Which Robo Adviser Is Right for You?

Robo advisers, those automated investment advice services offered by banks, brokerages and other financial firms, have proliferated to the point that choosing one can be overwhelming. All robos promise low-cost, computer-driven investment management geared to your goals. But although they share similar characteristics, they are not alike. Some digital investment services are better for investors who are just starting out. A few are suitable only for the most conservative investors. Others are geared only for investors saving in retirement plans.

Robo advisers (a label the industry hates, by the way) now number in the dozens and manage billions of dollars in assets. Betterment, a pioneer, has amassed $20 billion in assets under management since its robo offering opened in 2010. Schwab's Intelligent Portfolios launched in March 2015 and now has more than $43 billion in assets.

The services bring investment advice, once the purview of the wealthy, to the masses. "Robos have democratized investing advice," says Lule Demmissie, president of Ally Invest. No longer is an hours-long sit-down with an actual flesh-and-blood adviser required. "I'd have better luck getting someone in their twenties or thirties to go in for a cavity filling," says Chris Costello, cofounder and chief executive of Blooom (yes, that's spelled correctly), an automated retirement savings adviser.

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Robo advice is ready when and where you want it. Just grab your smartphone, tablet or laptop and

Data as of Sept. 30, 2019. *Composite benchmark return consists of 60% MSCI ACWI All Cap Index and 40% Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index. Source: Backend Benchmarking.