BettermentReviews 4

On Jan 30,2025, my email address and name was found on the dark web. I received three fraud alerts from creditwise through Capital One. The alert showed that Betterment was the source of my email being compromised. They either sold my personal information or failed to keep it secure. Betterment has other more important data, such as SSN, address, birthday, etc. So I told them to delete all my accounts and delete my personal information. They said that only California residents are protected so unless I can prove that I live in California, they will continue either selling or sharing my personal information or failing to keep my personal information secure.

Their service department is excruciating to deal with. My first issue took 6 weeks to resolve. My 2nd issue - well, I gave up after 3 weeks. Trying to get your money out of Betterment is another terrible ordeal. How can a company that handles so many millions have a service department that rivals Bankman-Fried's for sloppy, half-hazard service?

Betterment.com is a new online investment site that is very different than other online brokerages. Designed to work like a savings account (but not FDIC insured, these are investments in stocks and bonds), Betterment is meant to generally offer a better return on your money than an online savings bank. As you 'deposit' money, Betterment.com invests your cash in a portfolio of stocks and bonds that have been meticulously researched to offer good returns and low cost. But you don't pay any trading costs for these stock/bond purchases. So you've saved enough for a down payment on a new car? Make a withdrawal from Betterment and pay nothing in 'sell' costs. Betterment draws its fee from a quarterly 0.9% 'advisory fee' assesed to your account. There is no minimum balance to open an account with Betterment. The company offers an automatic savings plan. When I have had need of customer service, both the phone and online people have been very helpful. Bottom line is, I have found Betterment to be a great service so far, and the fee is minimal for the amount I am investing. It is probably not for everyone, but if your intention is to get a better return for your money while saving it up for a large purchase, I think Betterment is a great option.