Wealthsimple Review for 2024

If you’re looking for a low-cost, automated investment management service, Wealthsimple is worth checking out. Wealthsimple’s streamlined, user-friendly platform, low fees, and investment options make it one of Canada’s leading online investment management services.

What Is Wealthsimple? An Overview

Wealthsimple is a Canadian online investment management service offering trading in stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. Funds invested with Wealthsimple are CIPF-protected.

The company operates one of the top robo-advisor platforms, increasingly implemented by investment companies, and has a team of financial experts to help you maximize your yields. Depending on your account tier, you can discuss specifics with the human advisors.

The Wealthsimple platform is a good choice for beginners; however, it is suitable for experienced investors, too, as both can benefit from commission-free trading.

Those not interested in manual trading can take a risk-free survey to create an automated portfolio with Wealthsimple Invest. It’s completely safe to link your bank account to Wealthsimple, as the company doesn’t store your bank login credentials, while its security features include data encryption. 

How Wealthsimple Works

With Wealthsimple, you can invest in equities, exchange-traded funds, bonds, cryptocurrencies, real estate, and cash equivalents. ​​Wealthsimple offers five portfolios: Conservative, Balanced, Growth, Balanced SRI, and Halal. Standard portfolios include eight to 10 ETFs, socially responsible portfolios six ETFs, and Halal portfolios 50 stocks.

Corporate accounts, retirement savings plans, locked-in retirement accounts, tax-free savings accounts, registered school savings plans, registered retirement income funds, joint accounts, and taxable accounts are among the many types of products available.

To invest and manage your money, you can go for one of the following options: Wealthsimple Trade, Wealthsimple Invest, Wealthsimple Cash, Wealthsimple Crypto, and Wealthsimple Tax.

Wealthsimple Invest vs. Trade

Wealthsimple Invest is a good option if you want to invest but don’t have the time or knowledge to do it yourself. The first step is to fill out a risk-free survey to create an automated, cost-effective portfolio. These portfolios combine bonds and stocks to meet the client’s needs. Once the portfolio is created, there will be no need for human stock selection.

On the other hand, Wealthsimple Trade is a self-directed investment platform enabling investors to trade stocks and ETFs on leading US and Canadian exchange markets. Users can get started with as little as $1, and there are no transaction commissions. However, purchasing stocks or ETFs on the US market comes with a modest fee based on exchange rates. 

Wealthsimple Cash 

Wealthsimple Cash enables instant payments. With Cash, you can use the Cash card to make purchases and the Cash app to send and receive funds from others. 

You can also spend money using the Cash Card and earn 1% cash back on eligible purchases, send and receive funds using a Dollar $ign handle or phone number, and request funds from friends.

Wealthsimple Crypto Review

Wealthsimple Crypto is a cryptocurrency trading platform listing over 40 cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum. Your coins are secure, being held by Gemini Trust Company, LLC, a licensed cryptocurrency custodian with $200 million in cold storage insurance coverage. 

Wealthsimple Crypto charges no commission, deposit or withdrawal fees, and no minimum balance is required. It uses spreads to cover its costs and promises you will pay no more than 2% per transaction overall. 

Cryptocurrency investors can place their investments in a nonregistered account. They also have the option to access Wealthsimple Crypto via the Wealthsimple Trade app.

If you’re only interested in crypto trading, though, you should look into some of the other top platforms available.

Wealthsimple Tax

Wealthsimple Tax is an automated filing service that prepares and files tax returns on behalf of its clients to the Canada Revenue Agency. Using Wealthsimple Tax comes with a donation-based pricing system: Customers can pay as little or as much as they want to file their tax return and can even pay nothing if they so desire.

Wealthsimple Tax has made it simple to file taxes by providing autofill features for customers who log into their CRA accounts.

Wealthsimple Fees

Wealthsimple does not charge account-opening fees. However, you will be charged an annual management fee based on the portfolio’s value. There are three account tiers available:

The fees depend on whether you opted for the Basic or Plus plans, which allow you to buy and sell ETFs and stocks without paying a commission.

You do not need to deposit any money to start your portfolio with Basic, and you can access most features.

The Plus plan gives you more flexibility in managing your portfolio but comes with a $10 monthly fee.

Wealthsimple App

Wealthsimple offers an app that helps users manage their money and make investment decisions. The app allows you to track spending, set budgets, and monitor investment portfolios. It also provides tools for goal-setting and financial planning. 

The app is available in both English and French and is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.

Is Wealthsimple Safe?

Wealthsimple is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and is registered with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

The brokerage takes measures to protect its customers’ personal information, including 256-bit SSL encryption, two-factor authentication, and cloud backups.

Finally, the company has a dedicated team of security experts who monitor the system around the clock. As a result, clients can have peace of mind knowing that their information is secure.

Wealthsimple Customer Support

One of the most important aspects of any online service is customer support, and Wealthsimple is no exception. The company offers 24/7 customer support through various channels, including phone, email, and live chat.

Customer service representatives are available by phone and live chat from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST) on weekends. Email and virtual assistant support are available around the clock. Wealthsimple also offers a comprehensive FAQ section on its website, which covers a wide range of topics related to its services. 

Bottom Line

Our opinion is that Wealthsimple is a great choice for Canadian investors looking for a simple and affordable way to invest, as the company offers a variety of products and services and its fees are very competitive. 

However, for investors looking for a one-stop shop for all of their investment needs, Wealthsimple may not be the best option. For those who are willing to use multiple providers, Wealthsimple can be a great way to save on fees and simplify the investing process.