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Ellevest: Overall Rating
| Feature | Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Fees | 3.75 |
| Investment selection | 3.75 |
| Access | 4.73 |
| Ethics | 5.00 |
| Customer service | 4.25 |
| Overall score | 4.27 |
Is Ellevest Right for You?
Ellevest is best for hands-off investors who want personalized plans for individual investment accounts or retirement accounts. The app provides a range of services, including rollovers for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans and one-on-one sessions with financial planners for purchase.
It was created to help close gender money gaps for women, but the website says it welcomes all clients, including non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals. Ellevest provides customized recommendations and forecasts for its users' goals based on gender-specific salary curves and longevity data.
Overall, Ellevest is a strong choice for those looking to merge automated investing and retirement accounts with human advice, but you should consider other platforms — such as our picks for the best cryptocurrency exchanges — if you're in search of portfolio customization, joint accounts, custodial accounts, or features like tax-loss harvesting.
Ellevest is available on iOS and Android devices.
Ellevest vs. Betterment
Ellevest and Betterment offer automated ETF portfolios, human advisors, and low fees.
It doesn't cost anything to open an account with Betterment Investing, but you'll need to pay $10 to start investing (unless you use a $100,000 minimum premium account with Betterment). If you're interested in investing in cryptocurrencies or socially responsible investing, Betterment is a better option. Betterment is also one of our picks for the best IRA accounts.
With Ellevest, each subscription level includes unlimited advisor support. You'll only be able to take advantage of unlimited CFP guidance at Betterment if you're enrolled in the premium plan (which has a $100,000 minimum). Ellevest also doesn't charge an account minimum, but you'll still have to pay a monthly or annual fee (varies by plan).
Ellevest vs. Wealthfront
Compared to Ellevest, Wealthfront Investing is the better option for those in search of tax-bill-lowering strategies like tax-loss harvesting. Plus, the platform offers a wider range of investments — including index funds and crypto trusts — in addition to portfolio customization options. But it does require a $500 minimum for automated investing.
Ellevest is a stronger choice for those who want access to financial planning. Wealthfront doesn't offer ongoing, one-on-one advisor guidance, but it offers a team of specialists to help answer any questions.
Ways to Invest With Ellevest
Ellevest offers account options for taxable individual investing accounts (including two automated account options) and retirement accounts. It does not offer joint or custodian account options.
Automated Investing Accounts
With automated investing, you can choose from two plans:
- Plus: For $5 a month, this plan gets you access to a personalized investment portfolio, unlimited online workshops and email courses, IRA retirement account management, a 30% discount for one-on-one sessions with financial planners, and no account minimum to start investing. One-on-one session range from $230 to $550 (from $161 to $385 with discount), but full financial planning packages or unlimited advisor access can range from $2,000 to $2,500 (from $1,400 to $1,750 with discount).
- Executive: For $9 a month, this plan gets you access to multi-goal investing (not available in the Plus plan), so you can take advantage of up to five customized investment accounts for different savings goals. Executive members also get a 50% discount on financial planning and money coaching sessions. So you'll pay $115 to $275 for one-on-one sessions, or $1,000 to $1,250 for full packages and unlimited advisor access.
Ellevest used to offer a third account option, Ellevest Essential, as the most basic investing plan. But Ellevest is currently sunsetting this option, and it's no longer available to new users.
It's important to note that not all investment accounts are retirement accounts. With Ellevest, you can open an individual taxable investment account for different goals, such as wealth building, college savings, kids, home, business, and more.
Retirement Accounts
If you're thinking about growing your retirement plan's savings the automated way, Ellevest provides a range of options. Currently, the app accepts 401(k) and 403(b) rollovers and IRA transfers. It also offers personalized management for traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEP IRAs.
IRA transfers primarily apply to traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs. In other words, the only accounts you can roll over or transfer are 401(k)s, 403(b)s, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEP IRAs.
Investment Options
Ellevest provides two portfolio options:
- Ellevest Core: The standard portfolio option that invests your funds in a blend of ETFs and mutual funds to best reach your financial goals. This is a better option for investors not interested in socially conscious investing with an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) portfolio.
- Ellevest Impact: With a socially responsible lens, this portfolio will invest over half of your funds in ETFs and mutual funds that uplift and advance women on boards and leadership teams. This is a great option for investors looking to make an impact while reaching their financial goals.
Ellevest primarily invests your money in a combination of stock ETFs and bond ETFs. This is quite similar to Betterment, another automated app that primarily utilizes stock ETFs and bond ETFs. However, investment advisors like Wealthfront rely more heavily on index funds.
Ellevest Fees
While other automated advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront charge annual percentage-based fees on your investment account balance, Ellevest lets you choose between monthly or annual fees. Investors that opt-in to the Ellevest Plus plan pay either $5 a month or $54 a year (saves you $6). Investors with the Ellevest Executive plan pay $9 a month or $97 a year (saving $11).
Ellevest also charges an annual expense ratio ranging from 0.05% to 0.10%, which is $5 to $10 per $10,000 invested. This is relatively low compared to other robo-advisors like Betterment, which ranges from 0.07% to 0.17%.
There's no account minimum to open an Ellevest account, but some portfolio options require a minimum of $1 to $240. For full account transfers out of your Ellevest account, Folio (a third party) charges $100. But partial transfers are only $25.
Is Ellevest Trustworthy?
Ellevest has an NR ("No rating") status from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB usually rates companies with a grade scale range of A+ to F, but Ellevest is currently in the process of responding to previously closed complaints.
BBB ratings can vary per investment app, but the bureau generally considers the following factors when evaluating businesses: type of business, time in business, customer complaint history, licensing and government actions, and advertising issues.
Ellevest has been in business since 2016, and it has received more than 34 complaints on the BBB website over the last three years and closed 10 complaints over the last 12 months. The app's record is currently clear of any major lawsuits or scandals.
Ellevest — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Ellevest can be a great investing platform for beginners interested in hands-off investing through a robo-advisor. Not only does it offer unlimited access to human advisors, but it also offers low account fees and minimums, and a range of educational resources for no extra cost.
Yes. Ellevest strictly provides automated portfolios for regular investment accounts and IRAs. Since robo-advisors create personalized portfolios for you, you won't have to worry about picking the investments in your account.
Yes. You can lose money on all types of investment platforms — not just robo-advisors — since stock market prices commonly fluctuate over time.
Ellevest is primarily owned by Sallie Krawcheck.
*Banking products and services are offered by Ellevest in partnership with Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International. Your Spend and Save account deposits will be insured to the regulatory limits by the FDIC.
**Ellevest Digital doesn't require you to maintain a minimum account balance. However, there are portfolio-specific minimums (ranging from $1 to approximately $240). You may not receive the entire recommended portfolio until your account balance meets the respective portfolio minimum.
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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
**Enrollment required.