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Note: Personal Capital is now Empower. It completed its rebranding as Empower in February 2023, and its offerings are mostly the same. Read our Empower review.
Bottom line: Personal Capital app is best for hands-off investors with at least $100,000 to dedicate to stocks, ETFs, private equities, or bonds. The platform also offers free financial planning tools and one-on-one financial advisor guidance, but its fees are on the higher side.
Overall rating
FeatureInsider rating (out of 5)Fees3.25Investment selection4.50Access4.50Ethics4.63Customer service4.25Overall score4.18
Is Personal Capital right for you?
Personal Capital app is a digital platform offering wealth management, free financial tools, cash management accounts, and more. Since the lowest amount you can get started with is $100,000, the platform is best for high-net-worth clients.
However, prospective users should consider other platforms if they’re in search of lower minimum requirements and fees. Personal Capital is a great platform for robo-advice, wealth management, and private client services, but it falls short when it comes to fees. You’ll pay a minimum of 0.89% per year to use its services if you have below $1 million in your account.
The mobile app is available on iOS and Android devices.
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Personal Capital vs. Merrill Guided Investing
Personal Capital
Merrill
Min. Investment
$100,000
Min. Investment
$1,000 or $20,000, depending on account type
Fees
0.49% to 0.89%
Fees
0.45% or 0.85%
Investment choices
ETFs, stocks, bonds, and private equities
Investment choices
ETFs and mutual funds
Personal Capital appMerrill Edge investment account
Personal Capital app and Merrill Guided Investing both suit hands-off investors who don’t want to manage the daily legwork of maintaining an investment portfolio. Both of Merrill Edge’s accounts — Merrill Guided Investing Online and Merrill Guided Investing with an Advisor — are better options for those in search of lower minimum requirements.
Personal Capital and Merrill Guided Investing offer similar fees, but Personal Capital is the better choice for investors who want access to a wider selection of investment types. Personal Capital’s wealth management services and financial tools are also difficult to beat. Whereas Merrill Guided Investing offers the option of guidance from one advisor, two of Personal Capital’s tiers of service offer access to multiple dedicated advisors.
Personal Capital vs. Vanguard Personal Advisor Services
Personal Capital
Vanguard
Min. Investment
$100,000
Min. Investment
$50,000
Fees
0.49% to 0.89%
Fees
0.30%
Investment choices
ETFs, stocks, bonds, and private equities
Investment choices
Vanguard ETFs and mutual funds
Personal Capital appVanguard Personal Advisor Services
When it comes to fees, you’ll pay less in all aspects with the Vanguard Personal Advisor Services account. But Personal Capital’s wealth management services give you access to more investment types than Vanguard Personal Advisor Services does.
Personal Capital app clients with lower balances pay higher fees, and customers with higher balances pay lower fees. The same applies to Vanguard’s wealth management account. Therefore, the highest you’ll pay is 0.30% per year, and the lowest you’ll pay is 0.05%.
Ways to invest with Personal Capital
Digital wealth management
Like many automated investing platforms, Personal Capital app best suits investors who value a hands-off approach. The company separates its portfolio management offerings into three tiers:
Investment Services: This level is best for those with $100,000 to $200,000 in assets. It offers unlimited access to financial planning and retirement guidance. Plus, you’ll get a personalized portfolio of ETFs, copious digital planning tools, and support from human advisors.Wealth management: The wealth management tier takes things up a notch. It gives you two financial advisors who offer ongoing guidance and support, and it supplements this with a personalized portfolio, and tax optimization strategies. Plus, you’ll be able to take advantage of specialists in real estate, stocks, and more. In order to qualify, you’ll need to have more than $200,000 but not more than $1 million. Private client: Reserved for those with more than $1 million in investment assets, this tier offers private equity investments, specialist support for wealth and retirement planning, two financial advisors, and priority access to its Investment Committee and specialists. Note, though, that the private equity option is only available to those with $5 million or more invested.
As for investment types, the first tier only offers ETFs. Personal Capital’s wealth management tier offers ETFs and stocks, while its private client services focus on ETFs, stocks, bonds, and private equity investments.
Many robo-advisors primarily offer one asset choice (such as ETFs or mutual funds), so Personal Capital’s investment selection tops the competition. It also uses Personal Strategy+ to manage employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s.
Compared to other digital advisors like Wealthfront and Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice, Personal Capital’s fees are quite high. The upside to this, though, is that it still charges less than what most traditional advisor firms charge. While Personal Capital charges 0.89%, traditional advisors usually charge 1%.
Investors can choose between two different portfolio strategies: The Personal Strategy and Socially Responsible Investing.
The Personal Strategy
With the Personal Strategy, Personal Capital invests your money into a globally diversified portfolio of stocks and ETFs. It relies on both its technology and advisor oversight to build portfolios, and each includes portfolio rebalancing, tax optimization strategies like tax-loss harvesting, smart weighting, and advisor access.
Socially Responsible Investing
With this socially responsible investing portfolio, you can have the platform focus your portfolio on companies that have high environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) standards. Personal Capital primarily focuses on US and international equities and with these portfolios.
Personal Capital: Is it trustworthy?
The Better Business Bureau gives Personal Capital a B+ rating to reflect its opinion of the investment platform’s interactions with its customers. BBB ratings range from A+ to F, so this is a fairly high score.
The BBB also considers several other factors when reviewing companies. These include type of business, time in business, customer complaint history, advertising issues, and licensing and government actions. But since its ratings don’t guarantee a company’s reliability or performance, you should also do your due diligence before opening an account.
Personal Capital has closed 11 complaints in the last three years and eight complaints in the last 12 months. It doesn’t have any unresolved complaints at this time, according to BBB data.
Personal Capital — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is Personal Capital legitimate?
Yes. The platform offers its advisory services through Personal Capital Advisors Corporation, an SEC-registered investment advisor. All SEC-registered businesses are legally required to act as fiduciaries, meaning they must place client interests over their own.
The investment platform has also been in business since 2009, and it offers FDIC insurance.
Is Personal Capital free?
No. Personal Capital app charges annual asset-based fees, meaning the amount you pay per year depends on your account balance.
Is Personal Capital worth the fee?
Compared to other popular wealth management services, Personal Capital’s management fees are on the higher side. Those with $1 million or less will have to pay 0.89% per year. The management fees decrease as your account balance increases, but the lowest you’ll pay per year is 0.49% (this fee is for users who hold over $10 million).
It’s best to completely examine your financial situation and weigh Personal Capital’s benefits and drawbacks before opening an account.
Related terms
Robo-advisor: Also known as automated investing portfolios, these accounts rely on computer algorithms and/or expert oversight to build personalized, self-managing portfolios for hands-off investors.ETFs: These funds usually contain a diversified mix of stocks, bonds, and commodities. You can invest in two types of ETFs: index-based ETFs and actively managed ETFs. Fiduciary: Fiduciaries are individuals or organizations who are legally required to act in each client’s best interests.Asset-based fees: Flat fees are constant throughout the year (e.g., Ellevest offers monthly flat rates of $5 and $9), but asset-based fees take into account your balance. In other words, certain balances have different fees.