Empower Personal Strategy Review 2024: Pros, Cons and How It Compares
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Our Take
3.8
Reviewed in: Nov. 2024
Period considered: Aug. - Nov. 2024
The bottom line:
on Empower's website
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Pros & Cons
Pros
Individual securities available.
Comprehensive investment management tools.
Dedicated financial advisors for balances $250,000 or more.
Advanced tax optimization strategy.
Cons
$100,000 account minimum.
High management fee for an online advisor.
Compare to Similar Brokers
Fees 0.49%-0.89% management fee | Fees $1,000 and up per year (free initial consultation) | Fees 0.30% management fee | Fees Up to 1% per year |
Account minimum $100,000 | Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $50,000 | Account minimum $250,000 |
Promotion None no promotion available at this time | Promotion Limited time $550 kick-start offer!* Get $300 into your brokerage account if you invest & maintain $5k within your first 90 days, plus the $250 enrollment fee will be waived for new annual members. Expires Dec 31, 2024 | Promotion None no promotion available at this time | Promotion $250 off one year of financial or tax planning |
Learn more on Empower's website | Learn more on Facet's website | Learn more on Vanguard's website | Learn more on Harness Wealth's website |
AD Paid non-client promotion | AD Paid non-client promotion | AD Paid non-client promotion | AD Paid non-client promotion |
NerdWallet doesn’t invest its money with this provider, but they are our referral partner – so we get paid only if you click through and take a qualifying action (such as open an account with or provide your contact information to the provider). Most importantly, our reviews and ratings are objective and are never impacted by our partnerships. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here’s how we make money.
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Full Review
Editor's note: Empower acquired Personal Capital in 2020, and in Feb. 2023, Personal Capital finished its rebranding under the new name Empower. This review pertains to Empower Personal Strategy, the advisory service that is a direct successor to Personal Capital.
In this review of Empower Personal Strategy
Low investment expense ratios: Empower Personal Strategy uses investment funds that carry some of the lowest fees of any financial planning service we review: They average just 0.07%.
Advisor access: Empower Personal Strategy gives you access to either a team of advisors or two dedicated advisors depending on your account balance. All advisors are fiduciaries, and certified financial planners (CFPs) are available upon request.
Where Empower Personal Strategy falls short
High minimum and fees: Empower Personal Strategy's account minimum and management fee are on the higher end compared to some competitors.
Must use Empower's custodian: Investors must move money to Empower's brokerage custodian, Pershing LLC, to have it managed by Empower Personal Strategy.
Alternatives to consider:
For low minimums and fees: Vanguard Personal Advisor
For broker flexibility: Wealthramp
Who should choose Empower Personal Strategy?
High-net-worth investors: If you meet Empower Personal Strategy's fairly steep minimum, and don't mind the somewhat-high management fee, you can get a lot out of your money with Empower, including CFP access upon request and very cost-efficient portfolio management.
People with estate and tax planning needs: Empower Personal Strategy is one of the few financial planning services we review that offers estate planning services and personalized tax help — although both of these services come with a $1 million minimum.
What the Nerds think 🤓
"Empower Personal Strategy has stayed true to its roots — the service monitors your investment portfolio with computer algorithms, and offers tax-loss harvesting and automatically rebalancing. But investors also get access to financial advisors, making Empower a full-service alternative to your standard robo-advisor. The fees and account minimum reflect that — and there are similar services that charge less or require a small minimum investment — but we think Empower is worth a look if you're in or near retirement or need estate planning expertise."
Empower Personal Strategy at a glance
Account minimum | $100,000. |
Account management, planning or subscription fee | Tiered fee depends on account balance:
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Setup or onboarding fee | None. |
Advisor access and credentials | All clients have access to a team of advisors. Clients with $100,000 up to $250,000 work with an advisory team. Those with $250,000 or more have two dedicated advisors. All advisors are held to the fiduciary standard. Clients are given a direct phone line to their advisors. Advisors are available via phone, email or video chat standard business hours. Clients can also reach out through their dashboard. Advisors aren't always certified financial planners, but CFPs are available upon request. |
Financial planning services | Can advise on a majority of situations covered by full-service financial planning firms; estate and tax planning available with a $1 million account balance. |
Investment expense ratios | Average 0.07%. |
Portfolio construction | 12 portfolio allocations, with individual client customizations that consider their holistic financial life and specific financial goals. Socially responsible portfolios are available. Retirement paycheck feature is available as a paid service and recommends tax-optimized retirement-withdrawal strategies. Portfolios include both ETFs and individual stocks for accounts that qualify ($200,000 minimum). |
Brokerage options | Clients must move money to Empower's custodian, Pershing LLC. Empower also provides investment reviews and recommendations for 401(k) and IRA accounts and can also manage active 401(k) plans. |
Accounts supported | Nonretirement accounts. Roth, traditional, rollover and SEP IRAs. Trusts. Cash account (not charged management fees). Empower has the capability to manage active 401(k) plans, and can advise on 401(k), HSA and 529 plan allocations |
Tax strategy | Tax-loss harvesting on portfolios that hold ETFs and individual stocks. Smart withdrawal feature recommends tax-optimized retirement-withdrawal strategies. |
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website) | Customer service is available through the app and by phone Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. Questions can be submitted after hours through the Dashboard or support portal. |
What to know about Empower Personal Strategy's account minimum and fees
Empower Personal Strategy has a $100,000 minimum, which puts the wealth management service out of reach for some customers. However, compared to a traditional in-person financial advisor, $100,000 is very reasonable.
Empower Personal Strategy investors pay 0.89% of their assets managed on their first $1 million. This is fairly standard for the online financial advisors that offer a similar level of financial planning services.
Managing your investments with a traditional financial advisor can cost significantly more than working with Empower; the average advisor charges more than 1% of assets managed. At higher balances with its private client service, Empower drops its fee further, ranging from 0.79% on your first $3 million to as low as 0.49% for over $10 million.
Empower Personal Strategy’s annual fee is all-inclusive, meaning there is no setup or onboarding fee.
Like with most financial advisors, clients have to pay the expense ratios of the exchange-traded funds included in the portfolio in addition to the management fee. At Empower those fees are fairly low, averaging only 0.07%. These fees are charged by the investment funds, not Empower.
Empower Personal Strategy's advisor access
Those with balances of $250,000 or more get access to two dedicated financial advisors who can answer questions about a wide range of issues, including retirement planning, estate planning, taxes and home financing. Clients with $100,000 up to $250,000 invested have access to a team of advisors. These advisors are available via phone, email or video chat. Advisors aren't always certified financial planners, but CFPs are available upon request. All clients have a direct phone number for their assigned advisor.
Empower Personal Strategy's financial planning services
Empower offers a variety of comprehensive tools, including an investment checkup, a 401(k) fee analyzer and a spending tracker. The Empower dashboard lets you view your entire financial picture in one place.
Empower Personal Strategy also offers estate planning services and personalized tax help for accounts with more than $1 million in assets.
Other key Empower Personal Strategy features
Portfolio construction
Clients with $100,000 to $200,000 in assets are invested in a portfolio of ETFs that carry that weighted average expense ratio of 0.07% and are designed to be tax-efficient.
Clients with at least $200,000 in assets receive all the benefits above, as well as the ability to customize a portfolio that includes individual stocks and ETFs.
Empower Personal Strategy's approach takes a holistic view of a client's financial picture — not just the assets it manages. Empower also has a socially responsible strategy, which screens U.S. equities based on environmental, social and governance factors.
Accounts supported
Empower Personal Strategy manages nonretirement accounts, Roth, traditional, rollover and SEP IRAs and trusts. Empower will advise on health savings account (HSA) and 529 plan allocations, but does not directly manage those accounts.
Some financial advisors allow you to keep your money at any major brokerage, which can save you money if your past or future broker charges any kind of transfer fees. Unfortunately, Empower only manages money at their custodian, Pershing LLC. However, Empower Personal Strategy can provide investment reviews and recommendations for 401(k) and IRA accounts and can also directly manage active 401(k) plans.
Customer support
Customer service is available through the app and by phone Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. Questions can be submitted after hours through the Dashboard or support portal. Some of Empower's competitors offer more comprehensive customer support, such as 24/7 phone support, holiday hours or video chat support.
We found Empower Personal Strategy's website very easy to navigate.
Tax strategy
Empower Personal Strategy utilizes asset location (putting investments into the most tax-efficient accounts), tax-loss harvesting (a strategy where you sell investments at a loss to offset capital gains tax) and tax efficiency (investing with stocks and ETFs over mutual funds) to help you minimize your tax bill. Bespoke tax planning services are available to accounts with at least $1 million in assets.
Good to know about Empower Personal Strategy
Higher minimums for many services
Even if you meet Empower Personal Strategy's $100,000 account minimum, it's worth double checking if you meet the minimums for the specific services you want. For example:
$200,000 minimum for a portfolio that includes both ETFs and individual stocks.
$250,000 minimum for dedicated advisors (lower balances get access to a team of advisors).
$1 million minimum for estate planning, personalized tax planning and lower management fees.
$10 million minimum for the lowest management fee (0.49%).
Is Empower Personal Strategy right for you?
Empower Personal Strategy should appeal to high-net-worth investors who can deposit enough with the service to gain access to dedicated financial advisors and the services you'd get from working with a traditional human advisor.
Investors who fall in that $100,000 up to $250,000 range, which only offers access to a team of financial advisors, can find a similar level of service elsewhere for less.
on Empower's website
