Best-Of Awards 2026 Methodologies

Best Robo-Advisor for IRA Investors

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

Between July and September 2025, NerdWallet reviewed 14 robo-advisors, which together constitute the majority of that market based on their assets under management. Some of the providers are NerdWallet partners, but this did not influence our selection of the winner.

How we chose the winner:

NerdWallet evaluated each provider across the weighted criteria below to determine the winner for individual retirement account (IRA) investing:

• Retirement planning tools (15%).
• IRA match offer (15%)
• Investment management fee. If a flat fee, we express the fee as a percentage based on account balance of $50,000. (20%).
• Portfolio mix, including level of diversification, customization and specialty portfolio offerings (15%).
• Expense ratios on available investments: 10%.
• Customer service, including hours of availability, ease of finding key information on the provider’s website and educational support offerings (12.5%).
• Account minimum (7.5%).
• Access to human financial advisors (2.5%).
• Socially responsible portfolio option (2.5%).

In the event of a tie, we directly compare the tied robo-advisors’ management fees. The provider with the lowest fee earns the award.

How we verified our data:

NerdWallet writers sent detailed questions to all reviewed companies. NerdWallet writers and editors also confirmed fees, rates, policies and other key features on each company's website.


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