Wealthsimple Review: Wealthsimple Makes Investing Easy

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Wealthsimple is the simplest way to invest like the world’s smartest investors. In five minutes, we'll build you a custom plan and show you how much you can have in the future. To open a Wealthsimple account, you must be a resident of Canada.

Bottom Line:

Wealthsimple offers an investment platform that builds you a personal, low-cost portfolio and puts your money to work like the world’s smartest investors. It has been featured in CNBC, Forbes, and Bloomberg. We give it a 4/5 stars.
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Wealthsimple
4.0
Only for Canadian investors

Wealthsimple makes it easy to grow your month like you are one of the world's most sophisticated investors. They offer an easy-to-use investment app that has low-fees.

Open Account Wealthsimple Review

Wealthsimple is the simplest way to invest like the world’s smartest investors. In five minutes, we'll build you a custom plan and show you how much you can have in the future. Over 1 million clients trust Wealthsimple to manage more than $5 billion.

WealthSimple Trade

Wealthsimple Promotion

Get $25 bonus when you open and fund your first Wealthsimple Invest account with at least a $500 initial deposit. Trade and Cash accounts are not eligible. Sign up through this link to take advantage of this exclusive offer.

Wealthsimple Makes Investing Easy

Wealthsimple is an online professional investing service in both US and Canada, also referred to as a robo-advisor.  They use low cost index fees and smart technology to keep your investment costs low.

Instead of trying to beat the market, they invest in the market as a whole. This diversification allows you to avoid putting all your eggs into one stock and can smooth out your returns and minimize your losses. A lot of people try to time the market, and end up losing a lot of money.

Wealthsimple makes investing easy.

What is a Robo Advisor?

A robo-advisor is an online, automated portfolio management service. Because these companies use computer algorithms — a set of rules to choose appropriate investments based on your risk tolerance and time horizon — robo-advisors can offer their services for a fraction of the cost of a human financial advisor.

That lower-cost management, combined with features like automatic portfolio rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting, can translate into higher net returns for investors. A robo-advisor is a good fit for you if you prefer to be largely hands-off with your investments — letting someone else do the work of building and optimizing your portfolio — and you don’t have the kind of complex financial situation that requires a direct relationship with a human financial advisor.

To help you pick the best robo advisor for you, we are covering a Wealthsimple review which is a highly regarded robo advisor.

App RatingCommissions
robinhood logo

5.0/5 

$0$0

OPEN ACCOUNT
On Robinhood's website

M1 finance

5.0/5

$0$100

OPEN ACCOUNT
On M1 Finance's website

fundrise

5.0/5

0.15%$500

OPEN ACCOUNT
On Fundrise's website

public

5.0/5

$0$0

OPEN ACCOUNT
On Public's website

webull logo

4.9/5

$0$0

OPEN ACCOUNT
On Webull's website

You can read more about the best robo advisors here.

Who Wealthsimple For?

Wealthsimple is for people who are investing for the long term. It’s best for people who are contributing regularly to their investments (remember you should be doing some investing for your future every month) commonly known as dollar cost averaging. This is when you are putting in money on a regular on-going basis.

Wealthsimple Fees & Pricing

Wealthsimple has no account minimum, which should undoubtedly attract new investors who might not have enough cash to reach higher minimums charged by some other financial advisors.

As for fees, the robo advisor charges 0.5% on all accounts with $100,000 or less (however, the first $5,000 is always free).

After that threshold, the account type changes to Wealthsimple Black, which has a 0.4% fee and unlocks additional features.

Wealthsimple Trade

Simple, $0 fee stock trading for Canadians.

Wealthsimple Trade is a stock-trading service that lets you buy and sell stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through a simple mobile app, with $0 commissions and no account minimums.

What is Wealthsimple Trade?

Wealthsimple Trade is a stock-trading service that lets you buy and sell stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through a simple mobile app, with $0 commissions and no account minimums. There are a lot of investing apps, but Wealthsimple is one of the best.

Which financial products can I buy and sell using Wealthsimple Trade?

Wealthsimple supports over 8,000 publicly-traded common stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on major Canadian and U.S. exchanges.

How is Wealthsimple Trade different from Wealthsimple?

Wealthsimple Trade is a brokerage that allows you to buy and sell stocks and ETFs with no trading commissions. Wealthsimple Trade is a self-directed platform and doesn't offer any financial advice or recommendations. Wealthsimple is an automated investing service that manages your investments for you — including your RRSP and TFSA — using a personalized portfolio of low-fee exchange-traded funds. Wealthsimple also offers savings accounts and provides financial advice. If that's what you're looking for, please click here.

I'm new to investing. Should I use Wealthsimple or Wealthsimple Trade?

If you're looking to grow your savings over the long-term, a diversified, low-fee portfolio that is rebalanced regularly — like the ones Wealthsimple's automated investing offers — is the smartest way to do that. But that doesn't mean there's no place for buying and selling individual stocks — so long as it's done responsibly as part of a holistic financial plan.

How is Wealthsimple Trade different from the big banks and other discount brokerages?

Some important differences are that Wealthsimple Trade is completely mobile, charges no commissions on trades, and has no minimum balance. We use technology to drastically reduce our operating costs by eliminating the things that make traditional brokerages expensive — like bank branches, large teams, and legacy systems.

Wealthsimple Trade is simple, jargon-free, and human — everything Canadians have come to expect from Wealthsimple. Opening an account takes minutes, and mere seconds for existing Wealthsimple clients.

Wealthsimple Trade is a division of Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc. and is similar to other brokerages in that it is a registered investment dealer and a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).

How does Wealthsimple Trade make money if there are no commissions?

Wealthsimple Trade makes money on currency exchange for US trades, and they plan on launching premium features in the future that will carry fees. They will publish a clear pricing and fee schedule before the product is available.

Who is eligible for Wealthsimple Trade?

Wealthsimple Trade will be available in Canada only. In order to open a Wealthsimple Trade account, you must:  

  • Be a Canadian citizen, Canadian resident, or have a valid Canadian visa
  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Have a valid Social Insurance Number
  • Have a Canadian address

How do I open a Wealthsimple Trade account?

All early-access users will receive specific instructions on how to download the app and open an account. Opening an account should take only a few minutes and is done entirely from the mobile app. First you'll need to enter a few personal details so we can confirm your identity and comply with regulatory requirements. Then you'll link a bank account to Wealthsimple Trade, so you can fund your account and start trading. No paperwork required.

To sign up, you'll need to enter some or all of the following:  

  • Full name
  • Mailing address
  • Social Insurance Number (SIN)
  • Date of Birth
  • Employment details (employer name, job title)

The Best Part About Wealthsimple

It’s so easy to get started. You can do it all online and you don’t have to go in anywhere and sign papers. It’s simple. I signed up and it took me under 5 minutes and got my first $10,000 managed for free.

Wealth Simple Promo Code

Get $25 bonus when you open and fund your first Wealthsimple Invest account with at least a $500 initial deposit. Trade and Cash accounts are not eligible. Sign up through this link to take advantage of this exclusive offer.

Wealthsimple vs. Other Brokerages

BrokerageFees
best brokerages$0$0

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best brokerages$0$0

OPEN ACCOUNT

best brokerages$0$0

OPEN ACCOUNT

charles schwab$0$0

OPEN ACCOUNT

best brokerages$0$0

OPEN ACCOUNT

Wealthsimple Promotion

Get $25 bonus when you open and fund your first Wealthsimple Invest account with at least a $500 initial deposit. Trade and Cash accounts are not eligible. Sign up through this link to take advantage of this exclusive offer.

Get $25 bonus
Wealthsimple
4.0
Only for Canadian investors

Wealthsimple makes it easy to grow your month like you are one of the world's most sophisticated investors. They offer an easy-to-use investment app that has low-fees.

Open Account Wealthsimple Review

Disclaimer: My Millennial Guide has entered into a referral and advertising arrangement with Wealthsimple US, LTD and receives compensation when you open an account or for certain qualifying activity which may include clicking links. You will not be charged a fee for this referral and Wealthsimple and My Millennial Guide are not related entities. It is a requirement to disclose that we earn these fees and also provide you with the latest Wealthsimple ADV brochure so you can learn more about them before opening an account.

Empower
5.0

Take control of your finances with Empower's free personal finance tools. Get access to wealth management services and free financial management tools.

Open Account Empower Review

About the author

Brian Meiggs
Hi, I'm Brian Meiggs! A personal finance expert, entrepreneur, and the founder of My Millennial Guide. My drive is to help others unlock the wealth of freedom and pave the path to financial success. With my bachelor's degree in finance, I help millennials follow the smart money in order to increase their earning potential and start building wealth for the future. I write regularly about side hustles, investing, and general personal finance topics aimed to help anyone earn more, pay off debt, and reach financial freedom. I have been quoted in major publications including Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, NASDAQ, Discover, GoDaddy, BiggerPockets, Fox News, Debt.com, Quick Sprout, Money Geek, MSN Money and many more!
Wealthsimple offers an investment platform that builds you a personal, low-cost portfolio and puts your money to work like the world’s smartest investors. It has been featured in CNBC, Forbes, and Bloomberg. We give it a 4/5 stars.Wealthsimple Review: Wealthsimple Makes Investing Easy