Best IRA Account Providers Of 2024

Betterment offers several IRA options, low fees, and an optional robo advisor. You’ll need $10 to start investing, although there is no account minimum.

Unlike some competitors, Betterment also offers socially responsible investing portfolios.

Fees:

• 0.25% annual advisory fee

Pros:

• Low fees
• No account minimum
• SRI portfolios
• Optional financial coaching
• Tax-loss harvesting is a standard feature

Cons:

• Financial coaching is $299 for a 45-minute call, which might be out of budget for some
• No SIMPLE IRA or Rollover IRA offered

Betterment offers optional financial coaching calls for $299 for a 45-minute session. During the call, you can ask questions about how to optimize your portfolio. Premium customers get this service for free.

Charles Schwab offers a variety of IRA options, with no trading commissions or account minimums. They also have an extensive network of in-person branch locations, which is ideal for people who’d prefer to meet in person with a financial professional to discuss retirement planning.

Fees:

• No trading commissions
• Each mutual fund and index fund has its own expense ratio.

Pros:

• No account minimums
• In-person branch network
• No account minimum
• Large selection of investment options
• Several IRA account types offered

Cons:

• You’ll need $100 to start investing.

Charles Schwab offers an optional Schwab Intelligent Portfolio, a fee-free investment management service. The account requires a $5,000 balance to get started, and you’ll be required to keep 10% of your assets in cash. However, the service is completely hands-off, which is ideal for people who’d prefer to “set it and forget it.”

Fidelity offers a variety of IRA account options, complete with low to no fees, strong customer service, and a learning center designed to teach you the ins and outs of investing.

They also offer a robo-advising platform called Fidelity Go, which is ideal for customers that would prefer a hands-off approach to investing.

Fees:

• No trading commissions

Pros:

• Offers four index funds with no expense ratio
• No account minimum
• User-friendly mobile app
• Variety of educational resources

Cons:

• No access to other currencies, like crypto, which may be a downside for some

Fidelity’s Learning Center is ideal for new investors. It’s jam packed with blog articles, videos, and quizzes designed to teach you about nearly everything related to investing.

SoFi Automated Investing is a robo-advising platform, designed to make investing simple and hands-off. However, it’s known for its high expense ratios, which isn’t ideal. SoFi creates portfolios with their proprietary ETFs, which previously had 0.19% expense ratios. While they’ve waived those fees on some of their funds, you’ll need to be careful about which funds you’ve invested in so you don’t get caught paying extreme fees.

Fees:

• High expense ratios (some around 0.19%)

Pros:

• Hands-off investing
• Free financial planning

Cons:

• High expense ratios
• Proprietary funds hold fewer assets

Customers receive free unlimited access to a team of certified financial planners. You can meet with them by phone or video appointments during standard working hours.

TD Ameritrade is perfect for new investors. They offer strong customer service, a user-friendly platform, and a variety of educational resources including in-person workshops and virtual webcasts.

They also have over 170 branch locations throughout the United States. Customers can meet in-person with a TD Ameritrade consultant to discuss retirement planning.

Fees:

• No trading commissions

Pros:

• No account minimum
• User-friendly platform
• Large selection of investments
• Strong customer service
• Optional in-person meetings

Cons:

• No fractional shares
• No access to cryptocurrencies

While TD Ameritrade previously offered Investment Management portfolios, they are no longer accepting new clients. They are currently referring people interested in a managed portfolio to Charles Schwab.

Vanguard offers two robo advisor options, one of which being a pure robo-advisor option called Vanguard Digital Advisor. The service charges a 0.15% fee and has an account minimum of $3,000.

Fees:

• 0.15% fee

Pros:

• Lower fees than some competing robo-advisors
• Simple investment approach
• Low expense ratios

Cons:

• Higher account minimum than some competitors
• Doesn’t include access to human advisors
• No ESG or tax-loss harvesting options

Vanguard’s offering is solid, but it doesn’t have ESG or tax-loss harvesting options.