Betterment and Personal Capital are pioneers since the early days of the robo-advisor industry but the similarities end quickly because they contrast starkly across key factors, like fees, tools, and human advice.
2018-09-22
Betterment began life as a pure robo-advisor. If you wanted a technology-powered algorithm to manage your money at low cost, Betterment was the place to go.
Over time, Betterment expanded from offering digital advice only to include human advice. It improved its service by adding tax-loss harvesting, tax-coordinated portfolios, and socially responsible investing portfolios.
Personal Capital took a different approach from the outset by pairing investors with dedicated human advisors. You got all the benefits of a robo-advisor along with human oversight, but at a higher annual cost.
Personal Capital also developed a world class mobile investment app, so you can view your day-to-day spending as well as your investments all in one place, and manage your budget while on-the-go.
Each offers enormous value to clients but when comparing Personal Capital vs Betterment, which is the best robo-advisor?
Table of Contents
Personal Capital vs Betterment
QUICK PERSONAL CAPITAL REVIEW
Over 1.8 million people use Personal Capital to track over $550 billion using its mobile app, which is world class.
The mobile app is available to all users, so you don’t have to be a Personal Capital investment client to track your spending, manage your budget, view your assets and liabilities, and monitor your investment accounts. It’s free to all users.
The “catch” when using the Personal Capital mobile app is the company gets to see your entire financial life and will invite you to consult with a dedicated financial advisor if you meet the minimum account levels to invest.
In our experience, the “up-sell” is not intrusive and feels more like an invitation that you can politely decline or accept.
Once you start using the mobile app, you will find that it is very well designed and may hook you. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself logging in daily to view your net worth, track your spending and keep tabs on loan balances.
If you choose to invest at Personal Capital, you will experience a white-glove service. You can think of Personal Capital as the luxury robo-advisor that holds your hand every step of the way by pairing you with a dedicated financial advisor as opposed to a team of live advisors or financial experts.
The fees you pay will be steeper than those charged by many top robo-advisors – you pay for the higher level of personal service.
Personal Capital charges 0.89% annually on assets managed. Still, you pay a good bit lower than what the average financial advisor charges and you get a whole lot more bang for your buck.
QUICK BETTERMENT REVIEW
Betterment began as the low-cost robo-advisor but has continually improved its offering over time to cater not only to customers who want pure digital advice but also to those who seek access to Chartered Financial Professionals.
As an early robo-advisor pioneer, Betterment has taken full advantage of its head-start over new up-and-comers by developing ever more tools and services to add value to customers. You can even donate to charity automatically via the Betterment platform.
Want to avoid so-called “sin stocks” that produce tobacco and alcohol? Or side-step companies with questionable track records of protecting customer data? Maybe you want to steer clear of companies that have polluted the oceans following oil spills?
Check. Check. Check. Betterment has you covered on all fronts with socially responsible investing portfolios, known as SRI portfolios.
Are you fee-savvy and tax-aware? Betterment charges some of the lowest fees among all robo-advisors and has one of the most comprehensive tax-advantaged setups in the industry, featuring not only tax-loss harvesting service but also tax-coordinated portfolios.
If you have an eye on retirement, Betterment delivers calculators, guides and tools to help you assess where you sit and what you need to do to reach your financial goals.
Fee Comparison: Betterment Vs Personal Capital
Personal Capital fees range from 0.49% to 0.89% but for most investors with less than $1 million, the higher fee will apply. Betterment fees start at 0.25% for its pure robo-advisor service and increase to 0.40% for a hybrid service that includes human advice.
Betterment imposes no account minimum to get started, so if you want to try out its service the hurdle is low.
When you deposit money, you will be charged 0.25% for Betterment Digital, its pure digital advice service.
Fees remain at 0.25% of assets managed as you deposit more money, so you know you are getting rock bottom pricing no matter how much or little you invest.
If you want access to human advice, Betterment does make available Chartered Financial Professionals to customers of its higher tier service, Betterment Premium. However, you will pay a bit more for this service – it costs 0.40% annually.
Personal Capital is more expensive from the get-go. It costs 0.89% up to the first million dollars deposited.
To qualify for a Personal Capital account, you need to deposit at least $100,000 so if you have less, Betterment is your only option.
Take note however that Betterment also imposes a $100,000 minimum for its higher tier service, Betterment Premium, but anyone can get started with Betterment Digital, which provides digital advice only.
The fees at Personal Capital decline on a sliding scale all the way down to 0.49% but you will need to pony up a hefty $10 million to qualify for its lowest rate.
The sliding scale of fees at Personal Capital is:
So what do these percentage charges mean in terms of how many dollars come out of your pocket?
Betterment Fees or Personal Capital Fees: Which Robo-Advisor Wins? Betterment is about half the cost of Personal Capital for equivalent service. For a pure robo-advisor service, Betterment is the only choice and charges fees in line with industry norms.
Personal Capital vs Betterment
|
Personal Capital | Betterment |
Individual non-retirement | Individual non-retirement |
Joint non-retirement | Joint non-retirement |
Traditional IRA | Traditional IRA |
Roth IRA | Roth IRA |
Rollover IRA | Rollover IRA |
SEP IRA | SEP IRA |
Trusts | Trusts |
Personal Capital will also advise on 529 Plans and 401(k) plans, though it won’t manage either.
Betterment vs Personal Capital
Overall Winner
Betterment wins on fees, a lower account minimum, range of services, and retirement tools while Personal Capital wins for its mobile app, dedicated financial advisors and tax strategy.
Personal Capital Wins | Betterment Wins |
✅ Human Advice: Personal Capital clients are paired with dedicated financial advisors, and clients with assets over $200,000 are assigned to two dedicated financial advisors. | ✅ Portfolio Management Fees: Betterment wins with low fees of 0.25% for Betterment Digital and 0.40% for Betterment Premium, a hybrid service that includes human advice via Chartered Financial Professionals. |
✅ Tax Strategy: Both robo-advisors do an excellent job on tax strategy, though if we had to pick one, Personal Capital would get the nod simply because it employs Smart Beta or Smart Indexing using individual securities as opposed to ETFs alone. | ✅ Account Minimum: Although both Personal Capital and Betterment have high minimums of $100,000 for clients who want access to human advice, Betterment is the clear winner for solely digital advice because it imposes no minimum to get started. |
✅ Mobile App: Clients and non-clients alike can take advantage of Personal Capital’s world class mobile app, which will track your budget, spending, savings, investments, assets and liabilities in an easy-to-use interface. | ✅ Goal Setting: Betterment relies on behavioral investing to help clients set financial goals and stick to them – plus you get the option to sweep unused cash into accounts that are dedicated to certain financial targets, such as saving for a new home or a car. |
✅ Tools: Clients enjoy a 401(k) fee analyzer as well as a budget tracker to monitor expenditures at no extra cost. | ✅ Retirement Planning: RetireGuide is a tool at Betterment that links to outside accounts and tracks how savings and financial objectives match to make sure you are on target with your financial aspirations. |
✅ Account Types: Personal Capital will advise on 529 Plans and 401(k) plans as well as manage taxable and retirement accounts, including rollover, traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs. | ✅ Expense Ratios: Betterment expense ratios range from 0.09% to 0.17% |
✅ Fractional Shares: No cash is left idle at Betterment thanks to its fractional shares feature, so you can be confident that your money if fully invested. |
Which Robo-Advisor Is Best For You: Personal Capital or Betterment?
Betterment has long been regarded as one of the top robo-advisors but Personal Capital offers stiff competition.
For investors with less than $100,000 to invest, the only option is Betterment because Personal Capital imposes that as a minimum. If you can meet that hurdle, you will pay higher fees at Personal Capital than at Betterment but you will also enjoy a higher level of service when paired with a dedicated financial advisor.
If your circumstances are more complex and access to human advisors is important, Personal Capital may be the better fit, and you will also get the bonus of a robo-advisor who has a clear focus on optimizing the all-important after-tax returns.
Betterment has a wide range of tools and calculators to help you stay on track to meet your financial goals while Personal Capital has an excellent mobile app to track budgeting, spending, and investments.
So, which is better when comparing Personal Capital vs Betterment? It’s a close call, but Betterment gets the nod overall because of its lower fees and account minimums.
INVESTORMINT FAVORITES
Could Your Breast Milk For Sale Make $1,800 Per Month?
5 Ways to Make Money Online in 2019
17 Ways to Live Rent Free Easily
How Do Life Insurance Companies Make Money?
What Is The Most Expensive Bottled Water?
What Does NordVPN Do?
Budgeting and accounting might not be the sexiest thing to talk about; in fact, a Listen Money Matters survey found that 0% of successful relationships began with a conversation about accounting software.
But, these tools are undeniably essential to our financial health. Why are budgets and accounting so important? Well, I’ll let former President Bush explain it,
“It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it. Numbers are important.”
Miss him, don’t ya? Accounting for our profit and losses will give us a much clearer picture of our financial health and will help inform our decisions on how to improve our financial situation.
If you’ve decided to start using accounting software to track your expenses, create a budget, manage investments, and improve your overall financial situation, you may have already done some research into the different options available.
Some of the most popular programs are Personal Capital, Mint, Quicken, and You Need a Budget (YNAB). But what types of features do these different accounting software options have, and how do they stack up against one other?
Below we provide you with the ultimate guide comparing these financial tools, including Personal Capital vs. Mint, Personal Capital vs. Quicken, Quicken vs. Mint and YNAB vs. Mint. Let’s get started with an overview of each.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital provides financial management services to more than 1.6 million users. It’s a free service that allows users to link all their financial accounts and manage their debts and assets from a single dashboard.
The software tracks and categorizes spending to give users a clear picture of their net worth and financial standing. Personal Capital also links to investment portfolios and retirement savings accounts to help users stay on track with their long-term financial goals.
As part of its service, Personal Capital enables users to communicate with financial experts who can offer advice about their investments and help optimize their finances.
Mint
Mint is an all-in-one money management tool. Some of its features, including bill tracking, budgeting, and investment tracking, are similar to those found with Personal Capital.
However, Mint also offers free credit score monitoring, allowing users to get their credit reports quickly. It also provides daily credit monitoring so that users can keep track of any changes to their scores.
You can view your Mint financial dashboard on your desktop or on your phone or tablet with a mobile app that’s available for Android and Apple devices.
Get our best money lessons:
Quicken
Those who are looking for alternatives to Mint often turn to Quicken. This software also provides users with an array of financial tools in one simple dashboard, but it differs from both Mint and Personal Capital in that users must pay for a subscription to the software.
There are different products available, and each comes with different features. The basic product has budgeting, bill management, and account integration, while the premier product offers free bill payment and tax and investment management, among other services.
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
You Need a Budget (YNAB) is another commonly used tool for people looking for Mint alternatives. It encourages users to focus on intentionality when it comes to their finances. The software features a number of billing, payment, and planning tools that encourage financial stability and help users eliminate their debt.
YNAB syncs with accounts and displays goals and progress in a variety of iterations. Users can also receive financial advice and tools through free video workshops with financial experts. YNAB is a paid service that has one flat monthly rate.
Personal Capital vs. Mint
Although Mint has long been one of the most popular financial tools, it is not necessarily the best choice for individuals who are truly looking to get a handle on their finances. When considering Personal Capital vs. Mint, one of the primary considerations is the different features each platform delivers.
Personal Capital | Mint |
---|---|
Financial Dashboard | Financial Dashboard |
Budgeting | Budgeting |
Investment Monitoring | Credit Report Monitoring |
Upsells Financial Advisors | Banner Ads |
Personal Capital and Mint both have financial dashboards with the monitoring of budgets, expenses, and savings. However, Personal Capital also offers investment monitoring.
Because of this, many users find that Personal Capital is a more comprehensive financial tool. On the other hand, Mint provides users with credit report monitoring, along with an optional paid credit reporting service.
Another important factor when evaluating Mint vs. Personal Capital is the monetization of advertisements. Mint generates revenue by selling banner ads and recommending service slots on its website and applications. Personal Capital monetizes its service by offering paid financial advisory services, which allows the application to run ad-free.
So, who is the winner when it comes to Mint vs. Personal Capital? The fact that Personal Capital enables users to track retirement plans and investments, in addition to standard billing and expenses, makes it preferable for individuals who are looking for a truly all-in-one financial management dashboard.
Personal Capital vs. Quicken
Personal Capital pulled ahead in the evaluation of Mint, but what about Personal Capital vs. Quicken? Both services allow users to monitor their savings and investments. They provide the ability to plan retirement savings and determine whether the user is on track to meet his or her savings goals.
For an added fee, users of Personal Capital can also access financial advisory services, a feature Quicken does not currently offer.
Personal Capital | Quicken |
---|---|
Monitors Savings and Investments | Monitors Savings and Investments |
Plan Retirement Savings | Plan Retirement Savings |
Investment Monitoring | Declining Usership |
Upsells Financial Advisors | Paid Software |
Perhaps one of the most telling aspects of Quicken is not its financial planning, but rather its markedly declining usership. The tool has been around for decades and, although its interface has been changed for more user-friendliness, it is still a primarily desktop-based application.
Racing BMW Car Game Features:- Easy customization and upgrade cars- Free cars and upgrade- Real drift physics- Improved car crash engine- Adventure asphalt city.
BMW Master is a great 3D racing game. You have chance to drive first in the world new BMW sport car, fantastic BMW i8. Drive your BMW i8 on the 5 different tracks and win all cup. You can drive in America, Spain, England, Germany and Russia. These different locations give you different terrain like city, beach & forest along with snowy and rainy conditions. Sep 12, 2007 BMW M3 Challenge - Full game - Download Download for free and play full version of BMW M3 Challenge, a(n) racing game, for PCs and laptops with Windows systems.Free and legal download. File type Full version. File size 345.9 MB. Last update Wednesday, September 12, 2007. Downloads 1773013. Downloads (7 days) 271.
Users cannot access all the tools available via desktop-based Quicken on their mobile devices, which might explain its decrease in popularity.
Today’s users want to be able to monitor their financial information quickly and conveniently. Personal Capital’s application gives it a significant advantage when evaluating Personal Capital vs. Quicken.
Mint vs. Quicken
Personal Capital pulled ahead of both Mint and Quicken, but how to these dashboards stack up when compared to one another? When looking at Mint vs. Quicken, it’s important to consider accessibility.
Mint has worked to optimize its accessibility for users, and the interface can be easily pulled up online on both Macs and PCs — and on mobile apps for Apple and Android.
Mint | Quicken |
---|---|
Monitors Savings and Investments | Monitors Savings and Investments |
Budgeting | Save Receipts |
Free | Printable Checks |
Desktop, Mobile, and Web | Paid Desktop Software |
While the tool is online, it is always kept up to date and users don’t have to worry about downloading more recent versions. With Quicken, users must download the software and the dashboard is mostly limited to desktop use.
One feature Quicken offers that Mint does not is check printing, which can be useful for users who write checks often (including business owners).
But honestly, who uses checks anymore besides Granny at Christmas?
We love you Gam Gam!
Users can also save receipts and other documents through Quicken, another feature that Mint does not currently offer.
In the contest of Quicken vs. Mint, the price is also a major factor. Mint is a free service, while Quicken is a paid software subscription. With price in mind, in addition to the overall accessibility of the interface, most would agree that Mint wins out over Quicken.
YNAB vs. Mint
YNAB is one of the most viable alternatives to Mint. Both financial services offer budgeting, access to multiple devices, account integration, and a smartphone app. The most significant differences between Mint vs. YNAB have to do with the services for which each tool specializes.
YNAB | Mint |
---|---|
Focus on Budgeting | Focus on Financial Monitoring |
Desktop, Mobile, and Web | Desktop, Mobile, and Web |
Free | Free |
While Mint is a comprehensive interface that provides users with many different financial monitoring services all in one place, YNAB takes a different approach. Rather than trying to do everything, YNAB focuses on doing one thing — budgeting — to a high degree of excellence.
Personal Capital Vs Mint Vs Clarity
Users agree that YNAB’s budgeting tools are superior when considering Mint vs. YNAB. Even though different aspects of Mint and YNAB will appeal to different users, the advantages that each service provides make them a pretty even match.
There is no clear winner when it comes to YNAB vs. Mint, although users may have a better experience with one over the other. YNAB is an especially viable option for individuals who are looking for comparable Mint alternatives.
Important considerations
Whether you are a Mint user looking for quality alternatives to Mint, or you’ve never used a financial planning service before, trying out a few different options can be beneficial. Begin by determining your goals and priorities.
Do you want an easy way to monitor your investments, a streamlined budgeting dashboard, live credit reporting, debt management or a combination of these services? Which features are the most important to you?
If you are primarily concerned with budgeting, billing, and spending, give YNAB a try. For comprehensive retirement monitoring, sign up for Personal Capital. Are accessibility and a user-friendly interface your main concerns? Mint may be your best bet.
One size does not fit all, and your choice of financial service should be compatible with your needs as a user, as well as your assets and financial goals.
Be sure to take stock of the specific things you need from a financial service so that you can make the best choice possible. Regardless of whether the financial tool you use is at the top of our evaluation or not, the most important thing is that your financial needs are being met.
Our financial service recommendation
Based on our analysis of Mint vs. Personal Capital, Personal Capital vs. Quicken, Quicken vs. Mint and Mint vs. YNAB, we recommend exploring Personal Capital. The fact that Personal Capital is free, comprehensive and user-friendly makes it a clear choice among users who are looking for Mint alternatives and want to easily monitor their budgets, investments and net worth.
Still, every user is different, and it’s important to invest some time into researching your options and determining which one is best for your specific needs. And always remember, no one wins when you talk about accounting software during a date. No one.
Budgeting apps can help users take more control of their money, and can be a great way for people to keep track of their money goals. You Need a Budget (YNAB), Mint, and Personal Capital are three great apps for budgeting. They each have a distinct purpose, so it’s important to consider your own goals before deciding which app is best for you.
Which Budgeting App Is the Best? Here’s the TLDR:
- YNAB is a user-friendly tool for those who want to keep close track of their budgets and financial goals so that they can allocate their money for specific needs. Designed for individuals and couples budgeting together, YNAB makes it easy to work toward financial goals, merge finances, and help you create long-term financial goals.
- Mint provides a comprehensive overview of bank and credit card accounts to track overall spending as well as your credit score, and customize budgets and alerts for easy day-to-day financial planning.
- Personal Capital is a one-stop shop for budgeting, financial tracking, and monitoring. You can also pay for extra features to keep track of your investments and is a great option for those with more complex financial spending and goals.
You Need a Budget: Good for couples or detailed-oriented users
Cost: $6.99/month
You Need a Budget (YNAB) is a great tool for people who are intense budgeters who want a lot of control and detail. It also is optimized for couples and merging finances. If you are working towards a financial goal or want a very insightful look into your financial habits, YNAB could be the app for you.
YNAB Features:
- Great for couples who are working together toward financial and saving goals
- Free online workshops for members
- Can create multiple saving goals that you can work on at the same time
- Active YNAB community on social media for tips, tricks, and hacks
The best part of YNAB is that you can see where every single dollar is going to in your account so that you can learn your spending habits so that you can make changes to best help you reach your financial goals. The app also syncs automatically so if you are sharing an account with your partner you can get instant details on where each other’s money is going and who is spending on what.
Mint: Great for a high level overview
Cost: Free
Overall, Mint is a great starting place if you want a high level overview of your accounts. It provides an “at a glance” view of your income, expenses, debt, and investments. It can easily sync your accounts and view your spending habits, giving you an idea of how much you save or spend every month.
Mint Features:
- Tracking bills and getting alerts for due dates
- Easily keep track of your credit score, with suggestions on how to improve it
- Alerts when there is unusual account activity
- Easily create financial decisions (large purchases or monthly saving goals) to help plan where your dollars are going
Mint is a great way for beginners to get a grasp on their money. It easily allows you to create monthly budgets to see how your money is coming in and out of your account, as well as helps you be on top of your bills and other financial tasks. The tips on how to keep a great credit score help beginners feel more confident about managing their money as well.
Personal Capital: Good for tracking investments and net worth
Cost: Budgeting features are free. Software for wealth management charges fees starting at 0.89%.
Personal Capital is a great choice if you have investments. The app makes it easy to view and track your net worth, and gives weekly updates on your portfolio performance. If you want a more detailed look at your investments, this app is a great choice.
Personal Capital Features:
- Breaks down your spending into multiple categories
- Set monthly spending targets
- Helps you with your retirement plan
- Offers financial planning and investment advice for a fee
- Includes net worth calculation, portfolio tracking, and identifying hidden fees
Personal Capital is a great app for a gaining specific insight on your day-to-day spending for those who want to have a tighter handle on their budget. In addition to budgeting, Personal Capital helps to manage our investments as well as saving and retirement, which is great for people who want to manage and grow their wealth as well. It’s a great app that helps users stay on top of their short-term and long-term financial goals.
Both Personal Capital and Mint offer budgeting and investment management tools for free. We compare them side-by-side to see which tool is best in our Mint vs Personal Capital Showdown.
Mint and Personal Capital are two web-based, money management platforms that are frequently compared to one another. While there are some similarities, the differences between the two render them very different services. Which you will prefer to work with will depend entirely on what you are looking for the platform to do.
Mint vs. Personal Capital–The Basic Comparison
Personal Capital Vs Mint Vs Quicken
Mint is an online personal budgeting platform. It pulls your entire financial life into one application. That includes your checking, savings, credit cards, investments, retirement accounts, and even your PayPal account. Mint enables you to look at your entire financial situation holistically, rather than in the bits and pieces.
Mint is one of the most popular budgeting applications available and is part of the TurboTax and Quicken families. The application enables you to manage virtually all aspects of your finances. And perhaps best of all, the application is completely free to use.
Driver booster 6.3 pro key youtube. Feb 22, 2019 IObit Driver Booster Pro 6.3.0.276 + Serial & Key IObit Driver Booster Pro 6.0.2.639 + Serial Key IObit Driver Booster Pro 6.3.0.276 Patch IObit Driver Booster Pro 6.3.0.276 Registration Key. May 28, 2019 Driver Booster Pro 6.3.0 Crack With Serial Key. Driver Booster Pro 6.3.0 Crack: Updated graphics drivers often give major Driver Booster Pro 6.3.0 Activation Key You can always get the latest graphics drivers for smoother streaming and media editing with Driver Booster 6.Moreover, most popular game components such as Game for windows software 3.5, XML 6.0, Silverlight 5,. Apr 04, 2019 ad1 IObit Driver Booster Pro 6.3 License Key Lifetime Full Version Iobit Driver Booster Pro 6.3 Key is a helpful and amazing tool that will always keep our PC up to date. It examines our framework consequently after establishment and furnishes us with an exhaustive rundown of our PC’s drivers with full data and on the.
Personal Capital has budgeting capabilities, but it’s primarily an investment service. They have an advisory team that can manage all aspects of your investments. But they also act as a financial aggregator, enabling you to link all of your financial accounts in much the same way that Mint does. That enables Personal Capital to act as an all-in-one financial management platform.
Personal Capital offers both a free version and a premium version. Both provide you with all of the tools and features available on the platform, however, the premium version offers active investment management.
Check It Out:Our Review of Personal Capital
Personal Capital vs. Mint – Budgeting Services
The purpose of these two management systems to is to keep track of your money and help you spend it wisely. A large part of that, of course, is proper budgeting. So, how do the two companies measure up?
Mint
The most important function of Mint is budgeting, and it is especially good in that department. You set up your account with Mint, then link all of your financial accounts. This will enable you to get the best use out of the service.
With all of your financial information available on the platform, you can get a snapshot of all of your finances using the Overview. It keeps totals on all of your accounts so that you can see the big picture. While Mint can aggregate all of your accounts within the application, their access to that information is “read only.” This means that they have no active control over your financial accounts.
Mint categorizes all of your financial activity. You can either rely on the default categories, or you can customize them to fit your own preferences. The application tracks all of your transactions, which enables you to both categorize and summarize your activity in each category.
This gives you an opportunity to create a specific budget, and then to measure your actual spending against your targets. The service can also compare how much you spend in each category compared to national averages. That can serve as another indication that you may be going over budget in certain categories.
Mint will also provide you with alerts. These will let you know when certain bills are coming due, or when you may be going over a credit limit.
The application also has a feature referred to as Mint Goals. This will help you to create goals in certain areas of your financial life, such as saving money, paying off debt, or saving for retirement. They provide tools to enable you to establish your goals, as well as to track your progress in reaching them.
Mint can also analyze various financial offers. For example, they can help you find the best interest rates on savings, the lowest rates on credit cards, the lowest investment fees, and the best IRA rollover offers available. That will help you to save money in seemingly small ways throughout your financial activity, that could seriously add up over time.
Bonus: Credit monitoring. Mint provides you with access to your free credit score. You can also learn how to improve your score. You will also receive credit monitoring alerts, in the event of suspicious activity. It will alert you any time Equifax receives new credit information from creditors. And unlike many other credit monitoring services, you are not required to provide credit card information in order to have access to the service.
Related:7 Tips for Effective and Stress-Free Budgeting
Personal Capital
Of course, Personal Capital also offers a budgeting option, albeit a much more limited one. Their built-in function enables you to follow your cash flow easily. This can provide you with insights into your spending habits, as well as allow you to view transactions in specific detail. You can summarize your activity on a monthly basis so that you know exactly where your money is going.
You’ll get access to their Cash Flow Analyzer, which helps you to establish a budget by tracking your income and expenses from all sources. This will make it easier to pay your bills on time, as well as track your spending. It can also help you to allocate money to long-term goals, such as saving for retirement or paying off debt.
Personal Capital also allows you to set monthly spending targets so that you can see whether or not you are staying within budget. You can also set specific budget targets, and the application will allow you to drill down into your spending to see exactly where you may be going off track.
Once again, these are only tools to help with your budgeting. They’re not nearly as comprehensive as the budgeting function offered by Mint.
Budgeting Winner: Mint, hands down
Personal Capital vs. Mint – Investing
If Personal Capital is soft on budgeting, Mint is similarly weak in regards to investing.
Mint
As you’d expect, Mint offers investment benefits… but they are very limited. Of course, the platform enables you to track your investment accounts, just as you would any other financial accounts. And while you can summarize your investments in one place, that’s about the extent of it. There is no investment advice offered, and no serious investment related tools exist on the platform. To actively manage your investments, you will have to use a different application.
One investment-related function that Mint does offer is fee analysis. They are able to highlight expenses that are hidden even on investment statements. This can include advisory fees, transaction fees, and 401(k) fees. It’s more an extension of the Mint budgeting function, but it does have a secondary benefit on the investment side.
Personal Capital
Meanwhile, Personal Capital excels with investing. In fact, it’s what they’re mostly about.
The paid version of Personal Capital acts as both an investment management service, and a financial account aggregator. That means that while you can benefit from direct investment management, you will always have sight of the big picture of your financial situation, even apart from your investments.
Learn More:The Four Hidden Fees of Mutual Funds
But even the free version offers a personalized analysis of your financial situation (the “Investment Checkup”). This includes an assessment of the risks and opportunities that may be available to you. You are also assigned a personal advisor, whom you can contact at any time for advice.
Both versions come with the various features, including the retirement planner, the 401(k) analyzer, the investment checkup, and the mobile app. Let’s take a closer look at some of those features:
- Personal Capital provides a 401(k) analyzer. They don’t actually manage your plan, but they can analyze it to make asset allocation suggestions that are based on the investments available in the plan.
- The Retirement Planner helps you to know if you’re adequately prepared for retirement. You can build certain information into the planner, such as the amount of your annual contributions. You can also incorporate major life events into the plan, such as saving for college or the birth of a child.
- With all of your financial accounts entered into the platform, Personal Capital can evaluate your asset allocation. Then, it can either make changes in the accounts that it directly manages or suggest changes in non-managed accounts, such as your 401(k).
- If you do go with the premium service, you can take advantage of Personal Capital’s investment management. This requires a minimum of $25,000 under management and is subject to the fee schedule listed below.
By determining your risk tolerance, personal preferences, and life goals, Personal Capital can design an investment portfolio to help you reach those goals. They make use of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), which focuses primarily on proper asset allocation. Your portfolio is comprised of a mix of index funds, but will also include individual securities if your portfolio is at least $100,000. Your portfolio is invested in a mix of US stocks, US bonds, international stocks, international bonds, and certain alternative investments, including commodities.
Personal Capital has also incorporated tax optimization into the investment strategy, though this is available only for the paid service. This strategy makes use of tax loss harvesting, which involves selling losing investments in order to offset gains on the sale of winning positions. This strategy keeps short-term capital gains to a minimum.
It also focuses on tax allocation, which is the process of having various asset types in the accounts where they will have the lowest tax liability. For example, high-yield stocks and real estate investment trusts are held in tax-deferred accounts, so that the steady stream of income will not be immediately taxable. Meanwhile, assets likely to incur capital gains are held in regular taxable accounts, for favorable long-term capital gains treatment.
Personal Capital also offers its Private Client Group, for individuals who invest $1 million or more with the service. This will grant you a progressively lower fee structure, as well as personalized investment and wealth planning. They also provide direct access to a certified financial planner, as well as to a team of licensed advisers.
Investing Winner: Personal Capital, hands down
Personal Capital vs. Mint – Fees
Mint doesn’t charge any fees in connection with the use of their service, so that makes it pretty easy to compare the two in relation to expense.
Likewise, Personal Capital doesn’t charge a fee for its financial dashboard. You can manage your finances, including your investments, without charge.
Personal Capital does charge a fee if you want it to manage your investments. Here are the investment fees, which are based on assets under management:
- 0.89% of the first $1 million
- 0.79% of the next $2 million (up to $3 million)
- 0.69% of the next $2 million (up to $5 million)
- 0.59% of the next $5 million (up to $10 million)
- 0.49% on balances over $10 million
One of the major advantages is that the above fees are all-inclusive. Personal Capital does not charge additional fees, such as commissions, account administration, or other investment fees. It’s all included in the one fee, which is based on the amount of assets under management.
However, since Personal Capital also serves as an investment aggregator, you can have financial accounts on the platform that are not actually under management. This can include your 401(k) plan, as well as any investments that you choose not to include as managed accounts. Personal Capital will aggregate those accounts, but the fee that it charges will not extend to the balances in those accounts.
Fee Winner: Tie. With both services, you can manage your finances for free. Personal Capital charges a fee to manage your investments, a service that Mint doesn’t offer.
Personal Capital vs. Mint – Which is the Better Choice?
If you’re looking for a pure budgeting software application, Mint is by far the better choice. But if you’re looking primarily for investment management, perhaps with some budget assistance, then Personal Capital will work best.
In truth, however, you don’t even need to choose between the two. Since each company holds strengths in very different areas from the other, you can choose Personal Capital for your investing activities and Mint for budgeting. Talk about a win-win!
Topics:Budget
Comments are closed.
Author
Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.