Wealthsimple Invest Review
Founded in 2014, Wealthsimple is an online-only financial service organization that oversees over $4B worth of investments. A Canadian company founded by CEO Michael Katchen, it has since expanded to the UK and the United States. It is the largest robo advisor in Canada, with 1.5 million users worldwide. Wealthsimple offers a variety of services like Wealthsimple Trade, Wealthsimple Cash and more. Wealthsimple Invest is the company’s robo-investing arm.
Robo investing is totally passive investing where the investor has a completely hands-off relationship with their portfolio. Wealthsimple Invest picks all the ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) for you (all of the funds in a Wealthsimple Invest portfolio are low-cost ETFs) and also rebalances your accounts when necessary.
Want to find out whether Wealthsimple is really worth it? Our Wealthsimple review takes you through how Wealthsimple Invest works, the pros and cons of the robo investing arm of the Wealthsimple family, as well as how it compares to other similar online services.
In This Article:
How Wealthsimple Invest Works
Wealthsimple’s mandate is to save clients money by allowing them to invest passively in a variety of low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
When you sign up you’ll be asked to fill out a questionnaire about your retirement goals, your timeline for how long you have to build up your savings, and how risk-averse you are.
Based on your responses, Wealthsimple Invest uses investing algorithms to match you to a diversified portfolio that fits into one of three categories: Conservative, Balanced or Growth.
When you choose your portfolio, you can also decide what kind of savings account you want to put it in. Wealthsimple Invest offers clients a variety of accounts available, including RRSPs and TFSAs, as well as low-MER socially responsible investing portfolios that divest from industries like oil and firearms and invest in companies prioritizing human rights, reduced carbon emissions, and cleantech.
Read: Can You Be Both a Good Investor and a Good Person?
In my case, because I am comfortable with some risk and moderate but relatively reliable returns, both the RRSP and TFSA I have with Wealthsimple fall into the “Balanced” category. If you’re looking for more growth and are willing to accept more risk to do so, you would likely be given a “Growth” portfolio.
After you fill in the questionnaire and Wealthsimple matches you to a portfolio, your role becomes that of a passive investor. You don’t need to do any research or closely follow the stock markets if you don’t want to. You also won’t do any buying or selling of individual stocks; Wealthsimple does it all for you.
The company creates (and then continues to rebalance) your personalized ETF portfolio based on “modern portfolio theory,” a Nobel Prize-winning investment strategy developed by Harry Markowitz. Without going into complex details, the theory prioritizes portfolio diversity to minimize risk. The belief is that the best way to secure investment savings is to stick with a basket of slow-but-steady earning stocks; that way you’re unlikely to get massive windfalls, but you also won’t suffer massive hits either.
Wealthsimple’s wholly owned brokerage, Canadian Shareowner Investments Inc., is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, which protects your account up to $1,000,000 if an investment firm becomes insolvent.
Different Plans for Wealthsimple Invest
There are three different plans available with Wealthsimple Invest.
Wealthsimple Basic: For clients with net deposits from $0 up to $100K. Clients are charged a monthly fee of .5% of their account value. Included in the fee is portfolio creation, automatic portfolio rebalancing and automatic dividend reinvesting. You also have the option of setting up automatic investing.
Wealthsimple Black: For clients with net deposits of more than $100K. The fee is slightly lower than the Basic account at .4%. Aside from a reduced fee, it has extra perks like a financial planning session and tax loss harvesting assistance.
Wealthsimple Generation: Generation is for accounts of $500,000 or more and charges a management fee of .4%. Included with the account is a customized personalized financial report, tax-loss harvesting, and 50% off a Comprehensive Health Plan from Medcan. Furthermore, the account is optimized for tax savings.
Cost and Fees
| Account Type | Deposit Amount | Management Fee | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0 - $100,000 | 0.5% | Auto-Rebalancing Auto-Deposits Expert Advice |
| Black | $100,000+ | 0.4% | Financial Planning Session Tax Loss Harvesting Tax Efficient Funds |
| Generation | $500,000+ | 0.4% | Asset Allocation Team of Advisors Personalized Financial Reports |
Each plan offers the features of the preceding one in addition to its own set of features that make it stand out. The fees range from 0.5% – 0.4% and are reasonable for the services accessible including in-depth financial planning, expert advice, auto-rebalance, and more. You can also get a 50% discount with Medcan Health if you sign up with the Black plan.
The average MERs for Wealthsimple ETFs stand at about 0.2% unless it’s an SRI which would range from 0.25% to 0.4% MER.
According to the website, your Wealthsimple Invest fee is calculated on a daily basis by dividing the annual fee by 365 days and applying it to the closing market value of your portfolio on that day. These daily portions are added up and then are charged to your account on a monthly basis. In short, the fee is quoted annually, calculated daily, and applied monthly.
Who Can Invest with Wealthsimple?
Anyone can use Wealthsimple Invest. Because of its hands-off approach to investing, it’s especially ideal for new or inexperienced investors who are normally intimidated by the stock market and don’t have a good grasp of how it works.
Wealthsimple is also a good match for experienced investors who want to have some portion of their portfolio allotted to passive investing in order to save time.
Best of all, there is no minimum deposit required to start investing, which makes Wealthsimple Invest more accessible to all.
In order to use Wealthsimple, you must either be a Canadian citizen, a Canadian resident or have a valid Canadian Visa. In addition, you must have a SIN number, meet the minimum age of majority set by your province, possess a Canadian residential address, and be able to complete identity verification requirements.
Features
- Minimum Investment: You don’t need to have a minimum investment to open a Wealthsimple Invest.
- Account Types: Wealthsimple Invest offers numerous kinds of accounts, including personal accounts, RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs, RRIFs, LIRAs and even corporate accounts. Joint accounts are also available.
- Portfolios: Three main kinds of portfolios: Conservative, Balanced or Growth, as well as a unique Halal portfolio and a socially responsible portfolio.
- Tax Loss Harvesting: Included with Black and Generation plans.
- Investing Advice: As an online-only, low-cost investing platform, Wealthsimple Invest does not offer professional investment advice, though they can answer general questions about your portfolio. With a Black plan you do get one brief investing session with a pro, and with the Generation plan you have access to a more in-depth financial planning session.
- User-Friendly Website: Wealthsimple Invest is filled with colourful graphs that make it easy to understand where your money is invested and how it’s growing. The dashboard provides a comprehensive look at your overall financial picture and its interface allows you to move effortlessly between your accounts if you have more than one. Use the interactive slider graphs to see an estimate of what your savings will be at any point in the future.
- Overflow and Roundup: A Wealthsimple Invest account makes saving money even easy and hassle-free with these extra features.
- Customer Service: As an online financial services firm, there are no physical offices to meet with a financial advisor. Wealthsimple Invest customer service is therefore limited to phone, text, social media and email. You can call them directly Monday-Friday: 9am – 5:30pm (EST).
- Price Alerts: Alerts allow you to track the prices of stocks, ETFs, or cryptocurrency.
Is Wealthsimple safe?
Yes, Wealthsimple is safe. Assets on Wealthsimple Invest and Wealthsimple Trade accounts are held by ShareOwner Investments Inc., which is a Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) member and is regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). In the event of Wealthsimple and ShareOwner going bankrupt, all accounts with Wealthsimple are CIPF insured up to $1 million.
In addition, Wealthsimple protects your information through two-step verification, encryption, modern cloud technology backups, and a behind-the-scenes security team. Wealthsimple also does not sell any of their clients’ data.
Pros and Cons of Wealthsimple Invest
Pros
- Low fees
- Completely passive investing so ideal for a newbie investor or someone who doesn’t have time to manage their own portfolio
- Variety of portfolios, including Halal investing and sustainable
- Three levels of plans
- Lots of account options
- Easy access to Wealthsimple Invest’s other services
- Overflow and Roundup features
Cons
- No one-on-one investing advice for the Basic plan
- Can be hard to a get quick response via email and phone
How Does Wealthsimple Compare to the Competition?
Wealthsimple Questwealth Portfolios CI Direct Investing
Welcome Offer $25 bonus for a $500 minimum initial deposit None Up to $10K managed free for a year
Management Fees 0.4% or 0.5%/year 0.2% or 0.25%/year 0.35%–0.6%/year
MER Approx. 0.2% Regular portfolios: 0.11%–0.23%; SRI portfolios: 0.21%–0.35% ETF MERs: 0.16%–0.26%;
Private Investment Portfolios' MERs: 1.00%–1.55%
Minimum Balance None $1,000 $1,000
Questwealth Portfolios really shines among Canadian robo-advisors in that it charges very low management fees: 0.25% for balances up to $99,999 and 0.2% for balances above that. That’s half the management cost of using Wealthsimple.
That said, Questwealth Portfolios has its weaknesses as well. There are no extra savings available via a special welcome offer, and a $1K minimum balance makes it less than ideal for those who are skittish about robo-advisors and looking to try one out risk-free. I’m also partial to Wealthsimple’s design and user experience, which I find more interactive and a bit easier to look at.
CI Direct Investing (formerly WealthBar) starts new account holders off with one of the best welcome offers among Canadian robo-advisors: up to $10K managed free for a year, for a savings of up to $60. It also stands out by offering all clients unlimited financial advice, no matter what their account balance. Clients can choose to invest via the traditional robo-advisor route of ETFs, or in Private Investment Portfolios, which diversify investments beyond ETFs and into private equity, real estate and more. These additional types of investments are not offered by Wealthsimple or Questwealth Portfolios.
However, CI Direct Investing management fees will be comparatively high for most investors, and favour those with a lot of money to invest. Accounts of $500K or more pay 0.35% in management fees; those between $350K–$500K pay 0.4%; and less than $150K pay 0.6%, which is far more than both Wealthsimple and Questwealth Portfolios for balances at that level.
Other Products from Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple Invest has now expanded beyond its core robo-advisor service into other facets of personal finance, and those who are drawn to Wealthsimple Invest might also be interested in these offerings.
Wealthsimple Trade
Unlike Wealthsimple Invest, Wealthsimple Trade allows those who are comfortable with self-directed investing to make their own decisions about what securities they want to buy and sell. Conversely, Wealthsimple Invest is a robo-advisor in which funds are invested into pre-built portfolios and automatically rebalanced to stay aligned with the investor’s risk tolerance and time horizon.
Read: Wealthsimple Invest vs. Wealthsimple Trade: What’s the Difference?
While Wealthsimple Trade started as a mobile app, you can now access it on your computer as well. It stands out from other self-directed brokerages because it doesn’t charge commission fees, which can potentially save investors a substantial amount.
Read our full Wealthsimple Trade review to learn more.
Wealthsimple Crypto
You can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum 24/7 with Wealthsimple Crypto. Wealthsimple Crypto is available on iOS and Android through the Wealthsimple Trade app. Though you access Wealthsimple Crypto trading via the Wealthsimple Trade app, you nonetheless have to set up a separate Crypto account to use the app.
Read our full Wealthsimple Crypto review to learn more.
Wealthsimple Cash
The new Wealthsimple Save app is the latest version of Wealthsimple Cash. It’s only available through a mobile app right now (although you can see your account on your PC). With the app, you can send and receive cash instantly for free. The money in your Wealthsimple Cash account currently earns .75%. with no monthly account or low balance fees. That said, most of its anticipated chequing-like features, such as bill pay, a card you can use like a debit card and ATM withdrawals, are still in development.
Read our full Wealthsimple Cash review to learn more.
Wealthsimple Tax
Wealthsimple Tax is an affordable income tax filing platform aimed at Canadians with a relatively straightforward tax situation requiring minimal external guidance. The service is technically free, though users are encouraged to make donations to support the platform’s maintenance and development.
Read our full Wealthsimple Tax review to learn more.
Price Alerts Feature
Wealthsimple offers price alerts to allow you to track when the price of a stock, ETF, or cryptocurrency moves a certain amount in either direction. The price alert can be a notification that comes right to your mobile device, depending on the settings of your Wealthsimple mobile app.
There are three different kinds of price alerts you can set up with Wealthsimple. The alerts can notify you if:
- The security reaches a set price.
- The price of the security goes up by a certain percentage.
- The price of the security goes down by a certain percentage.
When the price of the investment moves to your set figure, you immediately get notified so that you’re aware of this news.
So, for example, if you’re looking to invest in Ethereum, you can set a price alert that notifies you when the value goes up or down 10% or if the coin were to reach a specific price. This price alert feature lets you stay informed of market movements without being glued to your screen.
You can also set up an unlimited amount of price alerts with Wealthsimple so you can track as many assets as you’d like. You’d be informed of multiple market movements as they happen.
How to Get Started with Wealthsimple
- Signing up for a Wealthsimple Invest is incredibly easy and not intimidating at all. You just click the “Get Started” button in the upper right corner of the website and you’ll then be asked to provide an email and password and confirm that you live in Canada.
- Next, you’ll be asked what kind of products you want to sign-up for. Just select Wealthsimple Invest.
- You’ll then be asked a series of questions so Wealthsimple Invest can design your portfolio. Questions will concern your basic information, as well as include what your investment goals are (i.e., retirement or short-term savings etc) and how risk-averse you are.
- Depending on how you answer the questions, you’ll then get a portfolio from one of three categories: Conservative, Balanced or Growth.
- Next, you’ll just need to connect a bank account so that you’ll be able to withdraw money to fund your Wealthsimple Invest account. Linking your bank account can take up to five business days.
- Once it’s linked, you can deposit as much as you feel comfortable into your Wealthsimple Invest account and that money will be put into your portfolio.
- That’s it! You never really have to think about your portfolio again unless you want to add more funds!
Bottom Line: Should you go with Wealthsimple Invest?
Wealthsimple Invest is an excellent choice if you’re comfortable banking online and looking for a straightforward, low-cost way to invest your money that doesn’t require much personal participation or stock savvy. Use Wealthsimple Invest if you’re just starting to explore the world of investing but you’re not yet confident enough to call the shots yourself and make trades independently. If you’ve saved up some money and given some thought to your financial goals and risk tolerance, Wealthsimple Invest can help you invest your funds while you continue to learn more about the market, the different securities out there, and how to assess their value.
Wealthsimple Invest is not a good fit for those who like taking a hands-on approach to investing. If your idea of a fun Sunday afternoon is poring over a company’s annual report, you might be better off exploring a self-directed online broker like Wealthsimple Trade.
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Article comments
Hi I am interested and how much is the start up?
Hi Josephine,
For accounts with a balance between $0 and $100,000, Wealthsimple will charge 0.5% of your account balance per year to manage your account. On top of this, the ETFs in your portfolio will charge an average 0.2% fee called the management expense ratio (or MER). There is no minimum balance to start an account at Wealthsimple but you can expect to be charged about 0.7% of your total account balance per year for Wealthsimple to manage your investments. Hope this helps.
I just make my account but now I read the article. How may I get my bonus and is it good to open personal account and I may switch this to TFSA
Hi Rabi,
You can open multiple TFSAs at different financial institutions. If you haven’t opened a TFSA account with Wealthsimple Invest yet, you can still take advantage of this promotional offer. Just keep in mind that contribution limits apply to the total amount in all of your TFSA accounts. Be careful not to over contribute or you may be subject to an overcontribution penalty. Find out more on the limits with our Guide to the TFSA.
I’d like to try my hand at Crypto. Would I need to open a basic WealthSimple first and then get the $75 bonus offer when I deposit at least $500, and then transfer over to WealthSimple Crypto? Is it worth it to invest say $1000 in ETH?
Hi Wayne,
You got it, click through the link above and start with the regular Wealthsimple account first, then deposit the $500 to trigger the bonus. From there, you can open a Wealthsimple Crypto account, transfer funds, and invest in the crypto of your choice. Crypto can be a worthwhile addition to your portfolio if the asset is allocated in line with your investment goals. Only you can decide if it’s worth it. Crypto is high risk, high reward but it’s incredibly volatile – only invest what you’re willing to lose. Enjoy the ride!
I used your link to open a Wealth Simple account, but didn’t get $75 bonus. Could you please verify it. thanks
Hi Sayeda,
The $75 bonus should kick in once you’ve made a $500 deposit. If you’ve already made the deposit, please send an email to [email protected] with the email you used when signing up and we’ll have someone look into it. Thanks.
Hello,
I would like to know if Personal, RRSP & TFSA account balances in Wealthsimple Trade count towards Wealrthsomple Black status?
Thank you.
Best regard,
Jean-Louis Bui
Hi Jean-Louis Bui
I think the answer is located in one of Wealth Simple’s help articles: “Will my Wealthsimple Invest TFSA or RRSP tracker work for Wealthsimple Trade? Unfortunately, we do not currently support the ability to use your Wealthsimple Invest contribution tracker for your Wealthsimple Trade TFSA or RRSP. This is a feature that we hope to include in the future, but we do not have a firm timeline on this quite yet!”
I have recently taken an interest in investing and am interested in starting an account with Wealthsimple. From what I read in the article I have the option to use the several different accounts. I am interested in the robo-adviser as I do not know much about the market, however, I would like the option to trade a few stocks of my own choice if I would like to. Do any of the wealth simple accounts provide me with that ability?
Hi Jake,
There’s no one WealthSimple product that does both robo-advising and allows you to trade a few stocks, but why not put most od your efforts and money in WealthSimple invest, which is investing on autopilot through its robo-advisor, but then put less money and be more conservative when it comes to Wealth Simple trade. That way, you can trade a bit on your own with WealthSimple trade, but still feel good because your serious investments are automatic, but you still have some money to play around with on WealthSimple Trade for those times you want to dabble in trading stocks.
No customer service! How did the writer get help so quickly? I traded a stock but they did not add my realized capital gains in my balance. Called customer service several times when their phone line just opened, and already claimed my call might not be answered for the day! Then phone automatically ended while waiting. Emailed twice and no response! Been over 2 weeks and no help. Very frustrating! Stay away! Will go somewhere else!
Terrible ….sent money over ten days ago….still pending. No response when I phone …they just hang up. Contact via email take forever multiple days. Would call it a ponzi if power wasnt behind….do not put money in them to much of a hassle.
Sf,
I will say that my own experience waiting on the phone can be over two hours, but WealthSimple is legit and does complete trades and invests money. It can take some time to complete transactions though.
What number did you call? I tried and they automatically hang up on me while waiting. Thank youm
Hi Wy,
I called 1-855-255-9038 and waited for two hours. They are closed on weekends and work from 9am-5pm EST on weekdays.
Hi, wealthsimple wants my SIN number. Is that safe ? I mean what I know we not should give this information to anybody. If anyone has something to tell me about that I would appreciate it! Thank you
Hi Blanka,
WealthSimple requires your SIN because it is helping you invest your money and any investment return is taxed at your tax-rate. You also need a SIN to open a TFSA, which can be managed by WealthSimple if you want it to be. Is it safe? Well, WealthSimple has a pretty solid track record. However, their ability to keep your SIN number safe, secure and private comes down to how much faith you, yourself have in the brand and company. This is up to you. I cannot influence what you should do.
What does “any investment return is taxed at your tax-rate” mean exactly? With traditional accounts, investment gains are taxed when you file your taxes. Are you saying with wealthsimple that investment gains are immediately taxed?
No Money Banks, I just mean that when you file your taxes investment gains from wealth simple will be taxed according to the income bracket you belong to and the government’s corresponding tax rate for that income bracket. Information on this can be found at the Wealth Simple website
If anyone is looking to start trading ETF’s or Stocks, WealthSimple trade has a promotion where you can earn $10 FREE when signing up and depositing $100 into a Trade Account.
They offer free Canadian stock trading with virtually no strings attached, I’ve been using them for a couple years.
Use the code: AVUH4A if you’ve recently made your account or sign up now with the link below to get your $10:
https://my.wealthsimple.com/app/public/trade-referral-signup?code=AVUH4A
I have an RRSP account with RBC. What is the process of sending the money to wealthsimple to start trading? Do I need to open another RRSP account with wealhsimple and then trsnafr the funds? Do I need to get permission before doing that since it’s an RRSp account?
Hi Arash,
It’s actually a lot simpler than that. You do have to open a WealthSimple RRSP account and follow the steps. When you get to step four, “Funding your WealthSimple account” you just need to indicate that you are transferring the funds from an existing RRSP. Since your RRSP is with RBC, you simply click on the image of your financial institution and you don’t even need to provide an account number or enter the information manually. You must choose how you want the funds transferred. It’s a choice between “as is” where your bank moves everything over in their investment vehicles without selling anything — but most banks have proprietary investment funds, so only common investment funds will transfer so you may not be able to get everything as is. The better option for transferring is “in cash” where your bank will sell your holdings and transfer the funds in cash to WealthSimple. There will be transfer fees and selling fees but Wealth Simple covers these transfer fees for accounts $5,0000 and over. Once you select how you want to transfer, WealthSimple will contact your bank for you an initiate the transfer. They will also give you an estimated date of completion for the transfer. From there, you just have to wait for the funds to show up in your WealthSimple account and leave your RBC account. Hope that helps.
Hi
It’s the Wealthsimple black benefit of Airport Lounges Pass still valid in 2021 i keep finding contradicting information online regarding their perks and benefits.
Aside from that does anyone know what’s is the average return for their Balanced tier RSPs and where does their offer stand compared to let’s say Sunlife. I’m in the process of deciding if staying with Sunlife or moving my portfolio into Wealthsimple or elswhere but as an average person is hard to see what would be the biggest difference between the two. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Hi Daniel,
You only receive the Priority Pass membership perk with Wealthsimple if your assets are over $100,000. I don’t know if this is still a perk because I am not mentor but i don’t see any mentions of it as a perk online past 2020, so the only way to know is to join and see. I was able to confirm that those who joined WS Black after Jan. 31, 2019 will no longer be able to bring a guest to the lounge for free (it typically costs $27) but those who joined prior to that date will. Though I can’t tell you Wealth Simple’s rate of return on their RSPs. (It seems most of the info is members only, I think you could expect a consistent but relatively low ROR given that WealthSimple is a robo-advisor (automated). I would say somewhere between two to four percent would be a good number to expect.
Is there a minimum to get started?? This has piqued my interest, I’ve been pondering on investment for sometime but don’t know where to start.
Hi Armond,
There is no minimum to invest with WealthSimple, with the purpose of keeping it accessible to everyone, but they do recommend doing an automatic withdrawal for investing once a month, every few weeks or once a fortnight in order to build capital to start a healthy investment.
Hey Armond,
As Aaron mentioned, there’s no minimum balance required. But if you want to take advantage of their current offer you can sign up today and receive an extra $10 CASH if you’re opening a trade account after you deposit at least $100. If you’ve already signed up and downloaded the app you can enter the code “AVUH4A” in the “I was referred by someone” section and you’ll receive your $10 after you deposit and trade with your $100.
You can also sign up here: https://my.wealthsimple.com/app/public/trade-referral-signup?code=AVUH4A
Note that the trading accounts can also be setup under a TFSA/RRSP so that way you won’t have to pay taxes on any dividends or profits from stock rising.
The other interesting thing with Weslthsimple is that they offer ways to get your money managed for free. For example if you set up an automatic savings plan, you get $× managed for free for a year, same if you make a referral.
That’s so awesome Alya Jinah, thanks so much for telling us. I’m sure our readers who are considering investing with Wealth Simple will appreciate knowing this. Thanks again.
I have a Personal account with Wealthsimple.
Are there $ penalties / fees that get applied if I wanted to take the money out of the investments and back into my Chequing account?
Hi James,
According to the WealthSimple website help section, they do not charge any other fees besides the management fee, so they do not charge anything for “withdrawals, transfer outs or leaving your account with a zero balance,” according to them.
Hey does anyone know if you can use Wealthsimple Trade when you are travelling abroad. I live in Canada.
Hey Selvan, I just contacted Wealth Simple customer service for you and they say as long as you set up two-factor authentication on your account, you will be able to use Wealthsimple Trade abroad. Call 1-855-255-9038 if you need help setting it up.
The Wealthsimple review article is very informative for me. It has helped me to understand what I enrolled for.
Great Gilbert,
Glad we could help.
Any idea when their cash card will be released?
Hi Vinny,
All it says on WealthSimple’s website is that it will be released “in the coming months.” I am sure it has been delayed due to the pandemic.
I appreciate the simplicity of Wealthsimple. Also, I receive dividend payments which are rolled back into my RRSP. The amount of the dividends is more than the fee which is charged. I never received dividends from the bank, credit union, or a financial advisor.
Good to know Mary, perhaps that will incentivize more people to give WealthSimple a try.
Wealthsimple also allows you to manage your own portfolio. I have found their commissions to be lower than anywhere else.
So the fees are an annual rate, but I am charged monthly? So this means that I will be charged 0.5% per month on my account balance? For example $50 per month for an account balance of $10,000?
Hi Mitch, thanks for your question. Here’s what Wealth Simple’s actual website says regarding their fee breakdown:
Here’s our investment management fee breakdown (effective May 1, 2018):
Account Balance Fee
First $99,999 0.50%
Above $100,000 0.40%
“We calculate the fee on a daily basis by dividing the annual fee by 365 days and applying it to the closing market value of your portfolio on that day. These daily portions are added together and charged to your account monthly.
In short, our fee is quoted annually, calculated daily, and applied monthly. The end result for you, as a Wealthsimple client, is that your account will see a small charge each month.
One thing to note is that these fees do not include the management fees charged by the managers of the investment funds that you hold. These fund management fees are referred to as the management expense ratio (the “MER”) and are expected to be about ~0.2% annually.”
Hope that helps, thanks for your question.
I think this article needs some updates. First, Wealthsimple Trade makes it a great tool for those who do want to build their own portfolio, either by investing in ETFs or handpicking individual companies.
They are also about to roll out a chequing account-like features to Wealthsimple Cash, which can have a huge impact on the way we bank.
Wealthsimple also support business account which is great for incorporated contractors, like myself, who would rather keep their surplus money in the company for tax deference purposes but do not want to lose it to inflation.
There are also downsides, like clunky mobile app, that may crash or get irresponsive, and a rather strange fact that some operations are only supported by a browser and some only by the mobile app. Their Support response time can be very long. Ditto the money transfers that can take up to 2 weeks. It cost me hundreds of dollars because of the missed stocks rally, but of course could have saved them had the market went down instead.
Hello, was just wondering if i made an account with wealthsimple but never used it , would I still be charged the fees?
Hi Daniel,
We appreciate you coming to GreedyRates and inquiring about Wealthsimple—one of our favorite investing tools. A great feature of Wealthsimple is that there is no inactivity fee, which is especially favorable given that peers often charge $25 or more for inactive accounts. Additionally, if you have no money in your Wealthsimple account then management fees don’t apply to you. You could therefore have a Wealthsimple account and be charged nothing for it at any time, but we’d double check with Wealthsimple staff before writing fees off entirely. Thanks again!
GreedyRates
I love WealthSimple. I’m not one to closely watch the market so this works great for me! Plus love the Roundup feature!
Lack of physical branches is not a weakness at all. Can’t remember the last time I really wanted to visit a branch. Only reason to do is because banks like TD force me to. As for investment quality and fees, it’d have been a more interesting article if it compared QuestWealth, NestWealth, Planswell etc. A bunch of them now. WealthSimple was itself a copy of WealthFront in the US, not really a novel idea, and it’s now far behind what others offer.
Hey Phoenix,
Great comment. We agree that online banks are absolutely perfect for many cardholders these days, especially now that people are used to communicating and enjoying services from their phones exclusively. There are very few reasons why someone would need to go into a physical bank branch, and by cutting out these largely outdated brick and mortar locations, banks like Meridian (motusbank) are able to offer significantly more lucrative financial products. Totally worth it in our opinion!
GreedyRates