The Best Robo-Advisors in Canada for November 2023 and Beyond

Robo-advisors use a combination of technology and hand-holding to help you manage a portfolio of investments. We rank the nine best robo-advisors in Canada here.

Modern technology has changed the world unprecedentedly, particularly in the financial space. In the past, investing money was reserved for those connecting to financial institutions via a financial planner or banker who could assist a person with managing their money. High commissions also made it impossible for the average person to invest.

However, investment applications have made the stock market available to accredited and non-accredited investors, and rock-bottom commissions have also made it possible for those with even a couple hundred dollars to start.

Some people are more traditional and prefer not to make all the decisions themselves. After all, few people have the time to learn everything there is to know about the stock market. This is why a unique new field has emerged in recent years. Robo advising has grown in popularity in countries worldwide due to its hands-off approach to portfolio management.

This low-cost blend of human expertise with computer algorithms has helped many people earn market-average or even market-beating returns in their investment portfolios. In this guide, we will explain what a robo-advisor is, the pros and cons of utilizing one, and 9 of the best robo-advisors to consider in Canada. 

What is a robo-advisor?

First and foremost, it's important to dive deeper into what exactly a robo-advisor is to decide if they're right for you. In short, a robo-advisor is a computer algorithm which manages your wealth on your behalf and makes investment decisions based on what it knows about you. 

Robo-advisors remove the need to work with a financial advisor directly and often offer lower management fees through their platform. This entire process takes place online, meaning a person doesn't need to visit a financial institution to reap the benefits of this service. 

How do robo-advisors work?

With the 'what' regarding a robo-advisor explained, let's dive deeper into the 'how' of the whole thing. When a person signs up for a robo-advisor platform, they will be asked several questions regarding their income, investment goals, experience with investing, and more. 

With all this information considered, a robo-advisor will provide you with financial advice and information on responsible investing.

After your account is funded, the robo-advisor will automatically build your entire investment portfolio using a strategy built from your provided information. For example, suppose you indicated that you had a high-risk tolerance. In that case, the robo-advisor may invest your funds in assets with higher risk yet potentially greater awards. 

A person can also allow the robo-advisor to automatically rebalance their portfolio over time to attempt to achieve a targeted return, and some platforms even offer tax-loss harvesting. With this strategy, a robo-advisor will sell assets at a loss to offset the taxes owed on gains from other investments. 

Common services offered by robo-advisors

Beyond all of the above, there are several services offered by robo-advisors which are worth looking at if you are considering signing up for a platform. These services include:

• Automated Investments: Perhaps the biggest and most notable service robo-advisors offer is automated investing. Essentially, the account owner just needs to set a date when funds are automatically deposited into the investment account; then, the robo-advisor will choose where those funds get allocated to in the pre-built portfolio.
• Automated Rebalancing of a Portfolio: One foundation of success regarding investing is rebalancing a portfolio. This refers to trying to bring the actual values of a portfolio back to the level outlined by your investment strategy. For example, pulling funds out of a certain asset class and putting them into another to bring your allocations up and down to your targets, respectively. Robo-advisors can take care of this task on behalf of an investor automatically, typically once a quarter or biannually. 
• Personalized Financial Planning Services: Certain robo-advising platforms will also offer personalized financial planning services, which can run the gamut of basic financial advice to completely customized plans. Be aware, though, that certain robo-advising platforms will only provide some services off the bat and will only make more available as you have more assets on the platform.
• Unique Investment Strategies: As mentioned before, tax-loss harvesting is an example of a unique investment strategy that requires skill and knowledge to pull off. Given that the average investor isn't aware of such strategies, robo-advisors have built-in functionalities that allow the average investor to execute them. 
• Goal-based Accounts: Most robo-advisor accounts a person sets up will be standard taxable investment accounts. However, certain robo-advisor platforms also allow one to set up goal-based accounts, such as those targeting college or child savings. 
• General Banking Services: There are generally two types of robo-advising platforms in Canada: standalone and comprehensive. A standalone robo-advising platform offers the robo-advisor service, and that's it, no bells and whistles. On the other hand, a comprehensive robo-advising platform is typically offered by a bank or other financial institution. It includes the full suite of banking services the organization offers.

When considering different robo-advisor platforms, think about what you hope to get from the platform itself. Suppose all you need is a simple robo-advisor to manage your money, so you don't need to think about it. In that case, a standalone advisor with automatic investing and rebalancing may be all you need.

However, if you are seeking a platform which offers financial advice, banking services, and advanced investment strategies in addition to the benefits mentioned above, a comprehensive robo-advisory services platform may be better. 

What are the best robo-advisors in Canada? 

1. Wealthsimple Invest
2. BMO Smartfolio
3. Qtrade Guided Portfolios
4. Justwealth
5. Questwealth Portfolios
6. Modern Advisor
7. RBC InvestEase
8. CI Direct Investing
9. Nest Wealth

Nine robo-advisors in Canada stand out due to their low fees, beneficial services, and other perks. While each is a robust platform in its own right, we've ranked these nine robo-advisors from least recommended to most recommended for your consideration.

Nest Wealth

Currently, Nest Wealth's products are utilized by financial institutions across North America, including the National Bank of Canada, to help provide clients with investment experiences. The types of accounts supported by Nest Wealth include:

• Individual investment accounts
• Join investment accounts
• Corporate investment accounts

Accounts can be opened within 24-48 hours, meaning an investor can hit the ground running quickly. They also feature the lowest management fees in Canada, making them arguably the most budget-friendly option on this list.

Minimum Investment Amount: $0

Fees:

• Less than $10K - $5 per month
• $10K to Under $75K - $25 per month
• $75K to $150K - $50 per month
• $150K to $325K - $100 per month
• $325K and Above - $150 per month

Services:

• Personalized portfolios utilizing a direct investment approach
• Investments into ETFs and other asset classes
• Automatic rebalancing
• Passive investment capabilities 

CI Direct Investing

The team behind the technology is made up of registered portfolio managers, financial planners, traders, analysts, software engineers, and more, meaning you know you are in strong hands. 

CI Direct Investing boasts that they have no hidden fees and will even cover the cost of switching over to their platform from another institution (up to $150 so long as you transfer at least $25,000). 

They will also waive their transfer-out fees if you are unsatisfied with their service. All funds are protected under the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, which protects in the case of the custodians' insolvency for up to $1 million per account type. 

A person can choose from three primary account types depending on their goals and intended diversification: exchange-traded funds portfolio, goal-driven "impact" portfolios, and private portfolios, which invest in alternative or private assets. 

Minimum Investment Amount: $1,000

Fees:

• First $150,000 - 0.60% annually
• Next $350,000 - 0.40% annually
• Above $500,000 - 0.35% annually 

Services:

• Professionally managed portfolio with investment targets
• Rebalancing to ensure investment targets are maintained
• Access to professional advice from a Certified Financial Planner 

RBC InvestEase

1. The timeframe an investor has
2. How much the person is planning to invest
3. How an investor feels about potential risk

With the above information, the RBC InvestEase platform can build an investment plan for all Canadians who sign up. At this point, a person must choose between four accounts offered by RBC InvestEase.

The first of these accounts is a tax-free savings account that allows a specific amount of contributions annually, depending on what the Canadian government sets the limit for that year. You can access the money at any time for any reason.

The second account RBC InvestEase offers is an RRSP account, a registered retirement savings plan. Taxes are deferred until retirement, and account holders can even take tax deductions on annual contributions. A major benefit RBC InvestEase offers is that funds can be pulled out to buy a home or go to school.

The third account provided by the platform is an FHSA or first home savings account, which, as you guessed, allows you to pay no taxes on earnings or withdrawals to save for a home. Contributions can be up to $8,000 per year tax-free, with a lifetime limit of $40,000 as of August 2023.

Finally, RBC InvestEase offers a Non-Registered account, your standard everyday investment account. Account holders also gain access to the comprehensive RBC mobile app, which allows them to set scheduled deposits, review account information, and more.

Minimum Investment Amount: $100

Fees:

• 0.5% management fee on the total investment balance

Services:

• Access to four different investment accounts or a suite of ETF portfolios
• Access to the RBC InvestEase mobile application
• Automated deposits and rebalancing

Modern Advisor

Another significant benefit of the platform is that the first $10,000 is managed for free, meaning the average investor will not need to pay a fee for some time. 

The accounts offered by Modern Advisor are broad and include the following:

• Individual Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
• Tax-free Savings Accounts
• Individual Registered Retirement Income
• Spousal RRIF
• Individual Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
• Family RESP
• Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA)
• Joint Right of Survivorship Account
• Non-registered Accounts

Given that Modern Advisor is an ETF investment platform, you may be curious about which ETFs they invest in as a part of their strategy. Their robo-advisor, depending on your indicated preferences, will invest funds into some of the following categories:

1. Core ETF Portfolios: 0.16% average MER
2. Socially Responsible ETF Portfolios: 0.23% average MER
3. Harmony Portfolios: 0.21% average MER
4. BCV Actively Managed Portfolios: 0.24% average MER
5. Guardian Capital Core Portfolios: 0.23% average MER
6. Guardian Capital Sustainable Portfolios: 0.29% average MER 
7. High-Interest Savings Portfolio: 0.16% average MER

Minimum Investment Amount: $0

Fees:

• Typically 0.50% to 0.75% variable 

Services:

• Multiple account types
• ETF investing across multiple portfolio types 

Questwealth Portfolios

On top of this, a team of service agents is ready to help should they be needed. 

Portfolios under Questwealth are automatically rebalanced should market conditions change drastically, meaning investment targets will likely be hit. Questwealth offers 12 different types of accounts spanning everything from standard short-term investment, educational-focused savings, and retirement accounts. 

Minimum Investment Amount: $1,000

Fees:

• Up to $100,000 - 0.25% management fee
• After $100,000 - 0.20% management fee

Services:

• Self-directed investing and pre-built portfolio investing options 
• Socially responsible investing options to tackle topical political issues
• Active management combined with robo advising 
• Automatic portfolio rebalancing amidst economic turbulence 

Justwealth

The account types offered by Justwealth include:

• Registered Retirement Savings Plan
• Spousal Registered Retirement Savings Plan
• Registered Retirement Income Fund
• Tax-free Savings Account
• Non-registered Account
• Registered Educational Savings Plan
• Locked-in Retirement Account
• Life Income Fund

Minimum Investment Amount: 

• $5,000 for all non-RESP accounts 
• $0 for all RESP accounts

Fees:

• Minimum $4.99 per month for all account types excluding RESPs
• Up to $500,000 - 0.50% management fee
• Above $500,000 - 0.40% management fee

Services

• Eight different investment amount types to consider choosing from
• Daily portfolio monitoring to ensure alignment with investment goals
• Automatic passive investment 

Qtrade Guided Portfolios

Users simply need to complete a goal-based questionnaire so that Qtrade can gain a sense of your investment goals; then, they will build a portfolio on your behalf and invest the funds you deposit.

Accounts offered by Qtrade are relatively simple, which is a minor downside, and include a basic investment account, tax-free growth account, retirement account, and educational-savings account. One significant benefit to QTrade's platform is that it provides access to its entire learning suite, which empowers investors to learn how to make investment decisions. 

Minimum Investment Amount: $2,000

Fees:

• $2000 to $100,000 - 0.60% annual management fee
• Next $400,000 - 0.50% annual management fee
• Next $500,000 - 0.40% annual management fee
• Above $1 million - 0.35% annual management fee

Services:

• Personalized portfolio recommendations to ensure alignment with goals
• Ongoing portfolio monitoring 
• Automatic rebalancing to keep investment goals intact
• Regular reporting so that the account holder can monitor account progress

BMO Smartfolio

• Maximum Growth

• Capital Growth
• Balanced
• Conservative Growth
• Income

Each of the above models places a different weight on equity vs. fixed income, entirely based on an investor's personal risk preference. 

Minimum Investment Amount: $5,000

Fees:

• 0.60% of your account balance plus;
• $4 per month platform fee

Services:

• Active portfolio management aligned with investment goals
• Automatic portfolio rebalancing
• Access to BMO Smart Portfolio Advisors for investment-related questions

Wealthsimple Invest

• Classic Portfolio: This is the classic smart and diversified ETF portfolio that invests across numerous asset classes and is built for steady growth in the long term.

• Socially Responsible Investing: This second portfolio focuses on investing in sustainable companies around the globe. This way, a person knows they're investing in companies that are helping make the world a better place. 
• High-Interest Savings Portfolio: This specialty account earns an investor a high interest rate in a portfolio designed to be shielded from market volatility, and money can be withdrawn at any time. 
• Halal Investing: Finally, what makes Welathsimple Invest particularly unique, is there Halal Investing portfolio, which is carefully screened to comply with Islamic law.

When a person transfers $5,000 or more, Wealthsimple Invest will even reimburse them for switching from their old platform. Within each portfolio above, Wealtsimple offers accounts that save towards retirement, education, general life, and more. 

Minimum Investment Amount: $1

Fees:

• $1-$100,000: 0.50% annual management fee (Core Plan)
• $100,000-$500,000: 0.40% annual management fee (Premium Plan)
• Above $500,000: 0.20%-0.40% annual management fee, variable (Generation Plan)

Services: 

• Access to Wealthsimple Invest's "Learn" center, where various financial topics are discussed
• Automatic portfolio rebalancing, including dividend reinvestment
• Personalized portfolios depending on investment goals
• Automatic deposits on a scheduled basis
• Private credit investments (Premium, Generation)
• Tax loss harvesting (Premium, Generation)

Tips for choosing the right robo-advisor

Even after looking at the above robo-advisor services in Canada, you may not be sure which option is the best for you. Fortunately, several key tips can help a person narrow down the best choice.

• What type of customization are you looking for? The first item a person should look at when considering the best robo-advisor for their needs is the level of customization they require with their investments. For example, an investor interested in different asset classes beyond the basic stock market may need to use a robo-advisor that offers more complex features. 
• Do you want to learn as you invest or not? As mentioned, some robo-advising services offer customers the opportunity to learn through numerous resources on their site. This can empower investors to go off independently to make key investment decisions. However, some people truly prefer a "hands-off" approach. Think about which you need before settling on a robo-advisor. 
• Do you need additional financial services? Certain robo-advisor platforms will offer a full suite of comprehensive services. Still, these are often the more expensive platforms. If you don't need banking services, there is no point in paying the additional cost to access them. Consider this when looking at different robo-advisors. 
• Are your finances too complex as it is? In some cases, you may already have extremely complex and difficult to keep track of finances. If this is the situation, a complicated robo-advising platform with complex asset allocation strategies may not be of interest to you. Think about the platform's investment strategies and whether they will make your finances easier or more difficult to grasp. 

Are robo-advisors safe? 

One of the biggest concerns brought up by those considering signing up for a robo-advising platform in Canada is whether or not these platforms are safe. No investment is ever guaranteed to make money in the long run, but that doesn't mean it's unsafe. Canadian robo-advisors are regulated and have a legal responsibility to conduct business in the customer's best interest, meaning it's perfectly safe to use a robo-advisor. Be aware that robo-advising comes with just as much risk regarding investing as it does with a human, financial advisor, or DIY investing. 

Benefits of utilizing a robo-advisor 

Those on the fence about investing with a robo-advisor may be wise to look at some of the benefits of using such a platform. Some of the primary benefits of using a robo-advisor include:

• Robo-advisors are often cheaper than human financial advisors
• There are often low minimum investment amounts required if at all, to start investing with a robo-advisor
• Robo-advising allows more people to get involved with the stock market and investing as a whole
• Robo-advisors provide ongoing account management services to help you reach your financial goals
• Hands-off management means a person doesn't need to concern themselves with the 'how' and 'why' of investing if they don't want to

Downsides of utilizing a robo-advisor 

For all of the above benefits, it's also worth looking at some of the primary drawbacks to choosing a robo-advisor. The most notable of these include:

• Limited access to a human advisor means asking questions or for clarification can be difficult
• The investment choices offered by robo-advisors are often narrow in scope
• Robo-advisors may not 100% understand your goals off the information you provide, and may miss certain types of investments as a result
• The unique strategies offered by the robo-advisor may not be that beneficial 
• There is always the risk of losing money on a investment 

Robo-advisor FAQs

Who regulates robo-advisors?

Rest assured, robo-advising companies have a fiduciary duty to their clients, meaning an obligation to act in their best interest. As a result of this duty, robo-advisors in Canada are regulated by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC), Canada's primary investment industry regulatory organization for this purpose. Under these regulations, robo-advisors must deal fairly, honestly, and in good faith with all their clients. 

Do robo-advisors make money?

Like any other business, robo-advisors need to make money to stay operational. Some profits are earned from the fees assigned to investors. Still, income can also be garnered through the targeted marketing of financial services and products such as mortgages, insurance policies, and even credit cards. 

What is the average return on a robo-advisor?

The average return of a robo-advisor depends on the type of account you're investing in, the ETFs that the robo-advisor has purchased for you, and your overall risk tolerance. For example, someone in a high-interest savings portfolio at Wealthsimple will not earn as much as someone in a more aggressive portfolio.

When did robo-advising start?

Financial professionals around the world have used robo-advising since the early 2000s. Still, the technology was not actually made public until around 2008. In Canada, it took slightly longer for the technology to be accepted, as it wasn't until 2014 when Betterment and Wealthfront led the robo-advising charge in the country. 

Can robo-advisors make you rich?

Profits with robo-advisors, as with any medium for investing, are never guaranteed. Even a computer algorithm cannot be perfect when it comes to the stock market's volatility. However, pick the right portfolio for your needs, and the robo-advisor will likely be able to set you up for long-term success.