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Should I switch to a robo advisor?

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  • Jun 23rd, 2019 5:34 pm
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Jan 30, 2016
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Should I switch to a robo advisor?

Just sold my amzn stock. Debating what I should invest in next. Robo advisors seem interesting but not sure if the returns are stable or high enough to put money in. Anyone have experience with robo advisors?
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Sr. Member
Oct 21, 2016
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Why waste 0.5 percent return compounded for something you can easily do yourself , if you know how to buy and sell amazon stock from an online broker then you know how to buy and hold an ETF if that's your plan .
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Mar 16, 2018
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I'd look into an all-in-one ETF like Vanguard and BlackRock's VGRO/XBAL line. Like Shaun said above, if you already are comfortable making trades, a roboadvisor is basically charging a convenience fee for you to purchase on your behalf. The all-in-one funds are about 1/3 the fees of a roboadvisor (0.25 vs 0.75) and rebalance themselves without you, just like a roboadvisor does. You'd simply need to login once and a while to reinvest dividends (you can automate this on Questrade with a DRIP) or purchase new units with contributions. They're a great alternative for someone looking for something really easy but isn't afraid of filling out a trade order.
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Apr 19, 2017
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A roboadvisor such as Wealthsimple is good for a newbie investor/person too busy to invest.
After gaining investing knowledge you can do it yourself.
Newbie
Apr 2, 2019
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Open a trading account with National Bank and buy 100 lots of Canadian ETFs for no fees. XGRO has a mer of 0.18% . No brainer!
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I think what makes a robo advisor look attractive at the moment to me is with all this chaos going with the trade war, the instant rebalancing seems really useful.
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ownthesky wrote: I'd look into an all-in-one ETF like Vanguard and BlackRock's VGRO/XBAL line. Like Shaun said above, if you already are comfortable making trades, a roboadvisor is basically charging a convenience fee for you to purchase on your behalf. The all-in-one funds are about 1/3 the fees of a roboadvisor (0.25 vs 0.75) and rebalance themselves without you, just like a roboadvisor does. You'd simply need to login once and a while to reinvest dividends (you can automate this on Questrade with a DRIP) or purchase new units with contributions. They're a great alternative for someone looking for something really easy but isn't afraid of filling out a trade order.
I'll have to look into DRIP but xbal and vgro are things i hold now, they rate of growth is too slow, I mean looking at charts, both haven't made much since day 1 :/
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johntitor2036 wrote: I'll have to look into DRIP but xbal and vgro are things i hold now, they rate of growth is too slow, I mean looking at charts, both haven't made much since day 1 :/
All-in-one ETF portfolio is precisely an ETF that rebalances the holdings and pretty much is identical to a roboadvisor fund more or less without the management fee premium added by roboadvisors. So, the rebalancing that roboadvisors do is also occuring inside the ETF.

Also, not sure where you think the growth is slow because if you think that already, you will be disappointed with roboadvisors just as much. Considering the fund started last year right before the December lull, not sure what you are expecting or comparing. Whether you do an all-in-one ETF or roboadvisor, don't expect huge, rapid growth.

The only reason why I would choose a roboadvisor versus an all-in-one ETF is if you lack discipline to follow through and make trades. You mention "chaos with the trade war" and that kind of short term thinking makes me concerned you lack the discipline to follow through with a long term holding. It is one thing to trade vs buy and hold funds for the long term. If the proceeds are for your longer term holdings, you shouldnt be looking at the day to day anyway.
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ownthesky wrote: I'd look into an all-in-one ETF like Vanguard and BlackRock's VGRO/XBAL line. Like Shaun said above, if you already are comfortable making trades, a roboadvisor is basically charging a convenience fee for you to purchase on your behalf. The all-in-one funds are about 1/3 the fees of a roboadvisor (0.25 vs 0.75) and rebalance themselves without you, just like a roboadvisor does. You'd simply need to login once and a while to reinvest dividends (you can automate this on Questrade with a DRIP) or purchase new units with contributions. They're a great alternative for someone looking for something really easy but isn't afraid of filling out a trade order.
What is all in one alternative in US dollars?
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xgbsSS wrote: All-in-one ETF portfolio is precisely an ETF that rebalances the holdings and pretty much is identical to a roboadvisor fund more or less without the management fee premium added by roboadvisors. So, the rebalancing that roboadvisors do is also occuring inside the ETF.

Also, not sure where you think the growth is slow because if you think that already, you will be disappointed with roboadvisors just as much. Considering the fund started last year right before the December lull, not sure what you are expecting or comparing. Whether you do an all-in-one ETF or roboadvisor, don't expect huge, rapid growth.

The only reason why I would choose a roboadvisor versus an all-in-one ETF is if you lack discipline to follow through and make trades. You mention "chaos with the trade war" and that kind of short term thinking makes me concerned you lack the discipline to follow through with a long term holding. It is one thing to trade vs buy and hold funds for the long term. If the proceeds are for your longer term holdings, you shouldnt be looking at the day to day anyway.
I was referring more to xbal
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johntitor2036 wrote: I was referring more to xbal
Same thing, they all rebalance and have more or less the same performance especially longer term.
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Some brokerages also allow you to set up a pre-authorized contribution to the iShares all-in-one ETFs as well. Fixed amount gets taken from your bank account monthly (or whichever you choose), gets used to buy shares, leftover is kept for next attempt. This can serve as a hands off contribution method.

Personally I'm using Scotia iTRADE these days as no commission is charged on XGRO/XBAL. I just have a calendar entry that reminds me to log in, transfer, and immediately buy. So far so good!
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johntitor2036 wrote: I'll have to look into DRIP but xbal and vgro are things i hold now, they rate of growth is too slow, I mean looking at charts, both haven't made much since day 1 :/
They simply follow the broad stock market performance like the robos you are considering in the thread title. If you’re not content with that, you won’t be happy with any index fund (or even an active fund tbh since most don’t beat the index). I’m not sure when you bought into these funds, but if you invested in VGRO in December, you’d be up 13%. There’s no magic money tree out there - if the market isn’t performing, it’s not performing for most other funds either.
Last edited by ownthesky on Jun 16th, 2019 1:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Oct 21, 2016
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johntitor2036 wrote: I'll have to look into DRIP but xbal and vgro are things i hold now, they rate of growth is too slow, I mean looking at charts, both haven't made much since day 1 :/

Agreed vgro and xgro are pretty conservative and their growth is limited. I have held vgro in my kids resp since day one and it has underperformed my other usd ETFs and Canadian stocks. Look into usd ETFs especially in the RRSP there are a lot of great options to grow your portfolio with no witholding tax on dividends and rock bottom Mers. Some of my favorites are VGT , VUG, MTUM , IVW. iWM , VNQ .
Of course use norberts gambit to convert your money Also for increased growth the tsx as a whole sucks research and pick your Canadian stocks individually instead of owning a tsx ETF.
Last edited by Shaun80 on Jun 16th, 2019 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Shaun80 wrote:
Agreed vgro and xgro are pretty conservative and their growth is limited. I have held vgro in my kids resp since day one and it has underperformed my other usd ETFs and Canadian stocks. Look into usd ETFs especially in the RRSP there are a lot of great options to grow your portfolio with no witholding tax on dividends and rock bottom Mers. Some of my favorites are VGT , VUG, MTUM , IVW. Also for increased growth the tsx as a whole sucks research and pick your Canadian stocks individually instead of owning a tsx ETF.
Agreed. I feel like an RBC high interest e savings account has more growth and less risk than xbal , but your right gotta look into better alternatives.
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johntitor2036 wrote:
Agreed. I feel like an RBC high interest e savings account has more growth and less risk than xbal , but your right gotta look into better alternatives.
XBAL is up ~11% since its inception (6 months ago, not including dividends) and an RBC savings account pays 1% annually, which doesn't even beat inflation... I give up lol
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ownthesky wrote: XBAL is up ~11% since its inception (6 months ago, not including dividends) and an RBC savings account pays 1% annually, which doesn't even beat inflation... I give up lol
6 months ago you say? Guess I'm not the only time traveler here.
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