WiseBanyan falls in a class of what is named “robo-advisors.” Several other businesses make their money off of portfolio management or financial advice with minimal human intervention. The competition to WiseBanyan includes:
- Charles Schwab: Offers a zero-management fee but has a $5,000 account minimum.
- WealthFront: Focused on tax optimization by has an account minimum and a management fee 0.25%.
- Betterment: This company has a $0 account minimum but requires a management fee up to half of a percent. Betterment does manage a significant amount of money successfully.
- Acorns: Free for college students and with no minimum, this service is free, but once a balance exceeds $5,000 there is a fee of .25%.
- FutureAdvisor: They are focused on a successful long-term portfolio for their clients and has a high success rate of returns. It is tough to understand if you are new to investing and they charge a fee for services.
- Personal Capital: Makes use of an award-winning software to best read performance of investments, monitor cash going in, and manage cash leaving your accounts. The fee schedule for investing is higher with low investment amounts. The minimum investment is $25,000.
Should You Get WiseBanyan?
WiseBanyan is an excellent opportunity for those looking to make the most of their money with an investment strategy proportionate risk willing to be taken out. If you don’t want to put all of your money into WiseBanyan right away, try a small investment to watch your money group. Have your money managed for free with this service.
