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- SoFi Automated Investing Review
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SoFi (short for "social finance") has created quite a buzz in the lending world, and now it’s built an impressive investment platform: SoFi Invest. It’s known for its customer-focused approach to personal loans and more. The investing platform offers customers the ability to invest in stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, and even cryptocurrencies. For investors who prefer to keep investments on autopilot, SoFi also offers its Automated Investing platform. In this SoFi Automated Investing review, we'll take a deeper dive into the platform and look at the pros and cons of this robo-advisor.
With no management fee or account minimum, anyone can get started with SoFi Automated Investing and cut their costs.
$0 per trade, expense ratio 0.03%-0.08%
$0
On Secure Website.
This robo-advisor is a good fit for: Passive investors seeking a low-cost robo-advisor that offers the best of both worlds, automated investing and access to human advisors.
SoFi Automated Investing is one of the best robo-advisors for low costs. The company charges no management fee, and has no account minimum -- investors can get started with $1. The underlying investment funds have their own expense ratios, but these range from 0.03%-0.08%, which is among the lowest for any ETFs. There are also no fees for money transfers, and you won't pay anything to set up or maintain your account. If you choose to use SoFi's investment platform for active investing (for example, to buy a specific stock), you won't pay any trading commissions.
Many robo-advisors don't offer access to human financial advisors, and those that do tend to limit access. SoFi Automated Investing customers get unlimited access to financial advisors. Not only that, but all of SoFi's advisors are registered investment advisors and are bound to the fiduciary standard, which means they are required to put your best interests first.
SoFi adjusts your investments quarterly to ensure risk and return are balanced.
SoFi's simple-to-use online and mobile apps are standout features. Notably, its iOS and Android apps are highly rated.
SoFi Automated Investing customers who make recurring deposits of $20 or more get interest rate discounts on other SoFi products, such as personal loans and mortgages. Qualifying clients also get free career coaching and access to SoFi member events.
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Tax-loss harvesting is a strategy by which certain losing investments are strategically sold in order to offset taxable gains elsewhere in a portfolio, thereby lowering the amount of tax owed. SoFi doesn't offer tax-loss harvesting service, a potentially large drawback for investors with large accounts, or who are otherwise in high tax brackets.
If you have at least $5,000 to invest and want tax-loss harvesting: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios could be a good alternative to SoFi, with some features you won't find in SoFi's Automated Investing platform, including tax-loss harvesting.
If you're seeking a full-featured broker and robo-advisor: TD Ameritrade check the boxes for nearly all investing and banking needs under one roof. While SoFi offers similar versatility across its product suite, TD Ameritrade clearly outshines when it comes to trading platforms and deep access to investment vehicles, from mutual funds to bonds and CDs.
In addition to standard brokerage accounts, SoFi Automated Investing offers IRAs (traditional and Roth), SEP-IRAs, and allows clients to roll existing retirement funds from former employers into their new accounts. Clients can access accounts through SoFi's online portal, or through its user-friendly mobile app.
SoFi Automated Investing customers can choose from 10 investment portfolios offering a variety of risk levels and investment goals. If you aren't sure which one to choose, don't worry -- you can answer questions about your financial goals, current assets, and income, and SoFi will do the rest. As with most robo-advisors, the portfolios are composed of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that offer stocks, bonds, and other asset classes. Unlike many competitors, SoFi uses some proprietary ETFs in its Automated Investing portfolios, another way it keeps expenses low.
SoFi Automated Investing offers automatic rebalancing, which means that your investments are automatically adjusted on a regular basis to maintain your desired risk level and investment goals. For example, if your portfolio contains a 50% stock and 50% bond mix, and the stock market rises dramatically, SoFi automatically re-adjusts your investments to maintain this mix.
SoFi investment customers also have access to a high-interest savings account, which pays an APY on cash balances that varies over time, but rivals some of the best online savings accounts.
SoFi is well-known for its outside-the-box approach to financial services. Automated Investing clients who invest at least $20 per month get access to some unique and valuable perks, such as free career coaching, in-person member events, and more.
SoFi Automated Investing is among the cheapest robo-advisor platforms. With no account management fees and minimal investment expenses, investors keep more of their returns than they would with some of SoFi's rivals.
Service/Item | SoFi Automated Investing Cost |
---|---|
Account management fee | 0% |
Investment fund fees | 0.03%-0.08% |
All-in fees | 0.03%-0.08% |
Other account charges | None |
There are two types of support that clients of a robo-advisor could need -- investment advice and help with technical issues. We already mentioned that SoFi customers get unlimited access to human financial advisors, and they can schedule appointments via phone or video Monday through Friday, 10a.m.-7p.m. EST.
For technical support, SoFi's help desk is available Monday-Thursday, 7a.m.-midnight EST, and Friday-Sunday, 7a.m.-8p.m. EST.
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