I love how easy robo-advisors have made saving for retirement to the average person. They’ve pretty much eliminated any excuses someone could have for not getting started investing.
Here are the four reasons I love robo-advisors for investing.
# 1 – They’re Extremely Easy to Use
In fact, I’d go as far to say if you can read you can set yourself up an investing or retirement account with a robo-advisor. They really make it that easy.
Many robo-advisor accounts will allow you to deposit as little as $10/month and you can have everything set up in less than a half an hour.
# 2- They are Affordable
Using a traditional financial advisor can be both expensive and time intensive. Not to mention, it can be hard to find someone you can trust.
With a robo-advisor the fees are very minimal and you simply answer a set of questions to help determine your portfolio allocation. Best of all, if you feel like your risk tolerance is too high or too low you can easily switch it yourself. (Or at least, you can easily do this in Betterment.)
# 3 – You Don’t Have to Learn About Investing
In an ideal world everyone would take the time learn about their investments. But, we don’t live in an ideal world.
For someone who isn’t offered an employer sponsored retirement plan or just wants to invest extra, robo-advisors are the perfect solution. You simply answer your risk assessment and your portfolio is automatically chosen for you.
# 4 – You Can Invest Small Amounts
I stated this in point #1, but let me state it again: Robo-Advisors allow you to invest in small amounts. They have removed the high income, high asset needs that previously came along with investing.
Robo-advisors have made investing accessible, affordable, and easy for the average person. And for that I am extremely thankful they’re around!
A List of Robo-Advisors
If you don’t yet have a retirement account set up here’s a list of robo-advisors to look into:
- Betterment (I use Betterment and LOVE them. This is a great service if you have a small amount to invest on a monthly basis.)
- Future Advisor
- Charles Swab ($5,000 minimum to open an account.)
- SigFig
- Wealth Front