You own shares in the stock and bond ETFs that Betterment recommends for these two baskets and Betterment manages buying and selling them for you. Your funds are automatically invested within 1-3 business days into Betterment's portfolio, based What methods of deposit do you accept?

Where Betterment shines. Lots to like: Betterment offers multiple portfolio options, has a low minimum investment, and charges a very reasonable annual management fee of just 0.25% for those who qualify. Otherwise, it's $4 per month. Fractional shares: Fractional shares mean all your cash is invested.

The default state for the Betterment Core Portfolio Strategy is an allocation of 70% stocks / 30% bonds in a tax-deferred portfolio, representing a moderate state for a long-term investment in an IRA or 401(k) plan.

If your goal is short-term, we'll recommend a more conservative portfolio with lower expected returns with less volatility, and if your goal is longer term, we'll likely recommend a more aggressive portfolio with higher expected long-term returns with higher volatility.

Recurring transfer: You can direct your bank to have a specific amount of money regularly transferred from checking or savings into your investment account. The funds can be automatically transferred into taxable investment, retirement, and any financial account on a daily, weekly, monthly or other recurring schedule.

Your money is invested in thousands of companies through fractional shares. Exactly how much of your portfolio is made up of which stocks and bonds depends on your portfolio's exact target allocation, so some funds in our portfolio strategy only appear in certain stock-to-bond allocations.

At Betterment, we help investors like you determine and match your level of risk with the time you have to reach your goal. You can open an investment portfolio and put more toward bonds to keep your stock exposure low. Or open a cash account to earn some interest while you build an emergency fund.

Neither Betterment LLC nor any of its affiliates is a bank. Through Cash Reserve, clients' funds are deposited into one or more banks ("Program Banks") where the funds earn a variable interest rate and are eligible for FDIC insurance.

Betterment helps you manage your money through cash management, guided investing, and retirement planning. We are a fiduciary, which means we act in your best interest. We'll ask a bit about you when you sign up. We'll also gather information when you connect your outside accounts.

Betterment is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), so it has a federal duty to serve your best interests. Furthermore, most robo-advisor companies also maintain heavily encrypted websites, so you typically won't have to worry about your data and money's safety.

Betterment offers a cash account with a variable APY, currently 4.75% or more as of August 2, 2023. It also offers a valuable no-fee checking account. Combined, these cash management accounts let investors keep all of their finances in the same place.

While it's smart to be cautious when trusting others with your money, a robo-advisor may be just as safe as a human financial advisor. But investing always comes with the risk of losing money, and that's true whether you're investing on your own, hiring a financial advisor or using a robo-advisor.