free robo advisor

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Fidelity Go are the only truly "free" robo-advisors, meaning they do not charge an advisory fee regardless of account balance. Here's a detailed look at these two options:

1. **Schwab Intelligent Portfolios**:
- Schwab Intelligent Portfolios by Charles Schwab is a free robo-advisor that manages investments with no portfolio management fee for its basic entry-level tier.
- It includes automatic rebalancing and access to goal-setting and tracking tools, with most fund fees ranging from 0.02% to 0.19%.
- However, access to tax-loss harvesting is limited to customers with at least $50,000 in assets in a taxable portfolio.
- Schwab Intelligent Portfolios has a $5,000 account minimum.
2. **Fidelity Go**:
- Fidelity Go is another free robo-advisor that allows customers to invest for free up to $25,000, with a 0.35% advisory fee for accounts over $25,000.
- It uses Fidelity Flex® funds, which have 0% fund expenses, and offers unlimited coaching calls once the account reaches $25,000.
- Fidelity Go is backed by one of the largest investment firms and is best for beginners or for those who want to invest larger sums.

Both Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Fidelity Go utilize ETFs for building portfolios, which means that while they offer free advisory services, there are still fees associated with the ETFs themselves. Nevertheless, they provide a cost-effective way to manage investments with professional portfolio management without the high fees typically charged by traditional money managers.