Last Updated: August 24, 2017
Note: Our methodology is still a work in progress and working on finalizing criteria, scoring, and metrics to monitor. If you have any suggestions, comments or improvements, please contact us.
Our goal for Investor Junkie is to provide our readers with information about financial products that is 100% trustworthy and objective. We take care to ensure that our reviews are not influenced by our marketing of affiliate relationships, where they occur. Instead, they’re based firmly in fact and on the attributes of the actual products that we evaluate.
When reviewing a product for Investor Junkie, our writers take into consideration a list of criteria and create a unique score of 0 to 10 for each one.
(Currently, each overall review score is calculated independently of the unique criteria.)
Robo Advisors
A robo advisor is a service that use a computer algorithm to provide automated investment advice as to the asset allocation of your portfolio.
For the Robo Advisor category, the following criteria are examined:
| Commissions & Fees | How do the robo advisor’s commission and fee rates compare to their competitors’? And are all costs transparent? What are the fees of the ETFs/mutual funds offered? |
|---|---|
| Customer Service | Can you reach a human representative by phone? Is communication just through email? Chat? Social media? How long does it take for emails to be answered, on average? What are the hours that service is available? Is there 24/7 support available? |
| Ease of Use | In these days of “instant” everything, ease of use is key. Does the advisor have an app as well as a desktop platform? Are platforms easy to use and figure out? Can your deposits be scheduled to occur automatically? |
| Tools & Resources | Besides the main function of a robo advisor (determining your appropriate asset allocation), does the service provide other tools such as goal-setting services or calculator? |
| Investment Options | How broad are the service’s offerings? For instance, does it provide tax-loss harvesting, taxable accounts, 401(k) guidance, third-party account linking, 529s, investing through IRAs and other retirement plans or access to REITs? |
| Asset Allocation | How flexible are the portfolio options? Can you remove and/or add investments? Is the asset allocation rigid? What quality are the investments? Does the service force users into cash? The amount of funds available in portfolio creation? Are there too many funds in the portfolios created? |
Real Estate
Real estate crowdfunding is a growing field that allows investors to take advantage of profiting from this potentially lucrative market without having to physically fix and flip properties yourself.
For the Real Estate category, the following criteria are examined:
| Commissions & Fees | How do the platform’s commission and fee rates compare to its competitors’? And are all costs transparent? |
|---|---|
| Customer Service | Can you reach a human representative by phone? Is communication just through email? Chat? Social media? How long does it take for emails to be answered, on average? What are the hours that service is available? Is there 24/7 support available? |
| Ease of Use | In these days of “instant” everything, ease of use is key. Does the service have an app as well as a desktop platform? Are the investment platforms easy to use and figure out? |
| Diversification | How many investments are offered? How diverse? Is there a tight focus on what kinds of investments are offered? |
| Amount of Deals | How large is the selection of investment offerings on the platform? Are new deals brought forward on a regular basis? Or are investors limited to only a handful of options? |
| Due Diligence | What type of process do they use to verify applicants? Do they offer ratings? |
Personal Finance
Personal finance apps can help you do everything from creating a budget to keeping track of your investments, to paying your bills.
For the Personal Finance category, the following criteria are examined:
| Cost | How does the service’s pricing compare to their competitors’? And are all costs transparent? |
|---|---|
| Customer Service | Can you reach a human representative by phone? Is communication just through email? Chat? Social media? How long does it take for emails to be answered, on average? What are the hours that service is available? Is there 24/7 support available? |
| Ease of Use | In these days of “instant” everything, ease of use is key. Are the investment platforms easy to use and figure out? |
| Tools & Resources | What services are available with the software/app? Does it have budgeting functions, email notifications, currency support, data exportation and importation, etc.? |
| Synchronization | How does the software sync with your banking and other financial accounts? |
| Accessibility | Does the program have an app for Android, Apple or both, as well as a desktop platform? |
Stock Brokers
Online stock brokers help you place self-directed trades. Normally, they feature very low transaction fees when compared to traditional stock brokers.
For the Stock Brokers category, the following criteria are examined:
| Commissions & Fees | How do the broker’s commission and fee rates compare to their competitors’? And are all costs transparent? Do they offer commission-free ETFs? Is there a minimum deposit? |
|---|---|
| Customer Service | Can you reach a human representative by phone? Is communication just through email? Chat? Social media? How long does it take for emails to be answered, on average? What are the hours that service is available? Is there 24/7 support available? |
| Ease of Use | In these days of “instant” everything, ease of use is key. Does the broker have an app as well as a desktop platform? Are platforms easy to use and figure out? Do they offer services for BlackBerry? |
| Tools & Resources | What features does the broker offer? Watch lists, calculators, charts? What is the quality of the research they conduct and present? Do they send out email notifications, analyst reports on investments, or screeners? Can you set prices on trades? What flexibility do you get when buying or selling? How do the stocks that the broker monitors perform? |
| Account Options | Are banking services — loans, CDs, checking, etc. — offered by the broker, making it a one-stop shop? If they do, is checking, ATM, etc., commission-free? Do they offer credit cards? As well, do they offer retirement accounts such as IRAs or other account types like 529s or trusts? |
| Investment Options | Does the broker offer their own ETFs? Can you trade options and/or bonds? What types of securities can be traded? How long does the broker take to execute your trades? |
Microsavings
Like robo advisors, microsavings apps use computer algorithms to help you maximize your asset allocation. However, they often lack retirement accounts and are really geared more toward short-term savings.
For the Microsavings category, the following criteria are examined:
| Commissions & Fees | How do the service’s commission and fee rates compare to its competitors’? And are all costs transparent? |
|---|---|
| Customer Service | Can you reach a human representative by phone? Is communication just through email? Chat? Social media? How long does it take for emails to be answered, on average? What are the hours that service is available? Is there 24/7 support available? |
| Ease of Use | In these days of “instant” everything, ease of use is key. Does the service have an app as well as a desktop platform? Are platforms easy to use and figure out? Can your savings deposits be scheduled to occur automatically? |
| Tools & Resources | Besides the main function of a microsavings service, does it provide other tools such as calculators, charts, etc.? |
| Investment Options | How broad are the services offerings? For instance, do they provide taxable accounts, 401(k) guidance, third-party account linking, 529s, IRAs, or other retirement accounts? |
| Asset Allocation | How flexible are the portfolio options? Is the asset allocation rigid? What quality are the investments that your savings go into? Do they represent a broad diversification into stocks and securities? |
Peer-to-Peer Lending
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending can be a great way to earn fixed income. With P2P, not only are you making money, but helping companies and individuals pay off high-interest debt to boot.
For the Peer-to-Peer Lending category, the following criteria are examined:
| Commissions & Fees | How do the platform’s commission and fee rates compare to its competitors’? And are all costs transparent? |
|---|---|
| Customer Service | Can you reach a human representative by phone? Is communication just through email? Chat? Social media? How long does it take for emails to be answered, on average? What are the hours that service is available? Is there 24/7 support available? |
| Ease of Use | In these days of “instant” everything, ease of use is key. Does the service have an app as well as a desktop platform? Are the investment platforms easy to use and figure out? |
| Diversification | How many investments are offered? How diverse? Is there a tight focus on what kinds of investments are offered? |
| Amount of Deals | How large is the selection of investment offerings on the platform? Are new deals brought forward on a regular basis? Or are investors limited to only a handful of options? |
| Due Diligence | What type of process do they use to verify applicants? Do they offer ratings? |