Wealthfront is a better option for investors with lower capital and those who prefer a fully automated experience at a lower cost. Personal Capital is more suitable for high-net-worth individuals who desire personalized advice from human financial advisors and a broader range of account options.
| Attribute | Wealthfront Automated Investing | Personal Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Investment Requirement | $500 for automated investment accounts; $1 for cash accounts and the stock investing account; $5,000 for S&P 500 Direct Portfolio. | $100,000 for wealth management services (free financial tools available without minimum) |
| Annual Advisory Fee | 0.25% for automated investing; 0.09% for the S&P 500 Direct Portfolio; No management fee or commissions for the stock investing account. | Up to $1 million: 0.89%, $1 million to $3 million: 0.79%, $3 million to $5 million: 0.69%, $5 million to $10 million: 0.59%, Over $10 million: 0.49% (includes trade commissions and custody fees) |
| Investment Options (e.g., ETFs, Stocks) | ETFs from 12 asset classes (portfolios generally consist of 6 to 8), including two cryptocurrency trusts (Bitcoin, Ethereum); S&P 500 Direct Portfolio, which allows clients to directly own the underlying stocks (or fractional shares of those stocks) within the S&P 500; Automated Bond Portfolio offers a mix of Treasury bond and corporate bond ETFs. | ETFs and individual U.S. stocks (builds own ETF of ~90 companies) |
| Tax-Loss Harvesting | Available for all taxable accounts; Stock-level tax-loss harvesting for accounts over $100,000; Daily tax-loss harvesting to offset taxable gains and enhance after-tax returns. | Yes, offers daily tax-loss harvesting for all taxable accounts |
| Automated Rebalancing | Regular rebalancing of your portfolio in response to market fluctuations or other factors that shift your portfolio out of its intended investment allocation; Threshold-based rebalancing, meaning portfolios are rebalanced when an asset class has moved away from its target allocation; Rebalancing occurs when dividends are reinvested, money is deposited, a distribution is taken, or market fluctuations make it necessary. | Yes, with Smart Weighting system and rebalancing when asset allocation moves beyond pre-set boundaries |
| Financial Planning Tools | Path tool helps people plan for buying a house, retirement, college, and general savings goals; Time Off for Travel, a travel-planning tool that helps investors figure out how much time they can afford to take off, how much they can spend on travel, and how that spending could affect their ability to reach other goals; Self-Driving Money tool allows users to set up categories to save for specific goals in their Wealthfront Cash Account and automatically move excess cash into a Wealthfront taxable investment account, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or 529 college savings account. | Retirement planner, savings planner, budgeting and cash flow tracking, net worth calculator, investment checkup, fee analyzer |
| Access to Human Advisors | No human financial advisors are available, not even for an extra fee. | Yes, combines automated investing with human financial advisors |
| Account Types Supported (e.g., IRA, Roth IRA, taxable) | Individual and joint non-retirement accounts; Roth, traditional, rollover, and SEP IRAs; 529 college savings plans; High-yield cash accounts. | Joint and taxable investment accounts, Traditional and Roth IRAs, SEP and rollover IRA accounts, Trust accounts, 401(k)s, Brokerage accounts, Mortgages, credit cards, and loans |
| Mobile App Availability and Features | Mobile app available on iOS; Features include account balance check, investment account performance view, and fund transfer to Wealthfront accounts. | Available on iOS and Android, includes all features of desktop platform, self-help resources, tracks portfolio performance, manages cash flow, provides tips |
| Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Options | Automated investing clients can choose to invest in Wealthfront's SRI portfolio or customize any other Wealthfront portfolio to include socially responsible options for no additional fee; Socially Responsible portfolio is diversified around sustainability, diversity, and equity. | Yes, SRI strategy available |
| Cash Management Features (e.g., high-yield savings) | High-yield cash account that requires a $1 minimum to get started and is covered by up to $8 million in FDIC insurance; Debit card, bill pay, and automatic payments; Users who direct deposit their paycheck can get paid up to two days early. | High-yield savings account through UMB Bank, FDIC-insured, no minimum balance, unlimited monthly transactions |
| Customer Support Channels and Availability | Weekday-only phone customer service; 24/7 customer service via SoFi app. | Phone (Mon-Fri, 8 AM - 5 PM PT), email, website with FAQ, mobile app support, dedicated financial advisor (for wealth management clients) |