Betterment

Now for the actual services. Betterment charges a relatively high sum for account management, starting from 0.25%, but doesn’t charge any other account fees, including closing and transfer fees, which most brokers do. The choice to make leaving free allowing clients to leave any time is reassuring and shows Betterment’s faith in their own service.  

Betterment was founded in 2008, and in spite of being in the industry only 12 years their services are widely developed, providing their clients access to a variety of trading services and tools in an easy, centralized fashion. If an all-stop-shop style is not good enough, Betterment offers a live call service during East Coast business hours. Clients with pressing issues don’t need to wait for an email response.

Everything about Betterment services speaks of the clients’ needs being at the top of their pyramid. A few examples:

• Betterment supports a diverse portfolio policy and even offer flexible portfolios which allow clients to control the percentage sum they invest in each ETF.
• Betterment offers a choice between the “smart beta” portfolio with riskier investments and larger returns, an all-bonds portfolio, or a responsible portfolio with investments in businesses that practice social responsibility and follow certain social causes. 
• Betterment offers access to fractional shares, which means all the money in an account can be invested. 

Another great benefit of Betterment services is the 0.40% interest on a cash savings account. 

We definitely see this broker as one of our top 3, and if we detail all their services and benefits here, you won’t have any reason to check out their beautiful website. There is, however,  one flaw we find troublesome. Clients which choose to transfer out or close their accounts with Betterment find themselves with a large amount of paperwork to fill out and mail – in an actual real-world envelope.

All things considered – this is a terrific broker for anyone, especially serious traders who wish to have a flexible account with a lot of control. If you’re just trying it out to see how you like trading – yes, closing is free, but it takes a lot of work to close. People trying out might be better off with a broker that offers a free account and simply never close it.