7 Best Robo-Advisors for Socially Conscious Investors of March 2022
These robo-advisors build socially conscious portfolios and manage them for you, so you can invest ethically without the effort.
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If you want to start investing but would prefer for your investment dollars to do some good in the world, you may want to consider working with a robo-advisor. Robo-advisors use computer algorithms to build and manage an investment portfolio for you, taking into account your investment time frame and risk tolerance. The below robo-advisors offer socially conscious portfolios, allowing you to not only invest in your future but in the future of the planet and society.
» New to this? Read up on the basics of socially responsible investing
Most of these robo-advisors choose their assets using the principles of ESG investing. ESG is a way to measure a company or investment’s environmental, social and governance impact. Research firms and advisors often use ESG scores as a way to grade sustainable investments.
Here are the details on some providers' portfolio offerings:
Betterment: Provides three impact portfolios to choose from: Broad Impact, Climate Impact and Social Impact.
Wealthfront: Offers a pre-made socially responsible portfolio. You can customize any portfolio with socially responsible ETFs.
Merrill Edge Guided Investing: Clients can invest in an ESG portfolio and request restrictions on certain ETFs.
Ally Invest: Offers a Socially Responsible Managed Portfolio option.
Marcus Invest: Goldman Sachs Impact portfolio includes ESG ETFs.
E-Trade: Gives access to a portfolio that includes an ESG ETF.
Axos Invest: Offers investments in themed areas such as clean energy and companies with a greater representation of women in senior leadership roles.
The bottom line: These robo-advisors can help you start investing in a socially conscious portfolio for no additional charge.
If you want to start investing but would prefer for your investment dollars to do some good in the world, you may want to consider working with a robo-advisor. Robo-advisors use computer algorithms to build and manage an investment portfolio for you, taking into account your investment time frame and risk tolerance. The below robo-advisors offer socially conscious portfolios, allowing you to not only invest in your future but in the future of the planet and society.
» New to this? Read up on the basics of socially responsible investing
Most of these robo-advisors choose their assets using the principles of ESG investing. ESG is a way to measure a company or investment’s environmental, social and governance impact. Research firms and advisors often use ESG scores as a way to grade sustainable investments.
Here are the details on some providers' portfolio offerings:
Betterment: Provides three impact portfolios to choose from: Broad Impact, Climate Impact and Social Impact.
Wealthfront: Offers a pre-made socially responsible portfolio. You can customize any portfolio with socially responsible ETFs.
Merrill Edge Guided Investing: Clients can invest in an ESG portfolio and request restrictions on certain ETFs.
Ally Invest: Offers a Socially Responsible Managed Portfolio option.
Marcus Invest: Goldman Sachs Impact portfolio includes ESG ETFs.
E-Trade: Gives access to a portfolio that includes an ESG ETF.
Axos Invest: Offers investments in themed areas such as clean energy and companies with a greater representation of women in senior leadership roles.
The bottom line: These robo-advisors can help you start investing in a socially conscious portfolio for no additional charge.
Best Robo-Advisors for Socially Conscious Investors
| Broker | NerdWallet Rating | Fees | Account minimum | Promotion | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Marcus Invest Learn more on Marcus: by Goldman Sachs's website | 0.35% advisory fee | $1,000 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on Marcus: by Goldman Sachs's website | |
 E*TRADE Core Portfolios Learn more on E*TRADE's website | 0.30% management fee | $500 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on E*TRADE's website | |
 Betterment Learn more on Betterment's website | 0.25% management fee | $0 | Up to 1 year of free management with a qualifying deposit | Learn more on Betterment's website | |
 Wealthfront Learn more on Wealthfront's website | 0.25% management fee | $500 | $5,000 amount of assets managed for free | Learn more on Wealthfront's website | |
 Axos Managed Portfolios Learn more on Axos Invest's website | 0.24% management fee | $500 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on Axos Invest's website | |
 Ally Invest Robo Portfolios | 0.0% with Cash-Enhanced Managed Portfolio; 0.3% otherwise | $100 | None no promotion available at this time | Read review | |
 Merrill Edge Guided Investing | 0.45% management fee | $1,000 | None no promotion available at this time | Read review |
on Marcus: by Goldman Sachs's website
Marcus Invest
Fees
0.35%advisory fee
Account minimum
$1,000Promotion
Noneno promotion available at this time
on Marcus: by Goldman Sachs's website
on E*TRADE's website
E*TRADE Core Portfolios
Fees
0.30%management fee
Account minimum
$500Promotion
Noneno promotion available at this time
on E*TRADE's website
on Betterment's website
Betterment
Fees
0.25%management fee
Account minimum
$0Promotion
Up to 1 yearof free management with a qualifying deposit
on Betterment's website
on Wealthfront's website
Wealthfront
Fees
0.25%management fee
Account minimum
$500Promotion
$5,000amount of assets managed for free
on Wealthfront's website
on Axos Invest's website
Axos Managed Portfolios
Fees
0.24%management fee
Account minimum
$500Promotion
Noneno promotion available at this time
on Axos Invest's website
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Last updated on February 16, 2022
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Methodology
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. robo-advisors. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
For more details about the categories considered when rating brokers and our process, read our full methodology.
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Best Robo-Advisors for Socially Conscious Investors of March 2022
Frequently asked questions
For the most part, no. While some robo-advisors let you exclude certain investments, their function is to build a portfolio for you. If you want to pick your own investments, you’ll likely want to work with an online broker (here’s our roundup of the best brokers). There has been a recent explosion of exchange-traded funds and mutual funds that make it easy for investors to support their beliefs within a diversified portfolio (they are also the building blocks of most robo-advisors’ SRI portfolios). These funds eliminate the legwork of identifying individual stocks that match specific ESG criteria. If you’re looking for socially conscious investments you can choose yourself, see our top picks for ESG funds.
If you’d like to know exactly what kind of impact your investment has had, it’s a good idea to request an impact report from the fund or company you’ve invested in. This will outline things like carbon emissions, gender diversity and initiatives to have an impact on local communities.
