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Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is Charles Schwab's algorithm-driven robo-advisor, offering customizable portfolios of low-cost ETFs across multiple fund families with no advisory fees or commissions. The pioneering discount brokerage allocates a large percentage of your investment portfolio as cash, making it a good option for conservative investors.
Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
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Insider’s Rating
4.66/5
Perks
Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios considers your financial goals, the amount you're investing, time horizon, and risk tolerance to customize a diverse portfolio of low-cost ETFs (this also includes Schwab ETFs).
Account Minimum
$5,000
Pros
- No advisory fees
- Automatic rebalancing; portfolio re-adjusts back to target allocation any time you withdraw or add funds
- More than 51 ETFs available (including Schwab ETFs)
- 24/7 customer support
Cons
- $5,000 minimum is on the higher side
- Tax-loss harvesting only available for those with $40,000 in their account
Insider’s Take
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is one of the best robo-advisors for hands-off investors in search of automated investment portfolios and access to goal planning, multiple types of accounts, and features like tax-loss harvesting.
Product Details
- Promotion: Referred users can get up to $1,000
- Mobile app ratings: 4.8 iOS/3.8 Android
Overview of Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is a comprehensive robo-advisor for automated portfolio management and goal-planning strategies. As one of the best robo-advisors for account flexibility, Intelligent Portfolios builds and manages your Schwab portfolio to help you reach your goals.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is one of the two automated investing accounts Charles Schwab offers — the other being Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium. Intelligent Portfolios is available in both a web and a mobile form for a $5,000 minimum account. This is higher than most robo-advisors on the market. But Schwab's lack of advisory fees makes up for it.
Automated investment management by Schwab considers your financial goals, the amount you're investing, time horizon, and risk tolerance to tailor to your individual needs.
Charles Schwab's holistic, automated management is best for beginners and conservative investors who prefer a hands-off wealth-building and retirement investing approach. However, its high minimum and cash-risk management strategy may dissuade some investors.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios: Overall Rating
| Feature | Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Fees | 4.50 |
| Investment selection | 4.50 |
| Access | 4.65 |
| Ethics | 4.75 |
| Customer service | 5.00 |
| Overall score | 4.66 |
Ways to Invest with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
Individual and Joint Brokerage Automated Accounts
To set up a diversified ETF portfolio with Schwab Intelligent Portfolio, you'll need to figure out your initial investment amount, goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon (i.e., how long you want to invest). As for its investment mix, Schwab can build more than 80 portfolio variations from the following:
- 51 ETFs that range across more than 20 expanded asset classes; Schwab professionals select and monitor these funds
- Three key investment strategies: Global, U.S.-focused, and Income Focused
- Six risk profiles: Conservative, moderately conservative, moderate, moderate growth, aggressive, and aggressive growth.
Joint brokerage account options include joint tenants with rights of survivorship, tenants in common, and community property.
Schwab builds, monitors, and automatically rebalances portfolios based on your evolving financial situation and changing market conditions so you can reach your goals. Moreover, Schwab emphasizes the importance of cash in your investment portfolio as a way to mitigate risk and volatility.
The allocated cash is stored in an income-earning Charles Schwab bank account. You'll get automatic access to the Sweep Program when you sign up with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. The interest rate on cash balances is set on the first business day of every month. The current interest rate is 4.92% APY (as of May 1, 2024).
Retirement Accounts
You can open an account with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for retirement savings and long-term wealth building. The following retirement account options as an automated investing account.
- Traditional IRAs
- Roth IRAs
- SEP IRAs
- SIMPLE IRAs
- Rollover IRAs
Custodial Accounts
A parent or guardian can open an automated custodial savings account (UGMA/UTMA) on behalf of a minor. Once the beneficiary reaches 18 or 21 (depending on the state), they gain control of the account and can use the funds as they see fit.
You can unlock tax advantages, compound growth, and comprehensive financial planning tools by investing in a custodial brokerage account for your kid. If Schwab Intelligent Portfolios doesn't seem like a good fit, you can check out our roundup of the best custodial accounts for more options.
Trust Accounts
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios offers a revocable living trust account for people who want to pass on their assets to a beneficiary after the original account owner has died. You can specify where their assets will go and the number of trustees so that you can save time and money for your heirs. Plus, you'll avoid applicable estate taxes. If you want, you can make your beneficiary a trustee, allowing them to manage the account.
Charles Schwab advises investors interested in setting up a revocable living trust to contact an estate planning attorney or tax professional to develop a thorough estate plan.
Investment Options
You can only invest in ETFs with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. The platform offers 51 different ETFs and over 20 asset classes. including:
- US stocks and international stocks
- US REITs and international REITs
- US and international high-dividend stocks
- US treasuries
- US corporate bonds
- Preferred securities
- Precious metals, like gold and silver
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Fees
To open Schwab Intelligent Portfolios you need a $5,000 minimum. This is higher than similar robo-advisors like Fidelity, but Schwab Intelligent doesn't charge an annual advisory fee or commissions. Other additional costs of Schwab Intelligent Portfolios include expense ratios, which average around 0.05% per trade.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium has a $25,000 minimum, $300 one-time planning fee, and $30 monthly advisory fee.
Pros and Cons Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
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Is Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Trustworthy?
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios itself doesn't have an individual Better Business Bureau profile, but the BBB gives Charles Schwab an A+ rating, the highest rating a company can receive.
Bureau ratings are mainly based on its opinion of how well a business interacts with its customers, but it also considers the following: type of business, time in business, customer complaint history, advertising issues, and licensing and government actions.
In June 2022, Charles Schwab settled a lawsuit with the SEC for charges accusing the business of hiding robo-advisor fees from its users. Charles Schwab neither admitted nor denied these claims, but agreed to pay a $187 million settlement.
How Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Compares
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios vs. Fidelity
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Fidelity Investments both offer a broad range of self-directed and automated account options. Fidelity's robo-advisor, Fidelity Go, is the equivalent of Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. It has a $0 minimum requirement, and Fidelity users with balances under $25,000 don't have to pay advisory fees.
Once you reach the $25,000 mark with Fidelity Go, you'll incur advisory fees (it charges 0.35% for accounts with balances of $25,000 or more). But you'll also get unlimited access to a one-on-one consultation with a Fidelity financial advisor.Fidelity Go is a more cost-effective robo-advisor for smaller account balances with a lower minimum requirement to access unlimited CFP guidance.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is better suited for investors with larger account balances. They will easily surpass the minimum balance requirement to open an account and can unlock CFP guidance (plus other Schwab Intelligent Portfolio Premium features) when they deposit at least $25,000. Unlock Fidelity, there are no annual advisory fees for larger accounts.
Fidelity Go review
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios vs. Betterment
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Betterment Investing both strictly offer automated investing, making them ideal for hands-off investors who want a self-managing portfolio. Both platforms include tax-loss harvesting and portfolio rebalancing. Each platform only uses ETFs.
You'll pay more in advisory fees at Betterment, but you'll need less to get started. Betterment's digital plan has a $0 minimum, whereas Schwab requires $5,000. However, a $100,000 account minimum is required to unlock ongoing CFP guidance. Therefore, Intelligent Portfolios is the better choice for professional guidance.
Beginners may find the simplicity of Betterment's trading platform more accessible than Schwab's large library of products and services. Betterment is also the better option for tax-loss harvesting, as Schwab requires at least $50,000 in your account to access this feature. Tax-loss harvesting is automatically available with Betterment.
Betterment review
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios FAQs
What is Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, and how does it work?
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is Charles Schwab's robo-advisor for automated investment management and financial planning. Intelligent Portfolios uses algorithms to build custom portfolios of low-cost, diversified ETF portfolios. Clients complete a questionnaire about their risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial goals.
What are the costs associated with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios?
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges no commissions or advisory fees. However, investors are still subject to ETF expense ratios. Also, a $5,000 minimum investment requirement is required to open an Intelligent Portfolios brokerage account.
How does Schwab Intelligent Portfolios ensure portfolio diversification?
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios ensures portfolio diversification by investing in a wide range of low-cost ETFs across various asset classes, including stocks, bonds, real estate, and commodities. Schwab offers both domestic and international ETF options with varying risk levels. Portfolios are allocated to match each investor's goal, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
Is Schwab Intelligent Portfolios suitable for all investors?
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios caters to all kinds of investors, including beginners seeking passive, low-risk options and experienced investors looking for reliable, automated trading tax-efficient investing strategies and expert portfolio management. Schwab is also a great option for retirement-focused investors as the brokerage offers a range of retirement savings accounts for individuals, small businesses, and self-employed folks.
How does Schwab Intelligent Portfolios compare to other robo-advisors?
When comparing Schwab's robo-advisor to competitors, Intelligent Portfolios stands out with its $0 advisory fee model and a large selection of ETFs across multiple asset classes. Intelligent Portfolios' holistic approach to passive investing also emphasizes allocating a large portion of your portfolio in cash to mitigate risk. This is especially handy for conservative investors.
Methodology: How We Reviewed Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
We examined Schwab Intelligent Portfolios using Business Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms to compare account options, fees, investment options, and customer experience when reviewing investing platforms. Platforms receive a rating between 0 and 5.
Investment platforms usually offer multiple assets, trading tools, educational resources, and more. While some platforms are suitable for advanced or active investors, others may be better for beginners or passive investors. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios was rated based on their performance compared to similar platforms.
Junior Investing Reporter
Tessa Campbell is a Junior Investing Reporter for Personal Finance Insider. She reports on investing-related topics like cryptocurrency, the stock market, and retirement savings accounts. She originally joined the PFI team as a Personal Finance Reviews Fellow in 2022.Her love of books, research, crochet, and coffee enriches her day-to-day life.
Compliance Associate
Elias Shaya is a Compliance Associate on the Personal Finance Insider team based in New York City, whichensures content accuracy and editorial independence so readers are always getting up-to-date and objective financial advice.The team also works to minimize risk for partners by ensuring language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Elias is the point person for the loans sub-vertical and works with the editorial team to ensure that all rates and information for personal and student loans are up-to-date and accurate.He joined Insider in February 2022 as a fellow on the compliance team.
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