Best Blooom Alternatives and Competitors

Your 401(k) and IRA retirement plans are most likely your two largest (and most important) investment accounts. And as you inch closer to your target retirement date, you may want help managing your portfolio to ensure you have the ideal asset allocation.

Blooom pioneered independent retirement portfolio reviews and automatic rebalancing. They helped subscribers optimize their potential returns based on their investment goals and risk tolerance. Paid members could also ask their investment questions to licensed advisors.

Dealing with Blooom meant avoiding the high fees brokers charge to manage your investments.

Sadly, Blooom shut down in November 2022, leaving members with the challenge of finding another managed 401(k) service. If you’re still looking for a Blooom replacement, I’ve compiled the following list of Blooom alternatives.

What Happened to Blooom?

Blooom sent an unexpected notice to subscribers on November 17, 2022, that the service would be permanently shutting down immediately and that prorated membership plan refunds would be issued shortly. 

While Blooom assured members their retirement investments remain intact (Blooom only had third-party portfolio access), there wasn’t a preset arrangement to switch to a different service.

So, while the Blooom leadership team has joined Morgan Stanley and is working on (what appears to be) a similar management service, investors are scrambling to find a Blooom replacement.

For now, content on the Blooom website has been reduced to a set of FAQs clarifying what users can expect from the robo-advisor in the future and what data security practices are in place.

Best Blooom Alternatives

While it’s disappointing that Blooom is no longer available, several Blooom alternatives exist. 

As you will see, there are many options for managed IRAs. However, your options for hands-on help with a 401(k) and employer-provided plans are limited, which is why Blooom was so unique.

Personal Capital

While many investors use Personal Capital for its free financial planning tools, they also offer managed brokerage and retirement accounts (including 401(k)s!) with a minimum $100,000 portfolio balance and access to financial advisors. 

When you sign on with Personal Capital, you can enjoy these free tools:

• Net worth tracker
• Savings goals
• Retirement planner
• Investment portfolio analyzer
• Investment fee analyzer

The free tools are perfect for self-directed portfolios. For example, you can use portfolio analysis tools to determine if your ETFs and mutual funds have above-average expense ratios and if your asset allocation fits your retirement goals and risk tolerance.

Another free feature is the Personal Capital Cash Account. It earns a competitive interest rate, currently 4.70% APY, similar to a high-yield savings account and is federally insured for up to $2 million. 

Wealth Management Services

You become eligible for Personal Capital’s wealth management services when you let them manage at least $100,000 in investments. After linking your accounts and speaking with a fiduciary advisor, you will receive a personalized investment plan.

Personal Capital can manage your taxable brokerage, IRA, and workplace retirement accounts. In this way, it’s similar to Blooom. However, the high asset requirement makes it unrealistic for new investors.

Your portfolio balance will determine your investment options and the extent of financial advisor access you can receive. Find out more in our Personal Capital Review.

Shared investment features include:

• Traditional and socially responsible investing
• Dynamic portfolio allocation (i.e., risk management)
• Tax-loss harvesting
• Optimized tax location
• Automatic rebalance

Supported Accounts

• Taxable
• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• SEP IRA
• Self-directed IRA
• Employer-sponsored retirement plans – 401(k), 403b, TSP

Pricing

• The financial planning tools are free, but you must self-manage your account.
• The annual advisory fee for managed Wealth Management accounts starts at 0.89% for balances up to $1 million. To enroll in this service, you must invest at least $100,000 through Personal Capital.

Why We Like It

• Free investment checkups and retirement planning tools
• Financial advisor access
• Wealth management services
• Can manage employer-provided retirement accounts

Learn more about Personal Capital

Wealthfront

As one of the oldest robo-advisors, Wealthfront has an established and loyal customer base with more than $31 billion in assets under management. While these factors don’t guarantee this service will remain open for the rest of your investing career, it’s likely one of the safest from a financial perspective.

Wealthfront also has several automated investing features:

• Classic (Modern Portfolio Theory) and socially responsible portfolios
• Direct indexing (account balances above $100,000 only)
• Tax-loss harvesting

You can easily create a curated portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are automatically rebalanced and tax-optimized.

Wealthfront investment options include the following:

• Stock index funds
• Bond ETFs
• Sector ETFs
• Commodity ETFs
• Cryptocurrency trusts
• Specialized investment funds (i.e., dividend funds, risk parity, FinTech, emerging markets)

Investment accounts are eligible for up to $500,000 in SIPC insurance (up to $250,000 for cash deposits).  

You can also use Wealthfront for your day-to-day banking by opening a high-yield cash management account. This feature offers up to $2 million in FDIC insurance and over 19,000 fee-free ATMs. 

Instead of a 401(k) loan, the Portfolio Line of Credit feature lets you borrow up to 30% of your portfolio at an interest rate that may be lower than a personal loan.   

Unfortunately, Wealthfront doesn’t offer human financial advisor access like other premium robo-advisors. However, there is a software-based financial advice engine and a learning library that can help you learn more about investing. Learn more in our Wealthfront Review.

Wealthfront Supported Accounts

• Taxable
• Traditional IRA
• Rollover IRA
• Roth IRA
• SEP IRA
• 529 College Savings Plans
• Cash management

Pricing

• All accounts charge a 0.25% annual advisory fee.

Why We Like It

• Multiple account options
• Many investment options
• Tax-optimized investing
• Direct indexing
• Simple pricing structure

Further Reading: Should I Roll Over my 401(k)?

Learn more about Wealthfront

Betterment

Like Wealthfront, Betterment is another longstanding robo-advisor that offers many hands-on features. One key difference between Betterment and Wealthfront is that the former offers financial advisor access. 

But while Betterment provides 401(k)s for employers, they don’t offer a Solo 401(k). You can, however, easily roll your 401(k) into an IRA.

Betterment provides the following managed investment solutions:

• Core (Modern Portfolio Theory with stock and bond index funds)
• Socially responsible (Broad Impact, Climate Impact, Social Impact)
• Crypto Investing
• BlackRock Target Income Portfolio (100% bonds)
• Goldman Sachs Smart Beta
• Innovative technology

With Betterment, tax-loss harvesting, tax-optimized asset locations, automatic rebalancing, and dividend reinvestment are standard for all equity investment accounts. 

All stock investing accounts provide you with access to a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) for an additional 0.15% advisory fee (0.40% total). No minimum account balance is necessary to activate this feature (there was previously a $100,000 minimum). 

You can also open a Betterment Checking or Cash Reserve account. Both accounts are FDIC-insured and don’t charge service fees or require a minimum balance. 

Cash Reserve can substitute for a high-yield savings account with up to $1 million in FDIC insurance benefits and savings buckets for individual goals.

The Betterment Checking account has access to a free debit card and worldwide ATM fee reimbursements. Account balances are FDIC-insured up to $250,000. It’s also possible to earn cash back at participating merchants, and joint checking accounts are available. For more information, check out our Betterment Review.

Supported Accounts

• Taxable
• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• SEP IRA
• Betterment 401(k)
• Trust accounts
• Cash management
• Checking account

Pricing

• Investing accounts have a 0.25% annual advisory fee. Adding CFP access bumps the annual fee up to 0.40%.
• Crypto accounts have a 1.00% annual advisory fee plus trading expenses. 
• The Betterment Checking and Cash Reserve accounts are fee-free.
• No accounts have a minimum balance requirement, but a $10 investment order applies.

Why We Like It

• Many investment options
• Supports employer-provided 401(k) plans 
• Tax-optimized investing
• Financial advisor access
• Checking and Cash Reserve accounts

Further Reading: Betterment Promotions & Special Offers

Learn more about Betterment

Vanguard

Vanguard is a leading provider of self-managed IRAs and workplace retirement accounts. They have low fees, and the best Vanguard funds allow you to diversify your portfolio with stocks and bonds.

Vanguard offers managed services that can help automate asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing. And while you may miss the independent viewpoint that Blooom provided, you may be able to save on fees.

Vanguard has two services for individual investors:

• Vanguard Digital Advisor: Minimum $3,000 balance for brokerage accounts ($5 for 401(k) plans) and a 0.20% annual advisory fee. This is a fully-automated robo-advisor without access to licensed advisors.
• Vanguard Personal Advisor: Minimum $50,000 balance and up to 0.30% advisory fee. You can receive a personalized investment plan, financial advisor access, and automated tax-loss harvesting.

Supported Accounts

• Taxable brokerage
• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• Rollover IRA

Pricing

The entry-level Digital Advisor service costs up to 0.20% per year, and the first 90 days are free. Additionally, the minimum balance is $3,000 for most accounts.

Vanguard Personal Advisor has a maximum 0.30% advisory fee and requires at least $50,000 in investable assets.

Why We Like It

• Managed accounts
• Competitive advisory fees
• Vanguard 401(k) plans are eligible

Fidelity

Fidelity is a popular 401(k) provider and one of the best discount brokers, with several accounts and investment options for individual investors. 

New investors can open a Fidelity Go robo-advisor account with a $0 minimum balance (you need at least $10 to invest.) You’ll get a managed portfolio of stocks and bonds, and there are no advisory fees for accounts with fewer than $25,000.

After crossing the $25,000 threshold, you can schedule unlimited 1-on-1 coaching calls with the platform’s advisory team. The annual advisory fee is 0.25%. 

Your portfolio can hold Fidelity Flex®index mutual funds with no expense ratio or trading commissions. 

A dedicated advisor is available if you have at least $250,000 in assets and upgrade to their Wealth Management service. For more information, check out our Fidelity vs. Vanguard comparison.

Supported Accounts

• Taxable
• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• Rollover IRA

Pricing

The Fidelity Go advisory fee is 0% for accounts under $25,000 and 0.25% for higher balances.

Why We Like It

• Potentially no account fees.
• Automatic rebalancing
• Multiple investment options
• No-fee Fidelity Zero index funds

Further Reading: Best Fidelity Promotions

Blooom Alternatives: Final Thoughts

There are plenty of Blooom alternatives that offer managed investment plans, competitive fees, and similar investment strategies. Depending on the service you choose, you can chat with a human advisor or get 1-on-1 support. 

The first step is to find out what advisory services your current broker offers because that would be the simplest way forward. A lot of brokers have added services that they might not have been great about marketing.

That said, a robo-advisor like Betterment or Wealthfront is a worthy fit for traditional and Roth IRAs. In addition, they can also manage your taxable accounts, making tax-coordinated investing easier; plus, you can monitor your portfolios on the same platform, which makes managing your money much easier.