Ellevest Review 2024: Empowering Women in Investing (2024)

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Ellevest is a goal-focused robo-advisor designed by women for women. Access globally diversified wealth strategies, including personalized planning and impact investing, for $12 a month. While Ellevest is open to all users, it's specifically geared toward women. You may want to look elsewhere if you're searching for features like tax-loss harvesting or joint accounts.

Business Insider's personal finance team compared Ellevest to comparable products and named it to our list of the best investing apps.

About Ellevest

Ellevest is a woman-run investing and private wealth management platform for individual investors to trade ETFs and mutual funds. Access a suite of financial planning services and tools for navigating change, managing your investments, and coordinating your estate plan.

Investment strategies tailored for women by Ellevest get you access to customized asset allocations and financial plans based on gender-specific salary curves and longevity data. The robo-advisor then considers your financial goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon to diversify a risk-optimized portfolio across 21 asset classes. Goldman Sachs acts as the custodian for Ellevest accounts.

The platform offers a range of retirement plans, including traditional and Roth IRAs, with access to online workshops led by Ellevest financial planners. Plus, you'll receive monthly market insight from Dr. Sylvia Kwan, Ellevest's Chief Investment Officer. Ellevest is a fiduciary.

Ellevest approach to savings and retirement planning was designed to close the wealth gap experienced by women, Ellevest welcomes all clients, including non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals.

Is Ellevest Right For You?

Overall, Ellevest is best for passive investorswho want personalized plans for individual investment or retirement accounts. It's a strong choice for those looking to merge automated investing with human advice. Personalized financial planning with Ellevest is one of the platform's strongest perks.

However, you should consider other platforms — such as our picks for the best stock trading apps — if you're searching for self-direct trading, joint accounts, custodial accounts, or features like tax-loss harvesting.

Ellevest: Overall Rating

Ellevest Pros and Cons

Is Ellevest Trustworthy?

Ellevest has a B- status from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB usually rates companies with a grade scale of A+ to F. A B- is a decent score.

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's record is clear of any major lawsuits or scandals.

Ways to Invest With Ellevest

Automated Investing Accounts

Ellevest offers 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 (ESG) portfolio. Fund fees range from 0.05% to 0.10% with Core portfolios.
• 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. Up to 53% of your funds will be invested in ESG and impact funds, This is a great option for investors looking to make an impact while reaching their financial goals. Fund fees range from 0.13% to 0.19%.

Impact Portfolios allow you to invest in companies that advance women in leadership, support loans for affordable housing, or encourage sustainable and ethical business practices. At this time, Ellevest does not offer a fund that invests 100% of your assets in impact investments.

All Ellevest portfolios mitigate risk with global diversification investments. You can invest in up to six investment portfolios with Ellevest, including one retirement portfolio. Available portfolio goals include:

• Build wealth
• Kids
• Home
• Splurge
• Business
• Retirement

Ellevest has an auto-deposit feature to set aside a portion of your paycheck into your Ellevest account. Other features include tax minimizing.

Retirement Accounts

If you're thinking about growing your retirement plan's savings the automated way, Ellevest provides a range of options. Invest in a traditional, Roth, or SEP IRA. It also supports IRA transfers and rollovers from an old 401(k) or 403(b).

Ellevest offers not just IRAs but comprehensive retirement plan guidance and advice based on the realities women experience, like longer lifespans, lower wages, and career breaks. Ellevest will even guide you on whether or not you should open a traditional or Roth IRA.

Private Wealth Management and Financial Planning

Ellevest applies a holistic approach to private wealth management focused on goal-based investing, tax optimization, and top-down asset allocation based on objective and risk tolerance. The minimum to access Private Wealth Management is $1 million.

Closing the gender gap in investing with Ellevest includes financial planning features, such as consulting with certified divorce financial analysts (CDFA), tax professionals, and CFPs. Ellevest financial planners offer one-on-one advice and live events.

Available Ellevest multi-session financial planning packages include:

• Financial foundation package + unlimited support: Get two 60-minute phone calls, one 30-minute phone call, and one year of unlimited email conversations with a CFP for personalized day-to-day money management guidance. CFP can help with spending, saving, paying down debt, and retirement planning. This package costs $1,100 for Ellevest clients and $2,200 for non-clients.
• Comprehensive planning package: CFP helps you manage multiple financial goals, including homeownership, career changes, and more. You'll get two 60-minute calls and multiple "what-if" scenarios to strengthen your financial plan. This plan costs $1,599 for Ellevest clients and $3,198 for non-clients.
• Comprehensive planning + unlimited support: Best for folks looking to manage multiple overlapping financial goals, this package gets you access to three 60-minute video calls, unlimited emails, access to financial planning tools, and a financial planning portal. This package costs $2,080 for Ellevest clients and $4,160 for non-clients.
• Financial plan refresh package + unlimited support: Update your financial plan after a job change, moving, or another big life event. Get two 60-minute video calls, unlimited emails with a CFP, access to the financial planning portal, and an updated financial plan. This package costs $1,790 for Ellevest clients and $3,580 for non-clients.

Ellevest Fees

Ellevest doesn't require a minimum to open an account, nor does it charge an advisory fee. However, there is a $12 monthly subscription fee. Funds expense ratios range from 0.05% to 0.10% for Core portfolios and from 0.13% to 0.19% for Impact portfolios.

Although there's no account minimum to open an Ellevest account, some portfolio options require a minimum of $1 to $240. Private wealth management requires a $1 million minimum. Financial planning packages range from $1,100 to $2,080 for Ellevest clients and $2,200 to $4,160 for non-clients.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ellevest

How Ellevest Compares

Ellevest vs. Betterment

Ellevest and Betterment Investing are robo-advisors offering personalized portfolios, socially responsible investment options, and human advisor access.

It doesn't cost anything to open an account with Betterment, 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, Betterment is a better option. Betterment is also one of our picks for the best IRA accounts.

You can only use unlimited CFP guidance at Betterment if 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 fee, as Ellevest clients only get 50% off financial planning services.

Betterment review

Ellevest vs. Wealthfront

Compared to Ellevest, Wealthfront Investing is the better option for those searching for tax-bill-lowering strategies like tax-loss harvesting. The platform offers a wider range of investments — including index funds and crypto trusts — and 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.

Wealthfront review

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Ellevest

We examined the Ellevest investing app using Personal Finance Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms to compare and examine account types, pricing, investment options, and overall customer experience when reviewing investing platforms. Platforms are given a rating between 0 and 5.

Investing platforms typically offer multiple assets, trading tools, and fees. Some investing platforms are better for more advanced or active investors, while others may better suit beginner and passive investors. Ellevest was evaluated with a focus on how it performed in each category.