Domain Money Review 2023: Actively Managed Crypto Portfolios

Cryptocurrency investing has been immensely popular for the last few years. But if you want to invest in actively managed funds that focus on crypto, there still aren't many options out there.

Domain Money, a newer crypto and stock investing company, is looking to change this reality. It offers various crypto and blockchain-focused portfolios that are actively managed by its investing team. Plus you can trade stocks, ETFs, and crypto to diversify your portfolio on your own.

However, Domain Money is a relatively new player in this space, and some of its features are still in development. This Domain Money review is covering the pros and cons, pricing, and how to determine if it's the right platform for you.

Pros & Cons

What Is Domain Money?

Domain Money is a stock and crypto investing platform that began in 2021. The company was founded by Adam Dell, the former Head of Product at Marcus by Goldman Sachs. Despite being a younger company, Domain Money is being run by a team with extensive FinTech experience, with employees coming from companies like Betterment, SoFi, and BlockFi.

Currently, the platform supports over 45 cryptocurrencies and over 4,000 stocks and ETFs. This makes it similar to online brokers like eToro that also let you trade a variety of assets.

However, the main difference is that Domain Money also offers several actively managed portfolios that focus on crypto and disruptive technologies. This means there's something for passive and active investors alike who want to invest in a range of assets.

Who Is Domain Money For?

If you want to invest in actively managed funds that also include crypto, you don't have many options that are beginner-friendly. Hedge funds often require hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest, or even millions depending on the fund. And many other funds that invest in crypto just stick with ETFs like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

What makes Domain Money unique is its portfolios either include actual cryptocurrencies or companies powering blockchain and metaverse development. Plus, you can still invest in assets on the side, and you don't pay commissions on stock and ETF trades.

What Makes Domain Money Great?

Between its managed portfolios and self-directed investing options, there are several features that make Domain Money great.

Multiple Investment Portfolios

Domain Money has a variety of actively managed portfolios you can invest in depending on your goals and level of risk tolerance. Currently, there are five different portfolios to choose from:

• Domain Edge: This is Domain Money's original portfolio and invests 100% in emerging cryptocurrencies.
• Domain Metaverse: This portfolio lets you invest in the metaverse by investing in relevant metaverse stocks and cryptocurrencies.
• Domain Core: This portfolio is 100% stocks of companies driving technological innovation.
• Domain Access: A portfolio composition of 80% stocks and 20% crypto so you can invest in both asset classes.
• Domain Balanced: Another innovation-focused portfolio that is 50% stocks and 50% crypto.

The investing thesis behind these portfolios is to take advantage of trends like blockchain technology, the metaverse, and tech companies powering the future of finance. But there's still enough portfolio variety for you to get the level of crypto exposure you're looking for.

Low Minimum Investment

The flagship Domain Edge fund has a $100 investing minimum. For the other four portfolios, you need to invest $500 to get started.

Both these minimums are low in the world of actively managed funds that can easily require tens of thousands of dollars or more to invest. And a $100 investing minimum is also similar to many robo-advisors or competitors like Titan that also offer actively managed funds.

Cryptocurrency & Stock Trading

Portfolio investing is the main way to invest with Domain Money. But you can also invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and cryptocurrencies with funds from your cash account.

There's a $5 minimum investment amount for stocks and ETFs. Like most online brokers, Domain Money offers commission-free trading for these securities. Fractional shares are also available. Available order types include one-time, recurring, and limit orders.

Investors can also buy and sell over 45 cryptocurrencies on Domain Money. You get the major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum plus a selection of altcoins like:

• 1inch
• Aave
• Compound
• Decentraland
• Dogecoin
• Filecoin
• Litecoin
• Polygon
• Solana
• Uniswap
• Tezos

There's a noticeable lack of stablecoins like USDC and USDT, but for the most part, you'll find the major cryptocurrencies you want to add to your portfolio. And you can use its watchlist tool to monitor stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies you're considering investing in.

No Lock-Up Period

Actively-managed funds often have lock-up periods during which time you can't withdraw your capital or sell your positions. However, Domain Money doesn't have any lock-up period, and you can typically liquidate your positions and withdraw your cash within two business days.

Signal Asset Ratings

Another interesting Domain Money is Signal, which provides three different types of information to help you make more informed investing decisions:

• Social Sentiment: Highlights assets with the largest positive increase in social sentiment for the last week.
• Trading Activity: Highlights assets with the highest trading volume over the last two days.
• Project Development: Highlights assets with the largest increase in development activity, week over week, to showcase companies with promising project roadmaps.

None of these metrics guarantee that you're picking a good investment. But it's another layer of data you can consider when investing.

New Features On The Horizon

Domain Money is a newer investing platform, and it already supports stock, ETF, and crypto investing. Plus, numerous features are coming in the future that will let investors earn even more and leverage their portfolios to borrow capital.

Some exciting features coming to Domain Money include:

• Domain Money Spend: Join the waitlist for Domain Money's crypto rewards credit card. This card will let you earn crypto cash-back rewards and spend your funds in your Domain Money account, although no information is out regarding reward or APR rates.
• Domain Money Borrow: In the future, Domain Money customers will be able to borrow up to 40% of their portfolios. Robo-advisors like Wealthfront offer a similar line of credit based on your portfolio, but no information is currently available on interest rates.
• Domain Earn: Another feature coming to Domain Money is its earn program. This is similar to staking and lending platforms and will let you deposit crypto to earn passive income. Unfortunately, information about eligible cryptos and rates aren't available at this time.

Time will tell if these features do actually rollout and how quickly. But it's a promising sign that numerous features are on Domain Money's roadmap.

What Are Domain Money's Drawbacks?

Actively managed portfolios with crypto like Domain Money offers are hard to find, especially with such low investment minimums. That said, there are several drawbacks investors should consider before signing up.

Crypto Trading Fees

You pay a 1.49% transaction fee when you buy or sell cryptocurrency through Domain Money. This is more expensive than exchanges like Kraken, Gemini, or the Coinbase Pro option on Coinbase.

You see a breakdown of these transaction fees when placing an order, so you know exactly how much you're paying. However, you're still paying more per trade than you would with some major crypto exchanges.

You don't pay fees for depositing crypto into your Domain Money account. But you still pay blockchain network fees whenever you move crypto around.

No Retirement Accounts

At this time, you can only open taxable accounts with Domain Money. This means tax-advantaged retirement accounts like IRAs are off the table.

If you want to invest in crypto with your IRA, options like Alto and Titan are better options since both companies support this.

No External Crypto Wallet Transfers

At the time of writing, Domain Money doesn't let you transfer crypto to your own wallet. Instead, you have to sell crypto for USD and then withdraw your cash to liquidate your assets.

This is a significant downside if you want to mostly invest in digital assets. However, it's promising that Domain Money has this on the list of features to bring to the platform.

No Interest For Cash Management Account

You can hold idle cash in your Domain Money cash account so it's available for trading. But you don't earn interest on these funds, which is a significant downside if you have a lot of capital on the sidelines.

In contrast, the Wealthfront Cash Account pays 4.30% interest, which is much higher than a basic savings account.

Domain Money Fees & Pricing

You pay 1% in annual management fees when you invest in a Domain Money portfolio. This is the same fee its main competitor, Titan, charges and is still on the lower end for actively managed funds. As mentioned, you also pay a 1.49% fee for trading crypto while stocks and ETFs are commission-free.

In comparison, robo-advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront charge 0.25% annually. But again, Domain Money has actively managed funds, so it's a different ballgame. And it offers far more crypto exposure than any robo-advisor does right now.

Ultimately, you have to decide if you want passive investing and lower fees with a robo-advisor or if you're willing to pay higher fees for Domain Money's unique portfolios.

Historical Performance

Unfortunately, Domain Money doesn't currently list any historical performance data on its website. Instead, it has a disclaimer that reads:

“All investment strategies and investments involve risk of loss. Nothing contained in this website should be construed as investment advice. Any reference to an investment's past or potential performance is not, and should not be construed as, a recommendation or as a guarantee of any specific outcome or profit.

That being said, we believe in our services and prioritize our users' experience and financial strategies above all else.”

The company only began in 2021, so this lack of performance data is understandable. But know that any investment carries risk, including portfolios at Domain Money.

How to Contact Domain Money

You can contact Domain Money customer support by emailing support@domainmoney.com. You can also use the live chat widget on its website, and customer support hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 6:30pm ET.

How to Open an Account

To open a Domain Money account, you must be:

• 18 or older
• A U.S. citizen
• Have a social security number
• Have a U.S. address and live there

To sign up, you have to download the free iOS app. Unfortunately, the Android app is still in the works. From there, you enter your email address to create an account.

Afterwards, you have to verify your identity to start investing. This requires providing:

• Your name, date of birth, phone number, and legal address
• Your SSN
• Information about your employer, income range, and net worth
• Information about your investing style and eligibility

You might have to provide a photo of government-issued ID as well to complete verification.

Is Domain Money Safe & Secure?

There are numerous security practices and policies in place that make Domain Money safer for investors. For starters, information is encrypted end-to-end to help keep your personal and financial information secure. You can also use features like biometric login to access your account instead of using a password.

Additionally, Domain Money partners with Gemini which holds most crypto assets offline in cold storage. Your crypto doesn't get insurance, but cash in your accounts has up to $250,000 in FDIC-insurance is are held with WebBank. Apex holds your stock and ETF securities and provides up to $500,000 in SIPC insurance.

Best Alternatives

For a company that began in 2021, Domain Money has an impressive number of features. And having five different funds to choose from is a good amount of variety for investors

That said, Domain Money is still expanding its features. And depending on your investing goals or style, certain alternatives might be better options at this time.

Titan

Out of all of Domain Money's competitors, Titan is the most similar. This company offers four actively managed portfolios, one of which is comprised completely of leading cryptocurrencies. The other portfolios target offshore and U.S. companies. For fees, you pay 1% in annual management fees just like Domain Money.

Titan's two main advantages over Domain Money are its transparent track record information and the fact that it supports IRA investments. It's far less crypto-focused than Domain Money, but you can start investing with just $100.

Betterment

As mentioned, robo-advisors offers a lower-fee option for passive investors versus sticking with actively managed funds. And in the world of robo-advisors, Betterment is one of the absolute best.

With a $0 minimum investing requirement, it's an excellent way to start investing with little money. And there's a variety of portfolios you can invest in, including ones for growth, fixed-income, and even ESG investing. Crypto investing is also coming to Betterment in the future, and this robo-advisor offers other useful features like tax-loss harvesting, retirement accounts, and automatic rebalancing.

Robinhood

Robinhood is one of the most popular trading apps out there. It lets investors trade stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto from their smartphone. Trades are commission-free as well minus spread fees Robinhood charges on crypto trades.

The main downside of Robinhood is that it only supports 11 cryptocurrencies currently, so there's less selection than Domain Money. You don't get prebuilt portfolios you can invest in either, so you have to pick your own investments. However, Robinhood is still very beginner-friendly, and new customers can even get free stocks for signing up as a reward.

Bottom Line

In a crowded world of online brokers and robo-advisors, Domain Money is trying to set itself apart from the competition. And with a variety of actively managed funds and $100 investing minimum, it's well on its way to accomplishing this goal.

The future also looks bright with numerous features on the product roadmap. And while it's not the best platform for crypto trading because of fees, its managed portfolios provide more crypto exposure than many funds.

If you want to dabble in blockchain and the metaverse, you can consider investing with Domain Money's portfolios. But for standalone crypto investing, we suggest exchanges like Crypto.com or Gemini so you avoid the high fees.

The next few years will tell how Domain Money's investments perform versus other funds and the general market. But for now, it's an exciting new company that's worth considering or at least keeping on your radar.

InvestorJunkie receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Advisers LLC (“Wealthfront Advisers”) for each new client that applies for a Wealthfront Automated Investing Account through our links. This creates an incentive that results in a material conflict of interest. InvestorJunkie is not a Wealthfront Advisers client, and this is a paid endorsement. More information is available via our links to Wealthfront Advisers.