Best if you want
SoFi is a digital-first institution that offers a simple, no-fee rollover IRA managed for you. One of the early “fintech” companies, SoFi started out by helping people refinance their loans. From that start they’ve expanded into a range of financial services, recently launching investment accounts that include rollover IRAs.
The SoFi experience is built for mobile, so if you want a well-designed, mobile first way to manage your retirement savings, then the SoFi Automated IRA is a great option.
Fees
Most automated accounts charge what’s known as an “advisory” or “management fee” to manage your portfolio for you. This fee is usually expressed as a percentage of your assets that’s paid each year (e.g. 0.50% per annum).
SoFi is one of the few providers that charges no advisory fee to manage your IRA portfolio for you. This compares well to other players in the market who can charge 0.25 – 0.35% of your assets each year for a similar service.
What you can invest in
The SoFi investment process is similar to other roboadvisors – you open an account, answer some questions, and they suggest a portfolio for you.
That portfolio is based on a combination of “asset classes” like equities (stocks), fixed income (bonds), and international investments. They’ll actually put your money in a collection of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that allow you to efficiently get access to these asset classes.
Those ETFs are generally provided by large financial institutions like Vanguard and Blackrock and will live inside your portfolio. SoFi also offers its own ETFs and some of your money will be invested in those.
Other features
SoFi’s overall mission is to help you “Get your money right”. To do that, they offer a broad selection of financial services – all digital, and all built with a younger, tech-savvy user in mind. Besides investment accounts, SoFi offers a checking account, student loan refinancing, personal loans, home loans, and even insurance products.
As part of your investment account experience, you’ll get access to a team of certified financial planners (CFPs) available to chat with you by phone. This is a nice perk for those who might have extra financial questions.
Limitations
The SoFi Automated account has the same limitations as other digital, managed accounts – you won’t be able to really change the portfolio allocations much, though that’s best if you want to outsource your money management. They also don’t have physical branches so if that’s important to you then you’re best off with a slightly older brand.
Conclusion
SoFi offers a simple, no-fee, automated IRA. If you want somebody to manage your IRA with little fuss, it’s a solid option. You’ll also be able to establish a broader relationship with SoFi and access a full range of financial services over time.
