Ellevest Ellevest is a goal-focused wealth management platform designed by women for women. Ellevest is designed for high-net-worth investors who can invest at least $500,000.
Ellevest merged its automated investment account with Betterment. Existing Ellevest investment accounts were transferred to Betterment in April, and Ellevest will continue to offer financial planning and wealth management services.
Business Insider's personal finance team compared Ellevest Ellevest to comparable products and named it on our list of the best online financial advisors.
Pros and Cons
Ellevest Pros
- No minimum to open an account
- Access to CFPs
- Private wealth services and financial guidance are available
Ellevest Cons
- $12 monthly subscription fee
- High minimum to access private wealth services
- One-on-one financial planning is only 50% for Ellevest clients
- No longer offers investment services
Open an Account
$500,000
$12 per month
Pros
Cons
Ellevest is a comprehensive financial planning and wealth management platform for women.
Ellevest- Promotion: None at this time.
- Consider it if: You're looking for a one-stop shop for financial planning.
Compare Ellevest
Overview
Ellevest Ellevest is a woman-run investing and private wealth management platform for individual investors, offering a suite of financial planning services and tools for navigating change and coordinating estate plans.
Investment strategies tailored for women by Ellevest get you access to customized financial plans based on gender-specific salary curves and longevity data.
Ellevest stands out for its comprehensive educational resources and tools, including access to online workshops led by Ellevest financial planners. Plus, you'll receive monthly market insight from Dr. Sylvia Kwan, Ellevest's Chief Investment Officer. Ellevest is a fiduciary.
Ellevest's approach to savings and retirement planning was designed to close the wealth gap experienced by women. Ellevest welcomes all clients, including non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals.
Personalized financial planning with Ellevest is one of the platform's strongest perks. However, you should consider other platforms — such as our picks for the best stock trading apps — if you're searching for brokerage services and investment options as Ellevest no longer offers robo-advisory services.
Ways to Invest
Let's explore Ellevest's offerings.
Ellevest Private Wealth Management and Financial Planning
Ellevest applies a holistic approach to private wealth management focused on goal-based investing, tax optimization, and top-down asset allocation based on objective and risk tolerance.
Ellevest offers guidance on various wealth management topics, including navigating generational wealth, inheritance, impact investing, and private alternatives.
Closing the gender gap in investing with Ellevest includes financial planning features, such as consulting with certified divorce financial analysts (CDFA), tax professionals, and CFPs. Ellevest financial planners offer one-on-one advice and live events.
Available Ellevest multi-session financial planning packages include:
- Financial foundation package + unlimited support: Get two 60-minute phone calls, one 30-minute phone call, and one year of unlimited email conversations with a CFP for personalized day-to-day money management guidance. CFP can help with spending, saving, paying down debt, and retirement planning. This package costs $1,100 for Ellevest clients and $2,200 for non-clients.
- Comprehensive planning package: CFP helps you manage multiple financial goals, including homeownership, career changes, and more. You'll get two 60-minute calls and multiple "what-if" scenarios to strengthen your financial plan. This plan costs $1,599 for Ellevest clients and $3,198 for non-clients.
- Comprehensive planning + unlimited support: This package is best for folks looking to manage multiple overlapping financial goals. It includes three 60-minute video calls, unlimited emails, access to financial planning tools, and a financial planning portal. This package costs $2,080 for Ellevest clients and $4,160 for non-clients.
- Financial plan refresh package + unlimited support: Update your financial plan after a job change, moving, or another big life event. Get two 60-minute video calls, unlimited emails with a CFP, access to the financial planning portal, and an updated financial plan. This package costs $1,790 for Ellevest clients and $3,580 for non-clients.
Fees
Ellevest requires a $500,000 minimum for finanical planning and wealth management services. There is a $12 monthly subscription fee.
Private wealth management requires a $1 million minimum. Financial planning packages range from $1,100 to $2,080 for Ellevest clients and $2,200 to $4,160 for non-clients.
Trustworthiness
Ellevest has a D- status from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB usually rates companies on a scale of A+ to F. Ellevest's D- is a fairly low score.
BBB ratings can vary per investment app, but the bureau generally considers the following factors when evaluating businesses: type of business, time in business, customer complaint history, licensing and government actions, and advertising issues.
Ellevest's record is clear of any major lawsuits or scandals.
Alternatives
Here's how Ellevest compares to other robo-advisors.
Betterment
Ellevest and Betterment Investing are online trading and financial planning platforms offering advisor access and tax-smart strategies. Ellevest transferred its automated accounts to Betterment in April but will continue to offer wealth management and financial planning to high-net-worth investors.
It doesn't cost anything to open an account with Betterment, but you'll need to pay $10 to start investing (unless you use a $100,000 minimum premium account with Betterment). If you're interested in investing in cryptocurrencies or an automated investment account, Betterment is a better option. Betterment is also one of our picks for the best IRA accounts.
You can only use unlimited CFP guidance at Betterment if enrolled in the premium plan (which has a $100,000 minimum). Ellevest's wealth management account minimum is $500,000. That said, Ellevest clients get 50% off financial planning services.
Wealthfront
Compared to Ellevest, Wealthfront Investing is the better option for those searching for tax-bill-lowering strategies like tax-loss harvesting.
The platform offers a wider range of investments — including index funds and crypto trusts — and portfolio customization options. But it does require a $500 minimum for automated investing. Wealthfront is the best option for automated trading, as Ellevest no longer offers robo-advisory services after merging with Betterment.
Ellevest is a stronger choice for those who want access to financial planning. Wealthfront doesn't offer ongoing, one-on-one advisor guidance, but it offers a team of specialists to help answer any questions.
Why You Should Trust Us
We examined the Ellevest investing app using Business Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms to compare and examine account types, pricing, investment options, and overall customer experience when reviewing investing platforms. Platforms are given a rating between 1 and 5.
Investing platforms typically offer multiple assets, trading tools, and fees. Some platforms are better for more advanced or active investors, while others may better suit beginners and passive investors. Ellevest was evaluated, focusing on how it performed in each category.
Business Insider's Overall Ellevest Rating
| Feature | Our rating (out of 5) |
| Fees | 3.50 |
| Account features | 4.00 |
| Access | 4.00 |
| Ethics | 3.50 |
| Customer support | 4.00 |
| Overall score | 3.80 |
FAQs
What is Ellevest, and what makes it unique?
Ellevest is a comprehensive investment and financial management platform for women. It is unique in that it considers women's longer lifespans and salary curves to create long-term investment strategies and resources to empower women investors.
What are the fees associated with using Ellevest?
Ellevest requires no account minimums or annual advisory fees. To access Ellevest brokerage accounts and financial planning services, you must pay a $12 monthly subscription fee. Expense ratios for funds range from 0.05% to 0.19% for portfolios. Financial planning packages range from $1,100 to $2,080 for Ellevest clients and $2,200 to $4,160 for non-clients.
Is Ellevest only for women, or can anyone use the service?
Ellevest is designed specifically for women's financial needs and goals but can be used by clients of any gender. It is an inclusive platform that welcomes all clients, including non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals.
Sofi Active Invest: Investments are not FDIC-insured - Are not bank-guaranteed - May lose value - Automated investing is offered through SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser.
