Axos Invest vs. Wealthfront

A good thing about investing algorithms is that they cost much less to maintain than actual human financial advisors. Some cost less than humans, but oddly enough, some even cost nothing at all.

Investing and growing your money rather than putting it in your mattress might be a good idea since cash is susceptible to erosion by inflation, which no one is fond of (except maybe some forex brokers).

Thankfully, robo-advisors invest money for you at a low price (both in terms of fees and time investment), which is why they’ve been getting so popular lately and disrupting the wealth-management industry at large.

Check here quick comparison of these two robo-advisors, side-by-side:

General Comparison and Overview 🔎

So… What are these robo-whatevers, how can they make me money, and how can there be a free one? These are reasonable questions, and this article is here to answer them quickly and in a straightforward manner, so no one gets a headache and falls asleep.

Competing with the powers that be and climbing up the ladder is difficult, even with a competitive offer like Axos Invest’s.

More precisely, we will focus on Axos Invest, formerly known as Wisebanyan, and Wealthfront. The former is the interesting free service mentioned above, and the latter is one of the industry’s top dogs at the moment.

So, let’s see if this underdog’s free service is worth it, or if it’s more profitable for you to stick with a well-known robo-advisor like Wealthfront.

What is Axos Invest? 🤔

Axos Invest appeared when a US financial giant, Axos Financial, bought the robo-advisory service, Wisebanyan. The original company was founded in 2013 and is well-known for its free wealth management service.

This is not one of the biggest robo-advisors today, with just over $150 million in assets under management, but the service has been well-received for its accessible platform and innovative features.

What is Wealthfront? 💭

Since it was founded in 2014, Wealthfront has become one of the leading players in the robo-advisor industry. With over $20billion in assets under management, the company retains its high status with a reliable, innovative service. Wealthfront is a fully-digital service with low starting requirements and a platform designed for ease of use, and cost-reduction for clients.

Planning and Portfolio Strategy 📅

Every successful investment journey starts with a good plan, but not everyone has the know-how to make one. Luckily, modern advisory services have methods to help you make an ideal strategy to reach your goals, even if you’re a complete beginner.

Robo-advisors like Axos Invest and Wealthfront have two very similar approaches, as their planning is fully-digital and without human assistance. Moreover, these investing platforms have tools that can help you create an effective portfolio that suits your goals, even if you are not a financial expert. Let’s see how these two services are different when it comes to planning.

Axos Invest – Easy And Customizable 🖼️

The planning process at Axos Invest starts with a thorough questionnaire. Here, you will input data like your age, income, expenses, etc., after which you’ll write down your financial goals. If you want to have a comfortable retirement by the time you’re 60, the platform will calculate how much you’ll have to invest to reach that goal, giving you an idea of what you have to do.

If it turns out your initial goal is harder to reach than expected, you can tweak your plan until the platform gives you a prediction that you like. Your goals are divided into “Milestones” on Axos Invest’s platform and will help you keep track of your portfolio’s progress.

Every time you inch a step closer to buying a house or saving up for college, the platform will notify you so you know you’re on the right track. You can also make paired goals, which means that two people with two separate accounts can invest in a single goal together.

That’s all very handy, but how does Axos invest your money? Like most robos, including Wealthfront, Axos Invest uses the modern portfolio theory, which means the company will buy a diverse range of assets for you to keep risks down and give you a portfolio with a predictable rate of growth.

This method offers some flexibility, though. Based on what you’re looking for, you can lower or increase your portfolio’s risk tolerance. Increasing it will give you greater potential returns with increased volatility while the opposite option is better for safe money preservation.

Further Automation ⚙️

To further automate and optimize your investing experience, you can set up “formulas”. This feature lets you tell the platform to draw a limited amount of money from your bank and buy a certain product if it goes “on-sale”. This is a good way to seize a profitable opportunity in time without bothering yourself with manual investing.

There’s a lot going on with your money here, but it’s easy to keep an eye out on everything. The platform allows you to monitor your plan’s progress from your mobile device and your portfolio will be automatically rebalanced on a regular basis. With all this, your account can be left on autopilot for the most part, but there’s a catch.

If you want this robo-advisors full set of handy features, you need to pay for them individually. These paid services include the Fast Money Package, which automatizes your regular monthly deposits. Automatic deposits will be made directly from a linked bank account on set dates, and Axos won’t draw money if there isn’t enough on your bank account.

If you’re looking to open an IRA, that also comes with a price. The requirement for opening an IRA is buying Axos Invest’s Tax Protection Package, which will take a small percentage off your portfolio at the end of each month.

All in all, Axos Invest’s planning system is very easy to use and has similarities to Wealthfront, with a few additional features. For an account that’s free for the most part, the planning tools you get at Axos are very handy, especially for new investors who don’t want to spend a lot of time on research and calculations.

If you like this robo so far, check out the full Axos Invest review to see the capabilities of this platform in more detail. We will also take a look at some of Axos’ paid services in the next section, but first – how does Wealthfront compare to this?

Wealthfront – Comprehensive And Beginner-Friendly 😎

Setting your portfolio up on Wealthfront starts with its unique planning system called “Path”. The first thing you’ll have to do is fill out a questionnaire, similar to the one at Axos, but a bit more detailed. Aside from the basic data like your age, income, etc., you can also input important financial events like a sabbatical, which is always an important factor.

After all of your data is inside the system, you need to choose one or multiple financial goals like retirement, buying a house, or saving up for college tuition fees. The platform will then give you a prediction and show you how you can accomplish your goals. If you don’t like the first prediction

you get, you can always tweak the metrics until you reach a plan that’s realistic and purposeful.

If you have more than one financial goal, don’t worry. Unlike Axos, Wealthfront’s platform allows you to invest in separate goals individually using the same account. In case one of your goals isn’t progressing as quickly as expected, the platform will notify you and recommend a solution. This might be depositing more money, changing your portfolio strategy, or even transferring assets from one goal to another.

As is the case with Axos, there is no human advice but Path is very detailed and will automatically make a tested portfolio that suits your preferences. There’s also the option to increase the level of risk tolerance if you want greater earning potential paired with higher volatility.

Keeping an eye out on all of this is easy due to the platform’s intuitive design and account aggregation capabilities. This means that you can link your external financial accounts to your Wealthfront account to get a holistic picture of all your assets. Having your banking data in the same place with your portfolio’s assets is a handy feature and it’s a shame that Axos doesn’t have it.

All in all, Wealthfront’s platform is a quick and simple way for new investors to create a proven portfolio mix for themselves without paying an advisor. This crucial characteristic, among some others, is why we’ve put Wealthfront so high on our list of thetop robo-advisors for this year.

Wealthfront and Axos approach planning in a similar manner and both cover all the basics very well. However, Axos allows users to fully customize their portfolio and further automatize investing using the platform’s formulas features. While Wealthfront’s planning system is laudable, it has limited customizability compared to Axos.

Pricing & Fees 💰

What gives modern robo-advisors an edge over traditional financial advisors, among other things, are the lower fees. A professional wealth management firm will likely charge between 1% and 2% annually for its services, whereas most robos range between 0.25% and 0.50%. That’s quite a difference, but it gets even better.

Since a low price is a way to increase demand, some companies like Axos Invest have started offering free robo-advisor services to get ahead of the competition. But, how can a service like this be free? There are a few things that need to be considered here, so let’s check out these two companies and see if a free advisor is truly worth more than a paid one.

Axos Invest – Not As Free As You Might Expect 💸

The minimum requirements for Axos Invest couldn’t be any more minimal. Opening an account costs 1$ which is technically not free, but practically allows anyone with some spare change to sign up. The basic robo-advisor service on a taxable account has zero fees, which is great, but the company has to make money somehow.

After you set everything up and start investing, Axos will try to upsell you some of their advanced services, which is the company’s main source of profit. One of these advanced products is the commonly used Tax Protection Package.

This package enables tax-loss harvesting on your account, which means your assets will be bought and sold in a way that reduces your taxes. This is a proven method used by many advisors and can increase your returns at the end of the year, which is always good.

This package is a requirement for an IRA and gives users access to selective trading. The ability to selectively trade means you can tell the platform to avoid or prioritize certain ETFs, which gives you a level of control over your portfolio.

The cost of the Tax Protection Package is 0.02% per month, which translates to 0.24% of your portfolio every year. Now consider this. Opening an account with Wealthfront will give you tax-loss harvesting and a level of portfolio customizability for a 0.25% fee, which is almost the same.

If you’re willing to pay another $3 per month, you can get the Portfolio Plus Package, which gives you access to dozens of new ETFs. What makes this feature very interesting is that it allows you to create a fully customized portfolio.

This is great for investors who feel confident about their knowledge. But even if that isn’t the case, this feature also opens up a few expert-made portfolio strategies you can use immediately.

Axos Invest’s basic account has low fees geared for new investors with a low starting capital. However, getting a full set of features will set you back $60 + 0.24% of your portfolio annually, which is not exactly good for low-balance investors. The paid bonus services are where the company makes a profit, but there’s one more reason why this service remains “free”.

Axos Financial, the father company, uses the robo-advisor service, among other things, to mine data from its clients. According to Axos Invest’s 2019 investor presentation, one of the company’s functions is to gather customer information in order to refer clients to other Axos Financial’s products. One of these other services is the Axos Bank, which has a noteworthy offer, as we will see in a moment.

Saving Cash With Axos 💵

Axos Invest doesn’t have a savings account or borrowing capabilities. However, the robo-advisor is a sister company of Axos Bank, where you can open a cash savings account, get a debit card, and borrow money as you would from any bank.

The APY at the Axos Bank is currently 1.30%, which is pretty good considering how low interest rates have fallen recently, and much better than what Wealthfront offers. You can also take out a personal loan from $5,000 up to $35,000 without collateral and with interest rates between 4.45% and 6.00%.

Wealthfront – Competitive Rates 💷

Meeting the starting requirements here isn’t as effortless as with Axos, but it’s still fairly easy. The minimum initial deposit is $500, which is on the low side, and the annual management fee is a reasonable 0.25%. This combo is competitive enough to attract the millennial audience, but Wealthfront’s true strength lies in its additional features.

As soon as you sign up, you get access to Wealthfront’s signature set of features, “PassivePlus”. The number of features you get increases as your portfolio grows, but right off the bat, you get tax-loss harvesting. This means that some of your assets will be sold at a loss come tax season which will leave you with fewer expenses at the end of the year.

The level of tax reduction may vary from the state you’re in and is capped at $3000 annually, but in most cases, it’s enough to negate the 0.25% management fee. This is the basic level, but things really get interesting when your portfolio grows a bit.

At the $100,000 mark, your account gets direct indexing. This means that Wealthfront will buy individual stocks, making an index just for you, and avoiding some taxes associated with buying mutual funds and ETFs.

Users can also use a service called risk parity. This is a method of diversified investing that should, in theory, reduce risks while increasing profits for the investor. Wealthfront has gotten mixed reviews concerning this service and some have even accused the company of underperforming with risk parity. This is not a proven investing method, but you can see if it works for you and opt out if you don’t see the profits you want.

Once you hit the $500,000 mark, things get slightly better still. At this point, users have access to Smart Beta, which is an advanced portfolio management service. Basically, Wealthfront will conduct deeper analysis and dedicate more care toward your portfolio, increasing your profits long-term.

When all is said and done, you can see that Wealthfront gets more profitable the more you invest, and it doesn’t start with an unsightly price either. If this robo-advisor seems interesting to you thus far, make sure to check out a complete Wealthfront review so you have the full picture of the service before signing up.

Wealthfront Cash and Borrow 💶

If you want to keep a part of your wealth liquid and ready to jump any time you smell an opportunity, you can stash your money in Wealthfront’s cash account. The current APY here is 0.26%, which is not very good-looking compared to Axos Bank or the 2.5% inflation rate. Still, interest rates are in a very low place at the moment, so this is still better than what many banks will give you.

Speaking of banks, you can also borrow money as a robo-advisor client. If you have over $25,000 on your portfolio, you can borrow an equivalent of up to 30% of your portfolio. The interest rate you have to pay can range from 4.75% to 6.00%, the same as Axos Bank.

Although Axos starts with no fees, users will be tempted to get the bonus features to maximize their yearly returns. The problem is that these features have a fixed price that can hurt investors with small starting portfolios – Axos Invest’s target audience. On the other hand, Wealthfront has a single, small, percentage-based fee that won’t hurt beginners’ portfolios. The fee gets bigger as your portfolio grows, but the bonus features kick in too, and without any additional expenses to worry about. Also, new investors get the first $5,000 managed for free, which is always very nice.

Investment Offerings 💳

If you are not able to acquire a certain asset through an investment platform due to the platform’s limited arsenal then you most likely will swap out to a different platform. Let’s take a look at what these platforms have to offer.

Axos Invest 📊

There’s an impressive list of ETFs you can choose from at Axos Invest. This includes stocks, government and corporate bonds, real estate and more. There’s also a number of exotic investments like marijuana stocks and blockchain stocks.

However, these lesser-known ETFs are only available if you get the Portfolio Plus Package, which will cost you, but you get access to a bucketload of interesting products. These include AI stocks, consumer staples stocks, digital security stocks, and many more.

Since the service was made with new investors in mind, you don’t need to deposit large sums in order to get your money to work. Axos will buy fractional shares for you, so there’s no idle cash sitting on your account. Also, a part of your portfolio will be held as cash for safety and flexibility, so the potential to make your portfolio diverse is there.

The range of offerings at Axos is extensive and doesn’t fall short compared to top robo-advisors, including Wealthfront, except for the fact that there is no socially-responsible investing available. The average expense ratio is 0.12% on the most popular ETFs, while the more exotic ones can vary.

Wealthfront 💎

The list of offerings is of similar length at Wealthfront, but with a few differences. As most robos, Wealthfront offers a bundle of ETFs but also mutual funds, bonds, and stocks. There are also investments in products like precious metals, real estate, and many commodities.

However, ETFs are Wealthfront’s real bread and butter. There are ETFs from 11 asset classes and the average portfolio usually has from 6 to 8, so there are quite a few options to diversify your wealth. What’s more, the average expense ratio of Wealthfront’s main ETFs ranges from 0.06% to  0.13%, which is very good.

Wealthfront isn’t the only big company with an impressive list of ETFs, though. Although this is a top robo-advisor, no one gives Wealthfront a harder time than its famous competitor, Betterment. If you like a good choice of ETFs, check out the Betterment vs Wealthfront comparison to see if one of the two most popular robos today might suit your preferences.

Both of these top advisors have a feature that Axos Invest doesn’t provide, and that is socially-responsible investing. If you want your investing path to follow a certain ethical framework, this feature might be able to help.

Essentially, this means that you can pick a number of “green” companies you like and the platform will invest in their stocks over some others. This feature becomes available at $100,000, but it will also cost you some time and effort since you have to choose and study these companies yourself.

Both companies offer an extensive list of profitable ETFs, but there are a few differences. Axos has a longer list of interesting, one might even say “exotic” ETFs that can become very profitable, while Wealthfront has socially-responsible investing. Picking one offer over the other is mostly a matter of preference, as each is valuable in its own way.

Platforms 📱

The more the merrier they say. A platform’s worth is determined by the number of tools and features it has to offer, as well as the whole user experience it provides.

Axos Invest 📊

The desktop platform’s UI is very basic but displays all the basic data you might want to see on a daily basis. For example, your portfolio is shown as a pie chart with exact asset allocation displayed right beside it.

The desktop experience is intuitive and looks nice, but it’s a bit too basic for some. For example, you can’t get a full financial report that includes all the hidden costs you have to pay. To calculate all these costs, and there are a few of them, you need to explore the FAQ section and hope you catch them all.

You can also open a side menu with features like deposit/withdraw, planning, overview, and a screen that allows you to buy upgrades for your account. Your portfolio’s progress can also be viewed as a chart that shows you the growth of your assets over time.

The mobile app mirrors the functionality and design of its desktop counterpart well. Since the platform is relatively limited in features, the lack of real estate you get on a mobile device doesn’t really limit the functionality of the app.

The user interface is easy to maneuver and doesn’t require much typing at all. Considering how handy it is, it’s definitely a good tool to have in your pocket. However, it falls short compared to Wealthront in a few areas, as we will see in a moment.

Wealthfront 💎

Robo-advisors are all about accessibility. That’s why Wealthfront’s desktop platform is very intuitive and easy to maneuver, even if you haven’t used similar software before. The dashboard shows all the basic info about your account, and you can access most features directly through it.

The main screen will show you the history and exact asset allocation of your portfolio, while the drop-down menus on the top of the screen give direct access to all the platform’s features. Basically, every feature can be reached through the dashboard and there’s no need for typing for the most part.

The mobile app mirrors the functionality of the desktop software almost perfectly. While there’s a bit less room for maneuvering on a mobile phone screen, the app still manages to be as easy-to-use as its desktop counterpart.

The only time you’ll need to type things in is while logging in and linking your external accounts to the platform. Remember, Wealthfront allows you to keep all your financial data in one place, which is why it might be more convenient for some than Axos Invest’s software.

Checking the progress of your portfolio, making transfers, and modifying your strategy is quick, but more importantly, it’s easy to get used to the system.  Basically, the workflow is straightforward and logical, making the mobile app a handy tool, even for beginner investors who do not have prior experience with a platform like this.

Both platforms were made for the same purpose – being super-convenient on a mobile device. Both of them do it very well too. Everything is accessible from the main screen and there’s no need to type, except when you’re logging in.
However, Wealthfront is noticeably handier because it has account aggregation. It’s good to have a full picture of all your finance at the same place at all times, which is why we think Wealthfront comes out on top here.

Customer Support 📞

First of all, Axos Invest doesn’t have a contact page on its website, which makes reaching the company a bit complicated. After digging around a bit, we looked for one of Axos Invest’s regulators, FINRA, and found a phone number there. But still, no email address.

The phone service is available 5 days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST, but it’s hard to determine the average waiting time. Users have complained about not being able to reach a phone service agent at all. In this case, a pre-recorded message will tell you to try again later or send your inquiry via email. Since the customer support email is seemingly impossible to find, the irony here seems worthy of Kafka’s novels.

Wealthfront has a phone and an email service, both of which are very reliable. We sent an email with a simple question about Wealthfront’s offer to see how responsive their customer support is, and we were pleasantly surprised. An answer came in just 3 hours and had some useful links to information that might be relevant to us. That’s very quick and the links were useful, so kudos to the customer support agent.

The phone service is available 5 days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT and the average waiting time is 2 minutes, which is pretty quick. The agents here are licensed professionals, so they can help you with most problems, from a lost password to some legal inquiries. It’s also possible to reach support via Wealthfront’s Twitter, but the aforementioned methods are a lot quicker.

Simply put, Axos Invest’s customer support has left a very bad impression on us. Everything from finding contact information to getting actual help is obscured and harder than it should be. If a client holds their entire retirement on a robo-advisor account, they should be able to get help quickly, and regularly. Wealthfront, on the other hand, has very quick and professional customer support, which is what any customer would expect.

Safety 🛡️

Axos Invest is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) which means that investors’ accounts are insured. The insurance covers up to $500,000 including $250,000 in cash, which is the typical level of protection among robo-advisors.

The platform has two-step authentication, and all the data contained within is protected with 256-bit encryption. This is the same level of data protection that Wealthfront, as well as most other robos have, and is considered very safe. If you want a free robo-advisor with superior military-grade protection, a company like M1 Finance might suit your needs better.

Wealthfront is also a member of the SIPC which guarantees the robo-advisor’s clients insurance of up to $500,000 in case the company goes bust. Owners of Wealthfront’s cash account get up to $1 million coverage, courtesy of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Keep in mind that the insurance of the robo-advisors’ account only applies if the company goes bankrupt, breaks its terms of agreement, or mismanages your money in a major way. If you lose money due to a change in the markets, it’s considered as your own loss, and won’t get refunded.

Both companies provide the same level of account security and money protection. Both robo-advisors are members of the SIPC, and Wealthfront’s cash account is protected by the FDIC, the same as Axos Bank.

Bottom Line: Which Service is Better For You? 🏁

If you want to start off easy and with zero expenses, then you’re Axos Invest’s target audience. The robo-advisor has an easy-to-use planning system and platform, like Wealthfront, but with a few unique perks like formulas and exotic ETFs. However, if you want to optimize the growth of your portfolio, the service isn’t free and costs as much as Wealthfront, or even more in some cases.

Wealthfront is also very accessible for new investors but provides more for users with portfolios over $100,000. Also, Wealthfront’s customer support is much more reliable than Axos Invest’s hard-to-reach customer service.

If you want to put your money on total autopilot safely and watch it grow steadily over time, Wealthfront might be a better option. On the other hand, Axos has great customizability and is very easy to try out due to its nonexistent entry fees.