Betterment: a best-of-breed robo-advisor

[brother7]

My brother has four kids, all under 18. As a good uncle, I want to ensure their financial lives get started on the right foot.

We started with Lending Club custodial accounts. They're adjusted NARs were 4-5%. Better than a savings account but short of what I expected.

I began researching real estate crowdfunding opportunities. It seems the ones available to non-accredited investors are all REITs (https://fundrise.com/" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Fundrise, https://www.realtymogul.com/" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">RealtyMogul, https://www.richuncles.com/" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Rich Uncles). Plus, either me or their dad will need to actively monitor the investments until the kids are financially responsible enough to oversee their own accounts.

Then I stumbled upon a growing area of fintech called "https://investorjunkie.com/35919/robo-advisors/" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">robo-advisors". Researching further, I came across https://www.betterment.com/invite/edwardseid" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Betterment which sounds perfect for what we want to accomplish. Basically, it uses the investor's profile (age, net worth, risk tolerance, etc) to customize a portfolio of stock and bond ETFs. The portolio rebalances on it's own. Aside from adding funds, it's a set-it-and-forget-it way to build long-term wealth.

I opened and funded my own https://www.betterment.com/invite/edwardseid" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Betterment account to experience how the whole thing works. I really like it! For a young adult with limited knowledge of investments, it's a great way to start.

As each kid turns 18, we'll halt Lending Club reinvestment and move funds into https://www.betterment.com/invite/edwardseid" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Betterment. In addition, we plan to take advantage of the https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Tax-Planning-and-Checklists/The-Gift-Tax-Made-Simple/INF12127.html" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">annual gift tax exclusion to start shifting assets to the next generation.

To learn more about https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Tax-Planning-and-Checklists/The-Gift-Tax-Made-Simple/INF12127.html" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Betterment, check out https://investorjunkie.com/8745/betterment-review/" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">Investor Junkie's in-depth review of Betterment.

[Debt Free]

https://forum.lendacademy.com/index.php?topic=4279.msg39490#msg88888888Quote"> from: brother7 on January 24, 2017, 04:18:15 PM