DollarBreak is reader-supported, when you sign up through links on this post, we may receive compensation. Disclosure.
The content is for informational purposes only. Conduct your own research and seek advice of a licensed financial advisor. Terms.
Personal Capital is a financial advisory and wealth management company that aims to help you better manage your funds and investments. Using the company’s proprietary software, you can get a 360 degree view of all your different investments and bank accounts. The platform also offers both a mobile and desktop app that make it easy for you to track and monitor your money and net worth in real time.
Pros
- 360 degree financial view – the platform’s software and app enable you to get a comprehensive look at all your different investments and accounts.
- 4 savings tools – retirement savings calculator, recommended emergency fund calculator, debt paydown progress tracker, account level savings goals.
- Low fees – the annual wealth management fees for accounts with under $1 million is just 0.89%, with the fee decreasing as your investment increases.
- 30-day cash flow tracker – see how much money has entered and exited your account in the past 30 days so you can stick to your savings goals.
Cons
- Sales calls – if you have enough assets in your free account, you may get 1 to 2 sales calls occasionally to upsell you to the paid service.
- High minimum investment – you must have at least $100,000 to use the platform’s wealth management services, making it not suitable for beginners.
Jump to: Full Review
Compare to Other Investment Apps
Acorns
Invest your spare change in a diversified portfolio built by experts
Expect up to 7.5% annually returns with plans starting from $3 a month
Earn bonus investments from 350+ Acorns Earn partners
Fundrise
Invest in real estate properties with a $10 minimum initial investment
Historical annual return varies from 8.8% to 12.4% (2019 – 9.47%)
Low annual fees: advisory – 0.15%; management fee – 0.85%
How Does Personal Capital Work?
Personal Capital also offers wealth management services that help you grow your savings through investments.
How Much Can You Earn With Personal Capital?
Your earnings with Personal Capital’s wealth management services may vary depending on factors such as stock market performance. Nonetheless, the company has had a positive track record since its inception.
Who Is Personal Capital Best for?
Personal Capital is ideal for individuals who want a consolidated view of their financial situations. By combining all of your financial accounts into one dashboard, it is easier to manage your finances. You can also measure your net worth by deducting your liabilities from your assets.
Moreover, investing with Personal Capital is automatic, and you do not need in-depth knowledge of the stock market. Thus, it is an ideal platform for beginners to start investing too.
Personal Capital Fees: How Much Does It Cost to Invest With Personal Capital?
To use the wealth management services, you will need to pay an annual management fee. The fee varies depending on the sum of your assets under management. The more funds you have, the lower fees you will need to pay.
| Account Type | Fees |
|---|---|
| For Investment Services & Wealth Management Clients | 0.89% for first $1 million |
| For Private Clients | 0.79% for first $3 million, 0.69% for next $2 million, 0.59% for next $5 million, 0.49% for any amount over $10 million |
Personal Capital Features: What Does Personal Capital Offer?
Wealth Management
You can invest in different portfolios that Personal Capital offers to grow your wealth. The company diversifies the stocks and ETFs in its portfolios to reduce downside risk whenever a particular market or segment declines. It also places assets in different account types to help you minimize the taxes you pay.
Personal Capital also conducts automatic rebalancing on its portfolios. This rebalancing allows the company to make the most of market opportunities and helps investors avoid making costly emotional mistakes.
Cash Flow Analyzer
You can use the Personal Capital Cash Flow Analyzer to follow your weekly, monthly and annual spending habits and income. This feature is available on the website and the Personal Capital app.
Since Personal Capital connects to all your accounts, it allows you to track all your expenses and help you to manage your budget. You can then set a budget to ensure you are not spending more than you can afford.
The cash flow analyzer also has an upcoming bills feature that shows any pending bills you have and their due dates.
Net Worth
Personal Capital also allows you to calculate your overall net worth. This is calculated by subtracting your debts from your assets.
This feature will also allow you to review your accounts and identify anything that may be damaging your credit.
Savings Planner
Personal Capital also has a savings planner feature that allows you to create a savings plan. You can create saving plans for things such as emergencies, retirement, and even big-ticket purchases.
By creating a saving plan, you can allocate your funds to the appropriate accounts.
College Savings
This feature allows you to plan your savings for your children and their education. You can set savings goals for funding your children’s college or private school fees.
This tool also allows you to compare college costs to determine your savings goals.
Retirement Planner
Fee Analyzer
Personal Capital Cash
Personal Capital Cash is an online banking service that provides many benefits over traditional banking. You can even create a joint account to simplify your family finances.
Some of the other benefits of a Personal Capital Cash account include:
- Wire up to $1 million with no fees
- Set up direct deposits for your paychecks
- Link to your checking for monthly bills
- Unlimited number of monthly transfers
- Withdraw up to $100,000 per day
- No minimum balance required
Sign Up Bonus
You will also need to create an investment account with at least $1000 of deposits within 30 days of signing up for an account.
Personal Capital Requirements
The requirements to use Personal Capital depend on the services that you are interested in. If you just want to use the platform’s financial tools to create an investment account, there are no requirements and you can start doing so just by downloading the app on your mobile phone or using the website.
However, if you want to use the professional advisory and wealth management features, you will need to have at least $100,000 to create an account.
Personal Capital Payout Terms and Conditions
You can deposit and withdraw funds from your Personal Capital Cash account by linking to an external bank account.
If you are a wealth management client and want to withdraw funds from your Personal Capital investment account, the company recommends that you contact your advisory team directly. The team will then discuss the available withdrawal options.
Personal Capital Risks: Is Personal Capital Safe to Invest With?
Personal Capital offers one of the safest ways for average individuals to invest in the stock market. The company ensures that its portfolios are well-diversified with frequent rebalancing.
The company also has a high-performing track record. The company’s average annualized returns until today are between 5.7% and 11.4% depending on the portfolio. Thus, you are likely to enjoy significant returns on your investments in the long term when you invest with Personal Capital.
Nonetheless, remember that all investments carry risk, and there is always the chance that you may make a loss on your investments.
How Does Personal Capital Protect Your Money?
All Personal Capital accounts are insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000. Thus, you can recover your investments worth up to $250,000 if the platform shuts down.
The platform also uses one-way encryption to protect your data.
Personal Capital Reviews: Is Personal Capital Legit?
Personal Capital is a trustworthy and legitimate platform that you can use to invest and manage your wealth.
The platform has received mostly positive reviews from its users. Many users praised the platform for providing real-time information about their investments. Reviewers were also satisfied with the platform’s advisory and wealth management services which helped them grow their savings.
However, the company has received negative reviews from some users who were upset with the company’s slow support services. Some reviewers also complained that they encountered some issues when using the app.
What Are the Personal Capital Pros & Cons?
Personal Capital Pros
Personal Capital Cons
- To benefit from Personal Capital’s professional advisory and wealth management services, you must invest at least $100,000.
How Good Is Personal Capital Support and Knowledge Base?
Personal Capital provides a comprehensive Help section on its website. You can visit the Help section via the website or the mobile app.
If you still have any other questions or encounter any issues with Personal Capital, you can submit a support request on the website.
Personal Capital Review Verdict: Is Personal Capital Worth It?
Personal Capital is one of the best management platforms you can use to consolidate your financial accounts. The platform allows you to view all your finances from a single dashboard. Moreover, the platform also offers different financial tools to help you plan for retirement, grow your wealth, and more.
If you are looking to invest, Personal Capital is also a reliable platform to consider using. The platform charges a relatively low annual fee that starts from just 0.89%. Its portfolios also have strong annualized returns of up to 11% or more.
One of the few downsides of Personal Capital is that its financial advisory and wealth management services require you to invest at least $100,000. Nonetheless, if you are just looking for a platform to manage your finances, Personal Capital is ideal for you.
How to Sign Up With Personal Capital?
Step 1: Create an Account
To open a Personal Capital account, you must provide background information and details.
Some of the details you will need to provide include:
- Your email address
- Phone number
- Date of birth
Step 2: Advisor Call
After you have provided your details, the platform will prompt you to schedule a call with an advisor. Once you have chosen a date and time, the company will assign you to an advisor.
Even if you only want to use the basic dashboard features, you will still need to take a call with an advisor.
Step 3: Import Your Accounts
After you have had a call with an advisor, you can connect your different financial accounts to Personal Capital.
Some of the different accounts you can connect to Personal Capital include:
- Credit card accounts
- Checking accounts
- Savings accounts
- Investment accounts
Linking your financial accounts allows the platform to help you generate an accurate picture of your financial situation.
Step 4: Open an Investment Account
To open an investment account with Personal Capital, you will need to fill in some paper application forms. You will need to fill in these forms and mail them to the company.
After you have spoken with your advisor, you will be able to see portfolio recommendations. This platform has 12 portfolio allocations that can be tailored to your individual needs and goals.
Sites Like Personal Capital
| Comparison | Personal Capital | Acorns | Fundrise | Public |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Fees | From 0.89% | From $3 per month | 1% | No fees |
| Min. Investment | $100,000 | $5 | $10 | $1 |
| Best For | Wealth management | Spare change | Real estate | Stocks and ETFs |
Personal Capital vs. Acorns
Acorns Summary
- Low account fees from just $3 per month
- Get $5 in your account for referrals
- Low minimum starting investment amount
- High average return on investments of 7.5%
Acorns is a good alternative platform to Personal Capital that you can consider using. It may be more suitable for beginner investors since it has a much lower minimum investment amount. You can start investing with Acorns starting from just $5.
Moreover, Acorns also offers a unique feature known as Round-Up investing. This feature allows you to round up all your purchase to the nearest dollar and save the spare change. Once you have saved at least $5, you can then invest in one of the Acorns portfolios.
Personal Capital vs. Fundrise
Fundrise Summary
- Low minimum starting investment of $10
- High historical returns of 8.8% to 12.4%
- 0.15% advisory 0.85% management fees
- Diverse portfolios of up to 16 investments
Fundrise is an alternative investment platform to Personal Capital that you can use if you are looking for a place to invest in real estate. The company operates private real-estate investment trusts (REITs) that you can invest in to grow your wealth.
When you invest with Fundrise, you can earn a profit when the value of the properties in a REIT increases. Any profits that the REIT earns will be automatically redistributed back to investors in the form of dividends.
The dividends that you can earn from your Fundrise investments make it a lucrative platform to invest with.
Personal Capital vs. Public
Public App Summary
- Invest in stocks, ETFs, and crypto
- $0 commission fees for any stock trades
- Over 100 articles to learn about investing
- Low 1-2% commission for crypto trades
Public is an investment platform that you can use to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. Unlike Personal Capital, Public allows you to choose the specific assets you want to trade.
Moreover, Public also allows you to purchase fractional shares so that you can diversify your portfolio. Doing so allows you to maximize your potential profits and minimize risks. The platform also does not charge any fees, making it a great alternative to Personal Capital if you want to select your own investments.
Other Sites Like Personal Capital
Personal Capital FAQ
What Is Personal Capital?
The company’s mission is to transform financial lives through technology and people.
Can I use Personal Capital without linking accounts?
You cannot use Personal Capital without linking your other financial accounts. The app uses your financial data to provide wealth management services. Without your data, it is unable to give you a comprehensive overview of your financial health.
Is Personal Capital good for budgeting?
Personal Capital is a good platform to use for budgeting. Its in-built financial tools allow you to set budgets for different goals.
How good is the Personal Capital retirement planner?
The Personal Capital retirement planner is one of the best retirement planning tools on the market. It allows you to determine how much money you will need to retire with your desired lifestyle. You can also use it to track your progress with saving for retirement.
