TD Ameritrade to start robo-adviser for newbie investors
TD Ameritrade has soft-launched Essential Portfolios, an automated, low-cost advisory service for digital-first investors. Essential Portfolios allows investors to set goals, assess risk tolerance and identify key dates for long-term financial objectives such as retirement, which are then matched by the algorithmic platform to portfolio recommendations. The service offers flat-fee structure investment alternatives and a $5,000 minimum deposit. A US-wide launch is expected in early 2017.
Source: TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (AMTD) is expanding its digital advice offerings with the soft launch of Essential Portfolios – an automated, low-cost advisory service for digital-first investors.

The national launch of Essential Portfolios is expected in early calendar year 2017.



Research has shown that people who have a financial plan with specific goals are 85 percent confident they will reach their retirement goals (versus 28 percent that do not). That’s where Essential Portfolios comes in - allowing investors to establish a goal, intuitively assess their risk tolerance level, and identify key dates for long-term financial goals like college savings or retirement. From there, the algorithmic platform matches them with objective portfolio recommendations based on their financial goal. Essential Portfolios offers flat-fee structure investment alternatives that include a variety of passive, index-based nonproprietary ETFs and a $5,000 minimum deposit aimed to suit investors who seek low-cost financial solutions and an intuitive digital experience from start to finish.



This launch follows the June re-release of Amerivest Managed Portfolios, which underwent a significant digital enhancement. Amerivest offers investors a self-guided digital investment guidance experience, paired with as much or as little human interaction as investors want.



“Today’s investors want more choices for investment advice. Some want that guidance to come from a human, partnered with digital platform, while others might prefer an all-human or all-digital approach. Our job is to deliver solutions that are easy-to-use, effective and allow our clients to grow with us as their needs evolve,” said Tom Bradley, president of retail distribution at TD Ameritrade. “Essential Portfolios is a great example of how we were able to leverage Amerivest’s existing technology to create an all-digital version for the more value-conscious investor.”



Essential Portfolios: The benefits of professional management at a low cost



Five diversified, model portfolio strategies with fund recommendations by the objective professionals at Morningstar® Investment Management LLC

Each portfolio consists of five ETFs and cash (weighted average expense ratio of 6 to 8 bps)

Competitive and low-cost pricing to keep the service affordable (flat-fee structure of 30 bps)

Embedded goal planning and tracking tools

Key statistics on the portfolio holdings

Additional features and upgrades will be introduced throughout the coming months, including tax loss harvesting



Getting Started



Visit https://www.tdameritrade.com/investment-products/essential-portfolios.page to open an account in 15 minutes or less via desktop, tablet or phone

Set a personalized investing goal

Select your personal risk tolerance

Receive a recommendation for a specific model portfolio

Open a TD Ameritrade Investing Account

Invest a minimum of $5,000



Ongoing Monitoring and Support



Monitoring and automatic rebalancing by Amerivest

Online dashboards for easy performance monitoring

“On the go” access to account information through Essential Portfolios mobile app

Embedded investment alerts and updates

Essential Portfolios support team available via live chat, e-mail and phone