Condor Capital：2023年第二季度機(jī)器人報(bào)告

condorcapitaI

Edition28|2Q2023

WEALTHMANAGEMENT

THERANKINGEDITION

TheRoboReport

BringingTransparency

toRoboInvesting

KenSchapiro,MBA,CFA

ChiefExecutiveOfficer

DavidGoldstone,CFA

Manager,InvestmentResearch

ThomasLeahy,CFA

FinancialAdvisor

KristopherJones,CFA

FinancialAnalyst

2TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

Welcometo

TheRoboReport

&RoboRanking

CondorCapitalWealthManagementis

proudtopublishthe28theditionofthe

RoboReport?,coveringthesecondquarter

of2023,andthe11theditionoftheRobo

Ranking?.ThisReportisacontinuationof

anongoingstudythatmonitorswell-known

roboadvisors.Westrivetoprovideareliable

resourceforbothinvestorsandprofessionals

interestedinthedigitaladviceindustry.

Highlights

→Largecapgrowthhasdominatedmarketreturnsyear-to-date.

→Nimblemanagementofdurationwasamajorfactorindeterminingtheperformanceoffixedincomeportfoliosoverthepastthreeyears.

→Allocationstodomesticandvalueequitiessup-portedtheperformanceovertheprior3-yearand5-yearperiods.

→TheWinnerofBestOverallRobo,Schwab,pro-

videsanimpressiveyetsimpledigitalexperience

andaffordsanimpressivefinancialplanningexpe-

rienceatthepremiumlevel.

→ThewinnersofBestRoboforDigitalFinancial

Planning,EmpowerandWealthfront,serveasan

exampleofsimpleyeteffectiveonlineplanning.

→SoFiwonBestRoboforFirst-TimeInvestors

becauseofitslowfees,anditsabilitytomanage

manyareasofone’sfinanciallifeonasingleplat-

formincludingdebtconsolidation,careercoach-

ing,andlivefinancialplanning.

Contents

4ExecutiveSummary

5TheRoboRanking

6RoboRankingScores

8AccesstoAdvisorsandPlanning

9BestRoboAdvisors

13RoboRankingFacts

15RoboReportTopPerformers

16PerformanceCommentary

20TotalPortfolioPerformance

21RoboCommentary

23IndustryCommentary

25RoboTax-LossHarvesting

27TermsofUseandDisclosures

Allsupportingdatacanbefoundonlineat

/the-robo-report/data/

AUMTables

TotalPortfolioReturns

Equity&FixedIncomeReturns

Fees,Minimums,andAllocations

RiskStatistics

NormalizedBenchmarks

InternationalAllocation

Disclosures

4TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

ExecutiveSummary

ThiseditionoftheRoboReport,publishedby

CondorCapitalWealthManagement

,

tracks42accountsat27differentproviders.TheRoboReportcontinuestoevolve,and

thisquarter,webringyouourusualdata,whichcanbefoundonlineat

condorcapital.

com/the-robo-report/data/

,aswellasperformancecommentaryforthequarter.

TheRoboRanking

SchwabIntelligentPortfoliosandMerrillEdgeGuidedInvest-inghavetoppedourrankingforBestOverallRoboAdvisor.FulldetailsandscoreforourrankingcanbefoundintheRoboRankingsectionofthisreport.

CondorCapitalWealthManagementhasunveiledthe11theditionoftheRoboRanking?,apremierevaluationofroboadvisorsbasedonover45metrics,includingrealperformancedata.Thisrankingunderscorestherisingprominenceofroboadvisors,whicharebecomingincreasinglypopularduetotheiraffordabilityandminimalinvestmentrequirements.TheRoboReport'sobjectiveistoprovidetransparencyinthedig-italadvicelandscape,helpinginvestorsidentifytop-notchservicestailoredtotheirneeds.Notably,thiseditionhasup-dateditsscoringmethodology.Changesincludedifferenti-atingbetweenbaseandpremium/hybridtiers,emphasizingpre-onboardingtransparency,andrefiningportfoliocustom-izationcriteria.

MarketOverview

2023hasseenmorestabilityforglobalinvestorsthanthepreviousyear.ThedomesticS&P500soaredby16.88%,withthetechsector,bolsteredbyAIadvancements,leadingthecharge.Theconsumerdiscretionarysectorflourished,whilevaluestocks,suchasconsumerstaplesandutilities,lagged.Internationally,developedmarketscouldn'tmatchU.S.per-formance,withtheMSCIEAFEIndexgrowingby12.16%.No-tably,theEuropeanCentralBankandtheBankofEnglandbothhikedratesfourtimes.

Fixedincomemarketsremainedsteady.TheU.S.FederalRe-serveraisedratesslightlyinMaybuthintedataslowdowninhikes,consideringpositiveeconomicsignals.Theevolving

rateenvironmentaccentuatestheimportanceofmanagingdurationinroboaccountinvestments.Seepage16formore.

IndustryUpdate

Therobosectorhaswitnessedupheavals.FutureAdvisor,underBlackrocksince2015,istransitioningtoRitholtzWealthManagement.Blooom,a401(k)centricroboadvisor,shut-teredin2022.UBS'sunexpectedattempttoacquireWealth-frontin2022,valuedat$1.4billion,fellthrough,leadingthemtopurchaseCreditSuissefor$3.25billion.

Bettermentencounteredchallenges,introducinga$4month-lyfeeforsmalleraccountsandsettlingwiththeSECoversoftwareissues.Schwabwasfined$187millionbytheSECforcashallocationdisclosuresandhassincecompensatedclients.VanguardimproveditsDigitalAdvisoroffering,coun-teringpastcriticismsandsolidifyingitsleadingposition.

Theloomingquestionfor2023istheroleofAIintheindus-try.AIalreadyrevolutionizesareaslikeaccountrebalancingandback-officetasksinrobo-advisors.However,entrustingthedeliveryoffinancialadvicesolelytoAIposesrisksduetopotentialbreachesoffiduciaryduty.FirmsarenoweyeingAInotasareplacementbutasanaugmentationtoolforhumanadvisors.Itcanenhancethequalityofadvice,helpincreatingfinancialplans,analyzecustomerbehavior,andstreamlinecommunications.AscompanieslikeMorganStanleydelveintoAI'spotentialinwealthmanagement,regulatorybodiesfacethechallengeofadaptingtothisevolvinglandscape.Seepage23formore.

5TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

TheRoboRanking

CondorCapitalWealthManagementisexcitedtopublishthe11theditionoftheRoboRanking?.TheRoboRankingistheonlycomprehensiveranking

ofroboadvisors.Itexaminesnotonlythefea-

turesandservicesbutalsoportfolioperformancethatissourcedfromrealaccountstrackedbytheRoboReport.Roboadvisorshavetakentheadviceindustrybystorm,withthelargerindependent

providerscontinuingtoshowstronggrowthand

innovativefeatures,androbo-advicetechnolo-

gybeingadoptedacrossbanks,brokerages,andothertraditionaladvicefirms.Robo-advicepro-

vidersareprovingattractivetoindividualinves-

torsinlargepartduetotheirsignificantlylower

minimumsandcosts.HereattheRoboReport,ourgoalistobringtransparencytothedigitaladviceindustrytoempowerinvestorstoseekthebest

productsandservices.

Introduction

TheRoboRankinggradesroboadvisorsacrossmorethan45specificmetricsandistheonlyexaminationthatincludesrealandreliableperformancedata.Wescoredeachroboonvarioushigh-levelcategories,suchasfeatures,financialplan-ning,customerexperience,accesstoliveadvisors,transpar-encyandconflictsofinterest,sizeandtenure,accountmin-imums,costs,andperformance.Eachmetricthatwegradeisspecificandunambiguous.ThedetailsofhowwecreatedthescoresandRankingcanalsobefoundonour

website

.TheRoboRankingisapowerfultooltohelpthoseinvestorswhoareconsideringusingadigitaladvisor.Althoughwerankandgiveeachroboanoverallscore,wealsoacknowledgethedifferencesinindividualinvestorsandtheirsituations.

Tohelpinvestorsfindaproductthatisrightforthem,wecreatedsub-rankingstohighlightwheredifferentproductsexcel.Onceinvestorshaveidentifiedtheirneeds,thecatego-ryrankingscanhelpthemselectaproviderthatstandsoutintheareasthataremostimportanttothem.TheperformancescoreispartlybasedontheRoboReport’sinnovativemethodtocomparegloballydiversifiedportfolioscalledNormalizedBenchmarking.AmethodologyofNormalizedBenchmarkingcanbefoundonour

website

.

ForthiseditionofTheRoboRanking,weintroducedsomechangestothescoringmethodology.Weintroducedthesep-arationofthebasetierfromthepremiumorhybridtiersinthe

AccesstoLiveAdvisorandFinancialPlanningsection.Totalscorerepresentsservicesavailableateitherthebaseservicetierorthehybridservicetier,ifitisseparate.Abreakdownofwhichpointswereearnedateachservicetierisavailableinthetablesandgraphs.ThereisalsoanadditionalpointintheAccesstoLiveAdvisorssectionforwhetherroboshaveaccesstoliveoperationalsupportseparatefromthepointsavailableforthoserobosthatofferlicensedadvisors,whocananswerquestionstoanindividual’sspecificsitua-tion.Thereweresomechangestothetransparencyscores,suchasportfolioassetclassallocationmodelsbeingavail-ablepriortotheonboardingprocess,whereaspreviouslytherobosweregivenpointsformakingmodelsavailableduringtheonboardingprocess.Additionalpointsareavailableifde-tailedmodelsarepublishedandavailablepriortofillingouttheonboardingquestionnaire.Wealsochangedthescoringofportfoliocustomization,nolongergivingpointsforportfoliomodelsbeingabletoadjusttocustomer-specificholdings,insteadgivingpointsfortheabilitytocustomizetheroboportfolio.Finally,therearenolongerpointsbeingawardedfortheonboardingprocess,whichmeansthataskingaboutfeelingstowardsinvestingduringtheonboardingprocessisnolongerapointavailabletoearn.Initsplace,anextrapointwasaddedfortheabilitytochat.Further,ratherthanaskingaboutwhetherornotanemergencyfundisneededduringonboarding,pointsarenowawardedforplannershavingagoalspecifictoemergencysavings.

6TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

RoboRankingScores

90.00

80.00

70.00

60.00

50.00

40.00

30.00

20.00

10.00

0.00

Schwab

MerillEdge

FidelityGo

Wealthfront

Vanguard

BettermentSoFi

Empower

AllyInvest

USBank

ETrade

SigFig

JPMorgan

WellsFargoAcorns

Intelligent

Guided

PAS

Automated

Robo

Automated

Core

Chase

Portfolios

Invvesting

Investing

Portfolios

Investor

Portfolios

AutomatedInves

AccesstoAdvisorsBaseTierPoints

FinancialPlanningBaseTierPoints

TransparencyandConflicts

CustomerExperience

SizeandTenure

Performance

AdditionalPointsatHigherServiceTier

AdditionalPointsatHigherServiceTier

Features

Minimum

Costs

7TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

RoboRankingScores

RoboName

AccesstoAdvisors

FinancialPlanning

TransparencyandConflicts

Features

CustomerExperience

Minimum

SizeandTenure

CostsPerformanceTotal

Schwab

Intelligent

Portfolios

8.00

15.00

8.00

5.83

8.18

2.40

2.00

11.27

21.79

82.47

MerrillEdge

GuidedInvesting

9.00

15.00

9.00

4.86

6.38

2.40

1.00

10.72

20.72

79.08

FidelityGo

7.00

13.50

5.00

4.55

9.14

3.00

1.80

12.39

22.54

78.91

Wealthfront

1.00

15.00

6.00

7.61

6.00

3.00

2.00

12.50

24.32

77.43

VanguardDigital&Personal

Advisor

8.00

15.00

2.00

6.78

6.58

2.40

2.00

13.96

20.44

77.15

Betterment

7.00

13.50

9.00

9.22

6.37

3.00

2.00

12.50

12.61

75.20

SoFiAutomatedInvesting

9.00

15.00

2.00

5.25

6.04

3.00

1.40

15.00

18.32

75.01

Empower

8.00

15.00

8.00

7.00

5.90

0.00

2.00

5.82

16.56

68.27

AllyInvestRoboPortfolios

7.00

15.00

5.00

4.80

6.60

3.00

1.40

11.95

11.18

65.93

USBank

Automated

Investor

8.00

9.00

6.00

5.55

4.98

2.40

0.92

12.70

15.09

64.64

ETradeCore

portfolios

8.00

13.50

5.00

4.80

5.59

3.00

1.00

12.39

8.94

62.23

SigFig

9.00

10.50

6.00

2.80

5.52

2.40

1.00

12.81

8.98

59.01

JPMorgan

Chase

AutomatedInves

7.00

13.50

5.00

4.60

5.80

3.00

0.67

12.06

6.96

58.58

WellsFargo

8.00

12.00

4.00

6.00

5.13

3.00

1.00

10.26

8.29

57.69

Acorns

1.00

3.00

4.00

7.80

7.42

3.00

1.80

14.87

6.82

49.72

MAX

10.00

15.00

10.00

10.00

10.00

3.00

2.00

15.00

25.00

100.00

SchwabIntelligentPortfolios

MerrillEdgeGuidedInvesting

FidelityGo

Wealthfront

VanguardDigital&Personal...

Betterment

SoFiAutomatedInvesting

Empower

AllyInvestRoboPortfolios

USBankAutomatedInvestor

ETradeCorePortfolios

SigFig

JPMorganChaseAutomatedInves

WellsFargo

Acorns

10.0

9.0

8.0

7.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

16.0

14.0

12.0

10.0

8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

0.0

8TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

AccesstoAdvisorsandPlanning

AccesstoAdvisors

AccesstoAdvisorsBaseTierPointsAdditionalPointsatHigherServiceTier

FinancialPlanning

FinancialPlanningBaseTierPointsAdditionalPointsatHigherTier

9TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

BestRoboAdvisors

→TheWinnerofBestOverallRobo,Schwab,pro-videsanimpressiveyetsimpledigitalexperienceandaffordsanimpressivefinancialplanningexpe-rienceatthepremiumlevel.

→ThewinnersofBestRoboforDigitalFinancialPlanning,EmpowerandWealthfront,serveasanexampleofsimpleyeteffectiveonlineplanning.

→SoFiwonBestRoboforFirst-TimeInvestors

becauseofitslowfees,anditsabilitytomanagemanyareasofone’sfinanciallifeonasingleplat-formincludingdebtconsolidation,careercoach-ing,andlivefinancialplanning.

BestOverallRoboAdvisor

→Winner:SchwabIntelligentPortfolios

→Runner-up:MerrillEdgeGuidedInvesting

SchwabIntelligentPortfoliosPremiumisourwinnerforBestOverallRobointhisyear’sRoboRankingSummerEdition.WhilethebasetierofferingfromSchwabisfairlystandardcomparedtothebroaderrobouniverse,thepremiumtierprovidesarangeofbenefitstousersthatareamongthebestinclass.Therobooffersusefulfeaturessuchastaxlossharvesting,anETFexclusionlistshouldonenotwanttobeinvestedinspecificfunds,anda“retirementpaycheck”toassistinthefinancialtransitionfromworkinglifetore-tiredlife,allofwhichareavailableatthebaselevelthroughaneasy-to-usedigitalinterface,andwithoutamanagementfee.SchwabIntelligentPortfoliosPremiumoffersoneofthebetterplanningsuitesaround,allowinguserstomodelmul-tiplecomplexfinancialgoals.WhilethebaselevelofSchwabIntelligentPortfoliosallowsaccesstoinpersonoperationalsupport,SchwabIntelligentPortfoliosPremiumaffordsusersaccesstolicensedfinancialadvisorsaswellasCertifiedFi-nancialPlanners(CFPs).

AnotherareawhereSchwabwasabletopickupmeaning-fulpointswasinperformance.SchwabIntelligentPortfolioswasamongthebetterperformersamongourroboportfolios,thanksinlargeparttoitscashallocation.Schwaballocatesalargeportionoftheirroboportfoliostocashrelativetootherofferings.InourSchwabrobo,theportfolioallocatesover10%

oftheaccounttocash,andinthemostaggressiveportfoliooptionsavailable,stillallocatesover8%oftheaccounttocash.Itisimportanttonoteoverlongerperiods,Schwab’scashallocationhasbeenadragonperformance.Howev-er,withequitiesandfixedincomebothperformingpoorlyin2022,Schwab’scashpositionbluntedtheeffectsofthebroadermarketsell-off,givingaboosttoperformanceoverthetrailing3-yearperiod.Additionally,Schwab’stilttowardsvalue,andtheoutperformanceofthespecificfundamentallyweightedproprietaryequityETFsitholdshelpedits3-yearoutperformance.Again,lookingovera5-yearperiodwheregrowthhasoutperformedvaluethisvaluetilthasnothelpedperformance.Overall,SchwabIntelligentPortfoliosPremiumisafantasticproductforinvestorsseekingaroboadvisorwith$25,000ormoretoinvest.

Ourrunner-upforBestOverallRoboisMerrillEdgeGuidedInvesting.Merrill,likeSchwab,offerstwotiersofservice,adigitalonlytier,MerrillEdgeGuidedinvesting,availabletothosewith$1,000ormoretoinvest,andahybridtier,MerrillEdgeGuidedInvestingwithanAdvisor,availabletothosewith$20,000ormoretoinvest.LikeSchwab,itisfairlystandardinitsofferingsatthebasetier,withaccesstoliveoperationalsupport,anESGthemedinvestmentportfolio,andasinglegoalperaccountplanningtoolthatcanhelpyouprojectyourfutureaccountvalueandlikelihoodofachievingyourgoal.Atthehybridlevel,investorswillgetaccesstoliveadvisors,includingadedicatedadvisorthatwillhelpwithmorecomplex

10TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

planning.Thisincludestheabilitytomodelmultiplefinancialgoalsandviewthemwithinasingle,holisticplan.

Performancewasanotherdriveroftheirranking,withMerrillscoringinthetopfourofourtrackeduniversethanksinparttoitsrelativelylargeallocationtomunicipalbondsonthefixedincomesideoftheportfolio,aswellasitsbiastowardslargecapsontheequityside.Overthetrailing3-and5-yearperi-ods,theRussell1000Indexhasreturned14.07%and11.89%annuallyonaverageversusreturnsof10.79%and4.17%fortheRussell2000Index.Merrillisoneofthemoreactiveport-foliomanagersandisagoodchoiceforthoseseekingamoreactiveapproachtoportfolioconstruction.

BestRoboforPerformanceataLowCost

→Winner:Wealthfront

→Runner-up:FidelityGo

TheBestRoboforPerformanceataLowCostcategoryisdesignedforinvestorswhoseekoutthebestoverallquan-titativemetrics,especiallythoserelatedtoreturnsandfees.Wealthfrontwasonceagainthetopperformer,followedbyFidelityGo,forthe3-yearperiodendingJune30,2023,aperiodthatcontainedthepost-Covidrecovery,elevatedin-flation,risinggeopoliticaltensions,andalittleoverayear’sworthofrapidlyrisinginterestrates.

Wealthfrontbenefitedfromitsdedicatedenergyholding,whichwasespeciallyhelpfulduringtheprolongedperiodofelevatedinflationandinthefaceofthedisruptionofener-gymarketsfollowingtheRussianinvasionofUkraine.Theenergysectorgreatlyoutperformedfromthestartof2021throughyearend2022withtheVanguardEnergyETFpostingareturnofnearly60%onaverageperyear,versusareturnofjust2.6%annualizedfortheS&P500inthatperiod.Thevaluetiltedenergysector’soutperformancetrackedwiththeoveralltrendofvalueoutperforminggrowthoverthepastthreeyears.Duringthe3-yeartrailingperiodendingJune30,2023,theRussell3000ValueIndexoutperformedtheRussell3000GrowthIndexbyabout1%peryearonaverage.Mod-estallocationstodomesticoverinternationalequitiesthantheaverageportfoliowetrackalsohelpedtheseportfoliosoutperformoverthepastthreeyears.

FidelityGo’sequitypositioningistypicallymarket-neutralrel-ativetoitsgrowthandvaluesplit.However,theydoallocatemoretolargecapsonaverageat75%oftheequityportfolioversusabout66%onaverageacrossalltrackedrobosoverthetrailing3-yearperiod.Thisgreatlyhelpedperformanceaslargecapswerethebestperformingsizeamongequitiesoverthisperiod.

Onthefixedincomeside,FidelityGoallocatesallouraccountsfixedincomeholdingstomunicipalbonds,whichhasbeenoneofthebetterperformingfixedincomeclassesoverthepastthreeyears.Onthefixedincomeside,Wealthfrontalsomaintainsholdingstomunicipals,aswellasTIPS,whichhaveperformedwellrelativetootherfixedincomeclassesoverthepastthreeyears.

BestRoboforFirst-TimeInvestors

→Winner:SoFi

→Runner-up:FidelityGo

SoFiremainsourtoppickforfirst-timeinvestors.Formany,thetruestartofone'sinvestingjourneybeginswithpayingdownstudentloans,orsomeotherformofdebt.SoFiallowsusersaplatformtoexploreoptionssuchasconsolidatingdebtasafirststeptotheirgoalsofsavingforthelong-term.Theyalsohavemanytoolsavailabletofirsttimeinvestorsoutsideofdebtconsolidation,suchasaccesstocareercoachesandlivefinancialplanners.TheyalsoofferastrongbudgetingtoolintheformofSoFiRelay,whichallowsoutsidefinancialac-countstobetrackedwithinSoFi’splatform,helpingtogiveaholisticviewofone’sbudgeting.TheseabilitiescombinedwithSoFi’slowfeesmakeSoFiatopoptionforfirsttimeinvestors.

FidelityGoearnsthedistinctionofrunner-upinthiscatego-ryduetoacombinationoflowcosts,anaccessibledigitalplatform,andimpressivelong-termreturns.FidelityGouserswillbenefitfromlowfeesthroughacombinationofno-costFidelityFlexfunds,aswellasnomanagementfeeonthefirst$25,000invested,makingitespeciallyattractiveforinvestorswithsmalleramountsofmoneytostartwith.Furtherbene-fittingfirst-timeinvestors,theirmobileapp,Spire,containsmanyshortarticlesgearedtowardstheyoungergenerations,centeringaroundtopicssuchasweddingplanningandretire-mentplanning,whilealsoallowingforuserstomonitortheiraccountsandgoalsinoneplace.Thiscombinedwithstrong

11TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

long-termperformancedue,inpart,totheirbiastowardslargecapequitiesmakesthemagreatoptionforfirst-timeinvestors.

BestRoboforDigitalFinancialPlanning

→Winner:Empower

→Runner-up:Wealthfront

Themostsignificanteffectthatroboadvisorshaveexertedonthefinancialadviceindustryisthedemocratizationofexpertlymanagedportfolios.Roboadvisorshavenotjustfacilitatedwidespreadaccesstoadvisedaccounts,buttheyhavealsoenabledhigh-caliberfinancialplanningtobecomeavailabletoanyoneequippedwithaninternetconnectionandthereadinesstoinvestthetimeintobuildingaplan.Thewinnersofthiscategoryofferthebestdigitalplannersamongtheroboswetrack.

Thetwowinnersofthiscategory,Empower(formerlyknownasPersonalCapital)andWealthfrontoffertheirdigitalplanstoanyonewithouttheneedforopeninganaccount.Theseplatformsoffertheabilitytobuildaholisticfinancialplanbycombiningmultiplegoalsintoasingleplan,whilealsoag-gregatingoutsideaccountssoinvestorscangetaviewoftheirfullfinancialpicture.Theymakeplanningforthefutureeasybyenablinguserstomodelfuturelifeevents,suchasSocialSecurityandotherretirementincome,aswellaslifeeventssuchaswindfallsandothercustominputs,allwhilepresentingitinaneasy-to-usemannerandofferingitinthestandard,freeversionsoftheirservices.

Empowerremainsatthetopofourlistwhenitcomestofinan-cialplanningtools.Theroboenablesuserstoplanforretire-ment,homepurchase,education,andgeneralsavingamongothergoalswithaplethoraofin-depthtools.Theretirementfeeanalyzerlooksatyourportfolio’sholdingsandestimateswhatportionofyourportfoliowillbelosttoexpenseratios,whiletheplannerallowsyoutosetupmultiplespendinggoalsalongwithprojectedfutureincomeandcalculatesaprobabil-ityofsuccessinthestatedgoals.Theplanneralsoallowsyoutomapoutaplantopaydowndebtalongsideyourcurrentsavings,aswellasanemergencyfund.Itwillaggregateout-sideaccountsandpresentyouwithaconsolidateddisplayofyourmonthlycashflows,overallnetworth,andotherviewsofyourfinancesinasingledashboard.Therobooffersafea-

turecalledInvestmentCheckupthatexplainshowandwhyyoushouldberebalancingyourportfolio,whiletakingintoaccountyourage,risktolerance,andportfoliocomposition.Throughitsabilitytoaggregateoutsideaccounts,itisalsoabletoanalyzepositionsheldelsewhere.Overall,Empowercontinuestobeourtoppickforrobosrelatedtofinancialplanningduetoitsin-depthplanningtoolsofferings,includingamulti-goalfinancialplanandtheabilitytocustomizeinputsspecifictotheinvestor.

Wealthfront’sdigitalplanningtoolsarerepresentativeoftheirdigital-firstphilosophy,eliminatingtheneedforhumanad-visorsandthehigherfeesattachedtothem.Theplanningtoolallowsforgoalsspecifictoretirement,education,homebuying,andtravel,withthehomebuyingmoduleutilizingRedfindata.WhileitisalittlemorecomplexthanEmpower’s,theplanningtoolcomeswithahighdegreeofcustomizationlikeprojectingretirementincomesuchasSocialSecurity,windfalls,realestate,andotherdetails,allowingforuserstobuildoutcomplexplans.ItalsooffersafeaturecalledSelf-DrivingMoney,whichisasetofautomatedorsemi-au-tomatedfeaturesthatenableuserstoinvestexcesscashheldintheirbankaccounts.Thisallowsforuserstointegratetheirspendingandsavinghabitswiththeirlong-termgoals.Wealthfront’splannercontinuestobeapremierexampleofinnovationamongroboadvisors.

BestRoboforComplexFinancial

Planning

→Winner:Vanguard

→Runner-up:Empower

Whilesomedigitalplanningtoolsdoagoodjobmodelingcomplexsituations,thosewithcomplexplanningneedsmaystillbenefitfromaccesstoliveadvisorsalongsideroboplan-ning,orahybridmodel.VanguardwinsthetitleforBestRoboforComplexFinancialPlanning.Theirhybridadvicemodelallowsaccesstoalivefinancialadvisorataminimuminvest-mentof$50,000forjust0.30%inmanagementfees.Fora$500,000investment,investorsgetaccesstoadedicatedadviser,availableforthesamelowfee.Thisallowsinvestorstomodelmultiplefinancialgoalsandgetacomprehensiveviewoftheirassetsatapricepointfarbelowthe1%manage-mentfeetypicallychargedbyatraditionalfinancialadvisor.

12TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

Empower,therunner-upforComplexFinancialPlanningcom-

binesaccesstoaliveplannerwithoneofthebestdigital

planningplatformsonthemarket.Empowerhasahighmin-

imuminvestmentat$100,000andahighmanagementfee

at0.89%butofferssomestandoutfeatures.Asidefromits

planningtools,Empoweroffersinvestmentoptionssuchas

anSRIportfolio,anddirectindexing,andforthosewithmore

than$5,000,000ontheplatform,alternativeinvestmentslike

privateequityarealsoavailable.Empoweralsooffersafea-

turecalledSmartWithdrawalwhichsimplifiestheprocessof

determiningwheretowithdrawretirementspendingfunds,

andhowtodosoinataxefficientmanner.Thisfeaturecan

assistwithmorecomplexdecisions,likewhethertaxgain

harvestingshouldbeconsidered,orifaRothconversionmay

bebeneficial.ThesefeaturescombinetomakeEmpowerone

ofthebestrobooptionsforcomplexfinancialplanning,even

withitshigherfees.

13TheRoboReport&RoboRanking

RoboRankingFacts

RoboName

3-Year

3-YearReturn

3-Year

AccountMinimumAdvisoryFee

Weighted

Annualized

Above/Below

Sharpe

Average

Return

Normalized

Benchmark

Ratio

ExpenseRatio

Acorns1

4.73%

-1.29%

0.31Nominimum