Investing in the financial markets has been a rocky ride, recently. With the U.S. and global investment markets sinking, and then rebounding – somewhat – investors have a new found appreciation for cash. After nearly a decade of roughly zero returns on cash, those with uninvested funds can finally earn a decent yield on their cash balances.
Robo advisors were created to provide low fee investment management, and these fintech automated managers have delivered. In an effort to offer more to their clients, nearly all are expanding with additional services. In addition to financial advisors, customization with ETFs, cryptocurrency and active management, many provide high yield cash accounts.
Robo-Advisors with Human Financial Planner Access
Robo-advisor Cash Accounts
Since robo-advisors aren’t chartered as banks, most of the cash accounts partner with external banks. Without the cost of brick and mortar locations, robo-advisors can offer zero fee, high yield cash accounts. As the Fed raises interest rates, the yields on the robo advisory cash accounts are rising. Even if you don’t want to invest with a robo-advisor, you might consider opening a cash account to take advantage of the high interest payments. And, just like at a bank, these robo advisory cash accounts also carry FDIC insurance, to protect your principal, should the bank fail. All the robo advisor cash accounts offer free accounts and high yields.
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*Disclosure: Please note that this article may contain affiliate links which means that – at zero cost to you – I might earn a commission if you sign up or buy through the affiliate link.
Best Robo Advisor Cash Accounts
1. Wealthfront Cash Account
Wealthfront is our best all-digital robo-advisor. This legacy digital investment manager owns the Path Financial Advisor, which is the closest tool you’ll get to a human advisor.
Following are some of the top features at Wealthfront:
- Well crafted digital investment portfolios.
- Access to hundreds of additional ETFs to add to your Wealthfront portfolio, or to set up for management by Wealthfront.
- Daily tax loss harvesting.
- Path digital financial planner, programmed to answer 10,000+ money and investment questions.
- Many account types including trusts and 529 college planning accounts.
2. Empower Cash
The current Empower Personal Cash interest rate is 4.10% APY
Empower is our favorite automated investment advisor for FREE investment management tools. With a suite of retirement planning, savings and spending trackers, along with investment reports. For those with $100,000, the Empower Advisors team offers investment and financial management led by Certified Financial Planner advisors, for fees typically less than a traditional financial advisor.
Following are some of the top features at Personal Capital:
- FREE investment management tools.
- Able to link outside accounts for a 360 degree view of financial circumstances.
- Empower Wealth Management Advisors provide a range of services, including investment management and assistance with tax and estate planning.
- Fees are below those of traditional financial advisors.
3. M1 Spend
M1 High Yield Interest Rate – 5.0% APY*
M1 Spend is the high yield cash account associated with the M1 Finance investment manager. One of the most unique robo-advisors, M1 Finance offers over 65 customized investment portfolios and the opportunity to invest in the thousands of stocks and ETFs, for free, with no investment management cost. The company will rebalance all of your investments according to your preferred asset allocation.
Following are some of the top features at M1 Finance:
- Customized investment portfolios including, global income, retirement, general investing, hedge fund replica, sustainable investing and more.
- The screener enables you to craft a personal stock and/or ETF portfolio, in addition to the customized option.
- Crypto portfolios are coming soon!
- Fee free investment management or added features for just $125 per year. Click here for a free 3 month trial of M1 Finance Plus.
4. Betterment
The current Betterment cash reserve interest rate is 4.50% APY.** The rate will vary, based upon market interest rates.
The Betterment robo advisor offers investment management, cryptocurrency portfolios, sustainable investing and various other investment options. For an additional fee, investors can access human financial advisors. The goal-focused saving and investing differentiate Betterment, with the opportunity to save and invest within various goal-based buckets. Betterment’s Cash Reserve account, administered through partner banks, offers a solid return on your money and the mobile-first, Betterment checking is ideal for every day cash needs.
Following are some of the top features at Betterment:
- Comprehensive goal based investment manager with low fees.
- Impact sustainable investing, smart beta strategies, income only and innovative technology portfolios.
- Crypto currency portfolios (coming soon).
- Tax loss harvesting.
- Access to financial advisors, for an added low fee.
Best Robo Advisor for High Yield Cash Accounts – Wrap up
The volatile investment markets along with rising interest rates reminds investors that cash is an important asset class. It’s important to keep a cash stash for emergencies, vacation planning or any financial goal coming up within the next few years. With checking privileges at several of the robo advisory cash accounts, it’s becoming easy to keep all of your investing and cash management under one roof. Just be aware that as interest rates change, so will the yield on your robo-advisory cash account. Also, for those who crave a branch visit, you might be best served with a cash account at a traditional bank.
Related
- Wealthfront Cash Account Review
- Empower Cash Review
- M1 Finance Promo Codes
- Betterment Cash Reserve and Checking Review
- M1 Finance vs Betterment
Disclosure: Please note that this article may contain affiliate links which means that – at zero cost to you – I might earn a commission if you sign up or buy through the affiliate link. That said, I never recommend anything I don’t believe is valuable
Empower compensates Stocktrades Ltd for new leads. Stocktrades Ltd is not an investment client of Empower.
*Betterment is not a licensed tax advisor. Tax Loss Harvesting+ (TLH+) is not suitable for all investors. Read more at https://www.betterment.com/legal/tax-loss-harvesting and consider your personal circumstances before deciding whether to utilize Betterment’s TLH+ feature. Investing involves risk. Performance not guaranteed.
**Cash Reserve is only available to clients of Betterment LLC, which is not a bank, and cash transfers to program banks are conducted through the clients’ brokerage accounts at Betterment Securities. For Cash Reserve (“CR”), Betterment LLC only receives compensation from our program banks; Betterment LLC and Betterment Securities do not charge fees on your CR balance. Checking accounts and the Betterment Visa Debit Card provided and issued by nbkc bank, Member FDIC. Checking made available through Betterment Financial LLC. Neither Betterment Financial LLC, nor any of their affiliates, is a bank. Betterment Financial LLC reimburses ATM fees and the Visa® 1% foreign transaction fee worldwide, everywhere Visa is accepted.
