Lisa MacColl is a writer, investor and former compliance consultant in the group retirement and individual wealth management fields. Lisa has written about personal finance for 14 years and currently writes about investing and investment providers for Wealthsimple. Lisa's past work has been published in Canadian Money Saver, Advisor’s Edge, CBC, and CreditCards.ca. She was a nominee for the 2015 Oktoberfest Women of the Year, Professional Category. Lisa holds an M.A. and B.A. from the Wilfrid Laurier University.
We believe that making smart choices with your money shouldn’t be hard. To help you choose, we compared Justwealth vs Wealthsimple Invest. Then we created this handy comparison for you to show how we stack up in terms of key features, accounts and pricing.
Your trust is important to us. That’s why we always do our best to be fair and provide complete and accurate information. We also do our best to provide up-to-date information. You should know that Justwealth or Wealthsimple Invest may change their product features or fees at any time. To complete your homework, we recommend visiting our competitor’s site to continue your research.
Justwealth vs Wealthsimple Invest
Justwealth has been around since 2015, and offers Exchange Traded Funds to meet a variety of goals and risk tolerances. Each Justwealth client is provided with a Personal Portfolio Manager who works with the client to determine which of the 70 portfolio options will work best for their investment goals, timeline, risk tolerance and account type. They are a privately held corporation.
Wealthsimple is an online investment manager that combines smart technology with expert financial advice. We allow you to put your money in a managed portfolio (Wealthsimple Invest) or put your money in a high-interest savings product (Wealthsimple Save). We’ve been in business since 2014, and have over $3 billion in assets under management.
How Justwealth compares to Wealthsimple Invest (Managed Portfolios)
See how Justwealth and Wealthsimple Invest stack up in this side-by-side comparison. Your trust is important to us. That’s why we always do our best to be fair and provide complete and accurate information. To complete your homework, we recommend visiting our competitor’s site to continue your research.
| Feature | Justwealth | Wealthsimple |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating on Savvy New Canadians | 4.6/5 | 4.9/5 |
| Social Responsible Investing | Yes | Yes |
| Halal Investing | No | Yes |
| Dividend Reinvesting | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum Balance To Start Investing | $5000 minimum account balance to begin investing, but there is no minimum balance for RESP accounts. | None |
| Auto Depositing | Yes | Yes |
| Management Fees | The fees are: .50% 0-$500K .40% over $500K. There is also a $4.99-a-month fee for all non-RESP accounts. RESP has no minimum balance, but there is a minimum fee of $2.50 per month for accounts under $25K. | The fees are 0.5% on $0-$100k and 0.4% for amounts over $100k. |
| Transfer Fees (to another financial institution) | Yes . the fees are $50 for a partial transfer to another financial institution or $150 for a full transfer out. | No |
| Inactivity Fees | No | No |
Comparison of accounts offered (Managed portfolios)
Here’s a list of the accounts that Justwealth and Wealthsimple Invest offer in Canada.
| Accounts | Justwealth | Wealthsimple Invest |
|---|---|---|
| Savings | Yes | Yes |
| RESP | Yes | Yes |
| LIF | Yes | Yes |
| TFSA | Yes | Yes |
| RRSP | Yes | Yes |
| Spousal RRSP | Yes | No |
| Personal/Non-Registered | Yes | Yes |
| LIRA | Yes | Yes |
| RIF/RRIF | Yes | Yes |
| Joint | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate | Yes | Yes |
| Trust | Yes | Yes |
The bottom line
Both Justwealth and Wealthsimple Invest offer a range of non-registered and registered account options, including joint, corporate and trust accounts. Both companies offer no-fee transfers, auto-deposits, account re-balancing and dividend re-investing and portfolio reviews and human support.
We believe you should get good value for the fees you pay. At Wealthsimple Invest, you pay 0.5% on $0-$100k and 0.4% for amounts over $100k. That’s it. There are no additional fees. At Justwealth, you pay 0.50% 0-$500K 0.40% over $500K, and you must have a $5000 balance to open the account. And while there is no minimum to open a RESP, there is a minimum fee of $2.50 per month for accounts with less than $25K. If you want to transfer your funds out of Just Wealth, it will cost you $50 for a partial account transfer and $150 for a full account transfer. Wealthsimple does not charge transfer fees.
When it comes to education and advice Wealthsimple provides educational content (Personal Finance 101 and Wealthsimple Magazine) and gives you access to a financial planner. Justwealth also offers access to a financial planner and offers a variety of online tools and education articles.
And finally, on Savvy New Canadians Just wealth was rated 4.6/5 and Wealthsimple was rated 4.9/5.
What to consider when choosing an investment provider
Comparing investment providers doesn’t have to be hard. Here’s some advice to get you started:
Pay attention to account minimums Choose a provider that makes sense for what you can invest now - and in the future. Some investment providers require you to deposit as much as $100,000 to get started. And, in some cases you could face nasty penalties for dropping below the account minimum - or be forced to close your account.
Watch out for hidden fees
Nothing eats away at long-term gains quite like fees. And we’re talking about more than just management fees (though they’re important, too). Account transfers and trading fees can also add up. The best investment providers are upfront with what it costs to invest with them.
Look out for human support
When you need to make sense of a mysterious number in your monthly statement, nothing compares to talking to a fellow human. In the competition to offer the lowest possible management fees, some robo-advisors are quick to cut customer support. Before you commit to a provider, see what support is available - you never know when you’ll want it.
Find out if you have access to a financial advisor
No two people are alike - and neither are their financial situations. But investment platforms vary in terms of how much access you get to professional advice. Keep an eye out for providers that offer access to a financial advisor. There are only a few who offer advice when you need it, regardless of how much money you have in your account.
Understand how much freedom you have Relationships end - even when you’re investing for the long term. Before you commit, find out what happens if you need to withdraw your funds or want to move on to a new investment platform - and whether there are any penalties involved.
Grow your money with low fees and no account minimums. Invest as little as a dollar and we’ll build you a personalized investment portfolio to meet your financial goals.What makes Wealthsimple different to other investment providers
We do the work for you
Using Wealthsimple is, well, simple. In just a few minutes, we’ll build you a custom portfolio that makes sense for your risk tolerance and investment timelines. And we’ll do the maintenance for you, with automatic rebalancing and dividend reinvesting. All you have to do to get started is answer a few simple questions. And then you can sit back and tell all your friends how smart you were with your money.
No account minimums or hidden fees
We’re the first investment company in Canada to eliminate account minimums. That means you can start investing with as little as $1. Our fees are also really, really low. We charge 0.5% on $0-$100k and 0.4% on anything above $100k. Plus, you can make a withdrawal any time you want. So you can always count on your money being there when you need it. Start investing now.
Personal touch
Our financial advisors are fiduciaries, which is a fancy way of saying that they have a legal obligation to provide financial advice that’s in your best interest - not ours. They’re standing by to answer your questions and provide support whenever you need it. All you have to go is drop us a line by phone, email or even Skype. Get started.
More than 150,000 people love using Wealthsimple Invest
See the reviews for yourself:
1.5k ratings in the Apple app store
2019 Top Robo Advisor (NerdWallet)
5 Stars - Simple.Thrifty.Living
Ready to give Wealthsimple a shot?
Put your money to work in a smart portfolio, designed to help you get closer to your financial goals. Start investing now and get access to our state-of-the-art technology, low fees, and access to advice from real humans whenever you need it.
Methodology
The information on this page was compiled by Wealthsimple in May 2019. In order to uncover this information, we looked at Justwealth’s website, press releases and third-party sites. The information collected relates to features, accounts and pricing. The information is provided for comparison purposes only, as at the time of publication. The comparison is only intended for Canadian investors.
Last Updated January 3, 2023
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