Wealthsimple Review & Rating 2024| Is Wealthsimple A Scam or Reliable!

That’s where we come in. It's going to be a neutral evaluation or review of Wealthsimple by the writer. AtoZ Markets is not responsible for any opinions made by the writer.

After researching Wealthsimple, the following are our findings:

Wealthsimple Review: Company

Founded by CEO Michael Katchen in 2014, Wealthsimple is one of the world’s first leading digital wealth managers (also known as Robo-Advisors) and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with offices also in the US and Europe.

Just like its name, Wealthsimple is designed to help achieve all different kinds of wealth-acclimated elements such as Tax Loss harvesting, creating wealth portfolios, Accessing or creating financial planners, beginner investors, also seeking Halal choices to fit Islamic law, and it is also for socially responsible investors. Moving forward, we’ll find out if this company can help you achieve your goals to a large financial portfolio and more.

Since launching, the company has won the Webby Award for Best Financial Services website in the world (2016 & 2017), and Start-Up of the year at the Canadian Innovation Awards.

Pros and cons of Wealthsimple

If you are reading this Wealthsimple review to decide if they are right for you, consider these pros and cons:

Pros

Easy to sign up. It took around 20 minutes to set up an account and transfer money.

No minimum amount required. This means that anyone can open an account with a balance of $0 and start investing with as little as $1.

Account options: You have quite a few, including RRSPs (as well as spousal RRSPs), TFSA, RESP, LIRA, LIF, non-registered (personal or joint account with no limits), RRIF, cash (for saving and spending), as well as corporate account options.

Reputable brand: It is Canada’s largest robo-advisor, with more than $5 billion in assets under management, and 175,000 users. And Wealthsimple has been recognized as one of the top 100 Global Financial Technology Companies by Fintech 100 since 2016.

Rewards. Invite your friends to Wealthsimple and you'll get $5,000 managed free for 12 months for every friend who funds their account.

Regular reviews. Wealthsimple not only manages your investments, but they also review them regularly to make sure they meet your goals and interests.

The personal touch. You can contact an investment advisor at any time to help you register, discuss your options, and if you change your investment objectives.

Effortless investment. Wealthsimple manages your investment for you, freeing up your time for the other, more enjoyable things life has to offer.

Socially responsible investment options. "Ethical investing" allows you to invest in companies that align with your values ​​and deliver positive results for people and society.

Reinvest your dividend. As your money earns interest, both interest and appreciation are automatically added to your original investment, for as long as you invest your money.

Account tracking. You can see how your investments are doing through the Wealthsimple app. Their website is also clear and easy to use, perfect for novice investors.

 Cons

Limited portfolio options: Invest, Wealthsimple’s robo-advisor, doesn’t offer as diverse of a range of portfolio options as some other robo-advisors, which may prove limiting for those who want a degree of portfolio customization.

No physical branches: Investors can’t meet with advisors in person. If you need to speak with (or email) a human, you can call during regular business hours or send a request to the Customer Success team via the help centre. 

Is Wealthsimple Trusted?

Is Wealthsimple legit?  Wealthsimple is trusted by over a million investors, is backed by prominent venture capital investors and is regulated in Canada and the U.K. Wealthsimple is considered legit because it has a valuation of $5 billion and over 2.5 million clients, and is properly authorized in countries where it offers services, including Canada and the UK.

These factors coupled with its nearly 17 years of operation make Wealthsimple a trustworthy broker for Canadian and UK residents.

 Wealthsimple Review: Trading Platform

image credit: Wealthsimple

Wealthsimple has a highly simplified web-based trading platform equipped with the absolute basic elements for passive investing.

For those that don’t want to spend much time or effort when looking at their investments, Wealthsimple lets you focus just on buying specific symbols, where you can set up automated buys, deposits, and rebalancing.

When compared to platforms of other brokers, Wealthsimple platform is very easy to navigate as there are few options to choose from and limited customizations, as it is optimized for less demanding traders.

Mobile Trading App

image credit: Wealthsimple

Wealthsimple offers two mobile trading apps: Wealthsimple Invest, which is its robo-advisor solution for ultra-passive investors; and Wealthsimple Trade, for more hands-on, self-directed investors.

Wealthsimple Invest: This robo-advisor app from Wealthsimple lets you set up automated deposits, along with recurring investments, and even round up change to the nearest dollar on credit card purchases and invest that difference for you automatically.The investment portfolio is managed based on predefined investment preferences tailored to your personal preferences.

Wealthsimple Trade: The Wealthsimple Trade app is very light on the surface compared to the best mobile apps available from other online stockbrokers. Still, there’s plenty to say about its modern-looking design, which is clearly created to appeal to beginners and more passive investors.

What Can You Trade at Wealthsimple?

Wealthsimple is best known for its robo-advisor service, Wealthsimple Invest, which is a “set-it-and-forget-it” portfolio of low-fee exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In a nutshell, ETFs allow you to invest your money across an entire market—such as Canadian stocks, high yield bonds, real estate, etc.—instead of trying to pick and choose the winning companies in each market. In this way, Wealthsimple provides an easy solution for clients to diversify their portfolios and earn decent returns on their investments over the long term, with minimal risk.

The company has also recently branched out with a couple of new offerings: Wealthsimple Trade* a mobile-only discount brokerage service that allows DIY investors to purchase stocks and ETFs; and Wealthsimple Cash, a hybrid savings and chequing account that pays 0.50% interest.

Account Types

Canadians reading this Wealthsimple review can open the following types of accounts:

• TFSA,
• RESP,
• LIRA,
• LIF,
• RRSP,
• RRIF,
• Non-registered investment accounts (personal and joint), Cash               
• Corporate investment accounts

But if you live in the UK, you can open an individual savings account (ISA), a junior ISA (JISA), a personal investment account and a pension account with Wealthsimple, it's your choice.

If you are unsure about the account you want to open, you can contact qualified Wealthsimple Investment Advisors who will guide you through the process or register you over the phone.

If this is your first investment, we suggest you invest in one of the tax wrappers, such as an ISA or a pension. This will help you increase your money and take advantage of the tax-free investment.

Wealthsimple Halal Investing

Wealthsimple has also created a portfolio option that makes investing easy for Islamic people. The Halal portfolio does not include bonds, which goes against Islamic law that prevents profiting from debt.

These portfolios are not tailored to individual investors since the shares in this portfolio must comply with Sharia law.

Complying with Islamic law means no investment in companies that profit from tobacco, gambling, or other restricted industries.

Different Plans For Wealthsimple Invest

There are three different plans available with Wealthsimple Invest.

Wealthsimple Basic: For clients with net deposits from $0 up to $100K. Clients are charged a monthly fee of .5% of their account value. Included in the fee is portfolio creation, automatic rebalancing and automatic dividend reinvesting and you can also set up automatic investing.

Wealthsimple Black: For clients with net deposits of more than $100K. The fee is slightly lower than the Basic account at .4%. Aside from a reduced fee, it has extra perks like a financial planning session and tax loss harvesting assistance.

Wealthsimple Generation: Generation is for accounts of $500,000 or more and charges a management fee of .4%. Included with the account is a customized personalized financial report, tax loss harvesting, and 50% off a Comprehensive Health Plan from Medcan. Furthermore, the account is optimized for tax savings.

How To Open A Wealthsimple Account

Opening a new account with Wealthsimple is pretty straightforward. The website/dashboard is very user-friendly and you should be up and running in less than 10 minutes.

1. Visit Wealthsimple website.
2. Enter your details and answer the questionnaire. After completing your investment profile, you get a personalized plan and recommended asset allocation that is based on your risk category.
3. Choose an account e.g. RESP, TFSA, IRA, etc. or transfer one from another provider
4. You have an option to set up regular automated contributions.

That’s it – you are good to go! If you have any questions, you are just one phone call, email, or Skype away from financial experts/advisors who are ready to help.

Cryptocurrency

Last year, Wealthsimple introduced their cryptocurrency trading platform through Wealthsimple Crypto. This service is operated by Wealthsimple Digital Assets Inc.

Using the platform, you can instantly buy and sell 16 cryptocurrencies for fiat currency (Canadian dollars).

Coins and tokens available for trading on the platform:

Bitcoin (BTC) Ethereum (ETH) Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Litecoin (LTC) Dogecoin (DOGE) Basic Attention Token (BAT) Aave (AAVE) Balancer (BAL) Chainlink (LINK) Compound (COMP) Curve (CRV) Kyber Network ( KNC) Maker (MKR) Synthetix (SNX) Uniswap (UNI) Year Finance (YFI)

Fees and Commissions

Wealthsimple's fees are relatively low.

• 0.5% fee for accounts up to $100,000
• 0.4% fee for accounts over $100,000

Additionally, there is an additional 0.2% management fee for the underlying funds or liabilities in the portfolio and there is no fee to open, close, trade or transfer accounts.

As the value of your investment increases, the cost of managing your investments decreases. The percentage difference between 2.50% and 0.7% may seem small, but as your investment grows, the small fees can add up and reduce your return.

In simple terms, if you invest $500, it will cost you $3.50 per year to invest your money. That's less than fancy coffee. If you invest $2,000 a year, you will pay approximately £14 and if you invest more than $100,000 each year, you will pay less to invest.

Customer Support

As an online financial services firm, there are no physical offices to meet with a financial advisor. Wealthsimple customer service is therefore reachable  via;

• the phone, Monday through Friday, 8 to 8 EST,
• or by e-mail, 24/7, at support@wealthsimple.com

You can also access certified financial planners and chartered investment managers. This access is an impressive opportunity that MOST robo-advisors do not offer.

Despite its low-cost offerings, Wealthsimple does not skimp on customer service and professional investment advice.

This benefit ensures that your investments will get, and stay, on the right track.

Wealthsimple Review: Regulation

Is Wealthsimple safe? Being properly regulated is a crucial factor when determining how safe a broker is. In this Wealthsimple review, it is interesting to know that Wealthsimple is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Wealthsimple is a member of Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).

In Canada, Wealthsimple/Share Owner Investments Inc. is insured by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), which means that if they go bankrupt, your investments are protected up to $1 million. US investors are insured up to $500,000 by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

UK investors are also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), up to $85,000 in the event of bankruptcy.

Investments are managed by experienced fund managers and held securely by a custodian (SEI Investments (Europe) Ltd).

In addition, your financial information is encrypted with the most advanced security measures and there is a double verification process to ensure that your account is safe and secure.

Conclusion

Now that you have finished reading this Wealthsimple Review, you can conclude that this Wealthsimple is safe. and whoever For new investors who intend on using this broker, Wealthsimple is a good starting point and is a great platform for seasoned investors.

It's great if you're new to investing and want to start small, slow, and with less risk. The platform is easy to use, jargon-free and we like the fact that they take an ethical approach to investing.