Empower might be for you if: You're looking for financial planning and investment advice. Formerly known as Personal Capital, Empower is a wealth management platform that offers investment accounts, a budgeting app, and advisory services. Read our full Empower review to learn more about what it offers.
Open Account for Empower
OnEmpowerSecure Website.
Ratings Methodology
Our Rating:
Rating image, 3.5 out of 5 stars.
3.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Bottom Line
Empower is a do-it-all app and web platform that tackles investing, budgeting, and retirement planning. The easy-to-use interface stands out, and the option to get investment advice is also a valuable benefit. But fees for the wealth management services are on the high side.
Fees:
0.89% advisory fee for assets up to $1 million. Private clients with higher assets can qualify for fees as low as 0.49%.
Account Minimum:
$100,000
Open Account for Empower
OnEmpowerSecure Website.
Alternatives to Consider
We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.
| Account | Fees | Account Minimum | |
|---|---|---|---|
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 for stocks, $0 for options contracts | $0 | Open Account for SoFi Active Investing |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; up to $6.99 monthly for Robinhood Gold | $0 | Open Account for Robinhood |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Commission-free; other fees apply | $0 | Open Account for E*TRADE |
Empower's self-directed investment accounts are fine, but they don't offer the kinds of features and research tools you get with the top trading platforms. The main reasons to use Empower are its personal finance tools and its financial advisory services. Keep in mind that while Empower is popular for wealth management, its fees are somewhat high, so you may want to compare options first.
Our brokerage rating methodology
At The Motley Fool Ascent, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and user experience; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and customer service. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.
See our full methodology here: Ratings Methodology
My investing experience
I've been investing for about eight years now, and while most of my money is in index funds, I also like to buy individual stocks from time to time. I consider low fees to be a must-have for any brokerage, because I don't want to pay more than necessary to invest. The trading platform is also important to me. I want it to be easy to invest, whether I'm doing it from my computer or my smartphone.
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Empower's fees depend on the type of brokerage account and the services you use. If you want to set up your own self-directed portfolio, you can do that with an Empower Investment Account, which charges the following trading fees:
With Empower's wealth management services, the fee amount depends on your investment assets. For primary and premium clients with up to $1 million in assets, Empower charges a 0.89% annual management fee.
If you have over $1 million in assets, you'll be in the private client tier. The fee amounts for Empower private clients are listed in the table below.
Empower has a web platform and a mobile app. Both of them allow you to access your dashboard to get a big picture view of your finances, and you can also manage your investments through either one.
Empower may not be the best choice for active investors or those who need advanced trading tools. That's not what it's designed for, and there are other stock brokers with better charting tools and trading platforms. But for long-term investing where you primarily buy and hold, Empower's platform will be fine.
App
The Empower app is arguably its biggest selling point. It has excellent reviews, including 4.8 stars for the iOS version in the App Store and 4.2 stars for the Android version in Google Play. The app largely mirrors the web platform. In addition to your investment portfolio, it provides a personal dashboard where you can connect all your accounts and use a wealth of personal finance tools.
Empower has high security standards. It uses multi-factor authentication and sends proactive security alerts if certain changes are made to your account, and it uses AES-256 data encryption. Investment accounts are protected by SIPC insurance. Empower Personal Cash™ accounts offer an aggregate of up to $5 million in FDIC insurance coverage.
Empower traces its roots back to 1891, when it started as Great-West Life Assurance Company in Canada. It began offering retirement plans for U.S. employers in 1940, and it eventually became the country's second-largest retirement plan provider in 2014.
Personal Capital launched in 2009, offering wealth management and financial advisory services. In 2020, Empower acquired Personal Capital.
FAQs
Personal Capital completed its rebrand to Empower Personal Wealth in February 2023.
Personal Capital was largely unchanged when it was acquired by Empower. It was eventually rebranded to Empower Personal Wealth, but it still offers the same features as before.
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