What services does WealthStep offer, and which are free vs. for a fee?

WealthStep has various service levels. All levels include the online Planning/Saving and Investment advice modules, and financial guidance/financial literacy videos, a blogpost learning library and more.

WealthStep Basic: Is free, online only, and includes Basic Planning/Saving and Investment advice.

WealthStep 401k: Includes all of the above, plus Advanced online advice, and online only. It is free to plan participants, since their plan sponsor/company pays a fee.

WealthStep Direct (WSD): Includes all of the above, plus tax-efficient portfolio management for IRA and taxable accounts outside of retirement plans. Portfolio management involves periodic transaction costs charged by Charles Schwab, the custodian bank used for WSD and WSD+ accounts. WSD is for accounts between $500,000-$750,000, with an annual fee of 0.85%. WealthStep has no financial relationship with Charles Schwab.

WealthStep Direct Plus (WSD+): Includes all of the above, plus access to optional paid financial planning projects (typically $5,000-$8,000). WSD+ is for accounts over $750,000, with an annual fee of 1%.

Additional full-service wealth management/financial planning engagements are available for those with assets $1,000,000-$10,000,000+. Contact us to learn more.

Mutual fund or ETF fees apply, whether you invest on your own, through your 401k plan, or through a WealthStep Direct portfolio. Where WealthStep is involved with portfolio designs, portfolio costs are relatively low. WealthStep Direct portfolios help clients access lower-cost mutual funds (or ETF’s), some of which are not otherwise available directly to individual investors. The mutual funds or ETF’s  fees (called “Expense Ratio” or “Operating Expense Ratio” or “Mutual Fund Management Fee”) vary based on the stock-bond mix selected by the WealthStep Direct client and generally range between 0.18% and 0.27%, considerably lower than the mutual fund industry average fee of approximately 1.3%. WealthStep avoids conflicts of interests by not being part of or having relationship with mutual fund companies and does not receive any portion of mutual fund fees. WealthStep is paid only by clients on a fully transparent basis.

Processing charges for frequent changes: Clients who make frequent portfolio change requests (more than once a year) or frequently withdraw money (more than twice a year) may be assessed a $100-200 processing charge per transaction. A portion of this fee will go to cover processing costs and a portion will be donated or applied to philanthropic financial literacy education. WealthStep is designed for long-term investors and frequent asset allocation changes will generally harm your long-term results. If you need frequent withdrawals for spending purposes, you may be best served by withdrawing a larger amount annually, and maintaining that cash in a separate checking or savings account of your choosing, which is also advisable because it will reduce the market volatility of your near-term spending money. WealthStep is not a fit for market timers. If you plan to shift your asset allocation frequently to try to beat the market, see the FAQ about market timing, and WealthStep politely recommends you utilize a service other than WealthStep and reserves the right to terminate client relationships that involve excessive account changes/activity.

In total, most WealthStep Direct clients will have total fees in the 0.50%-1.00% range. Compare that to the benefits of professional management, plus Aim>Save>Invest>Spend advice, plus ongoing education to help you achieve your goals and avoid pitfalls, plus the option to upgrade to a full-service relationship in the future, and the value is expected to materially exceed the total fees.