Some advice and guidance is better than nothing. Research has shown that people who have a financial plan with specific goals are 85% confident they will reach their retirement goals, compared to 28% that do not, according to TD Ameritrade.
Investors will choose a robo portfolio based on their investment goals and their general investment time frame, selecting from options like retirement, wealth-generation, education or other. A range of risk exposure is also provided from least to most risky options.
Using a slider bar to change monthly contributions or target dates, investors are able to further customize their recommended strategies. Through the various adjustments, users may find varying details on asset allocations, expected returns and some limited historical returns.
TD Ameritrade joins a number of custodians in adding their own robo-advisories. Charles Schwab launched its retail robo-advice, Intelligent Portfolios, in March 2015. Fidelity Investments came out with its Fidelity Go in July 2016. Others money managers in the space include Vanguard Group, BlackRock Inc., Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.