About lender
Blooom's services have been discontinued as of November 2022. Existing customers can connect to their institution's website to access their accounts.
Blooom is the go-to robo-advisor for the comprehensive financial management of your employer-sponsored retirement plan, primarily because it is the only industry service. Blooom may assist you in managing your plans, including IRA accounts, without requiring you to relocate the account to a different platform or even need employer approval. Blooom may be a fantastic option if you need a retirement plan specialist.
Blooom is an online registered investment advisor that will assist you in managing and optimizing your retirement plan for a nominal charge. It performs the roles of a human counselor and a robot advisor for managing investments.
Only employer-sponsored accounts, regular IRAs, and Roth IRAs held at Fidelity, Vanguard, or Charles Schwab are managed by Blooom. But you only need to give Blooom online access; you don't even need to transfer money from your current account.
Chris Costello, Kevin Conard, and Randy AufDerHeide co-founded the business in 2015; its main office is in Leawood, Kansas. More than $3 billion in assets are now being managed by Blooom.
You must first answer a few straightforward questions about your retirement goals in order to use Blooom. After that, Blooom will examine your account and make any required adjustments. Blooom then evaluates and rebalances your account as necessary once every 95 days.
Blooom stands out among the top investment apps for a variety of reasons. However, one of the most significant benefits is that it manages your assets for you without your involvement because it serves as a fiduciary and is obligated to behave in your best interests. Therefore, it does more than give you financial guidance or try to make it simpler for you to manage your money; it also handles the chore of investing your retirement savings.
Pros and cons
Pros
Works with any 401(k) ,401(a) ,403(b) , 457 , IRA , or TSP
There is no minimum opening balance necessary.
There is no need to change your employer's plan.
Particularly low management fees for large accounts.
Professional asset management utilizing AI.
Real advisors are available for regular and premium programs.
No employer consent is necessary.
Hybrid investment techniques.
Alerts for suspicious activity.
Cons
Limited capacity for managing direct IRAs
Limited profiles of risk tolerance.
Strategies for investments with a high degree of risk.
Aggressive portfolio allocation.
Costly fees for accounts under $10,000.
Limited investor evaluation upon enrollment.
No live phone assistance.
Conclusion
Betterment and Stash assist with investing for account types that Blooom doesn't support while also helping you create a portfolio that suits your needs. Blooom has a limited range of clients because only those with IRAs held at participating brokerage firms or qualifying workplace plans are eligible to use the service. If you wish to invest in a taxable account or another type of account that Blooom doesn't support, you'll need to search elsewhere.
Terms and conditions
Connecting your employer retirement funds, such as your 401(k), 403(b), 401(a), 557, or TSP plan, is the first step in using Blooom. Additionally, you can link any standard or Roth IRAs that you have at a qualified brokerage house. In some circumstances, Blooom can assist you with a 401(k) to IRA rollover.
To help determine whether you have a diverse portfolio with the right asset allocation, Blooom will perform a free analysis of your accounts. Although it may sound technical, all it means is that it will check to see if you have a balanced portfolio of different asset classes and are exposed to the right amount of risk.
You'll pay an investment fee if you choose to join Blooom, and Blooom will:
Examine the investing choices you have in your account and remove any that don't fit your needs.
Look for index funds, which monitor the stock market's performance rather than being actively managed by a manager who makes investing decisions.
Find funds with reasonable fees that offer you a suitable asset allocation (a combination of investments appropriate for your age and risk tolerance).
In order to acquire the correct balance of investments, keep an eye on your account and reallocate your investment portfolio as necessary.
Blooom will provide you with advice on the best investments when you sign up and periodically check in on your investments and monitor your account for changes. This makes sure that, based on your intended retirement date and level of risk tolerance, you continue to invest in the appropriate mix of assets.
Blooom will let you know when it makes changes to your account, but since you must sign a "discretionary management agreement" when you join up, you won't be able to approve the changes. Blooom is now authorized to transact on your behalf.
