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Betterment

Save, invest, retire

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Betterment vs. Guideline

Compare 401(k) providers by investments, fees, employee experience, service and support.

Investments Betterment Guideline

Funds
Betterment

Indexed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
Guideline

Indexed Mutual Funds

Portfolios
Betterment

309
Guideline

6

Automatic allocation adjustments
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline

Flexibility
Betterment

Participants may choose their own allocation
Guideline

Participants may choose their own allocation

Additional investment strategies
Betterment

Socially Responsible, Goldman Sachs Smart Beta, BlackRock Income
Guideline

None

Number of individuals involved in investment advisory services¹
Betterment

16
Guideline

2
Employee Experience Betterment Guideline

Platform scope
Betterment

Holistic advice across all saving and investing goals
Guideline

401(k) only

External account syncing
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline

Personalized retirement planning tools
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline

Tax coordination strategies to help maximize returns
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline

Access to human advisors²
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline
Service and support Betterment Guideline

3(38) Investment Fiduciary
Betterment

Standard
Guideline

Additional cost³

3(16) Administrative Fiduciary
Betterment

Standard
Guideline

Additional cost³

Online signup process
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline

Automated compliance support
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline
<title>This is supported</title>
Fees Betterment Guideline

Administrative (Employer pays)
Betterment

$125/month + $6/participant/month⁴
Guideline

$39/month + $8/participant/month (Startup)

$99/month + $8/participant/month (Prime)

Lower administrative costs with increasing participant count⁴
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline

Estimated fund fees (Employees pay)
Betterment

0.06%⁵
Guideline

0.06%

Investment management (Employees pay)
Betterment

0.25% on assets annually ($2.50 for every $1,000)
Guideline

None

COVID-19 related fee waivers
Betterment
<title>This is supported</title>
Guideline

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1 From Betterment and Guideline forms ADV

2 Additional fee may apply

3 Feature available only as part of Prime package

4 At Betterment, per-participant cost decreases to $5 per month for every participant over 100 and to $4 per month for every participant over 500

5 Based on weighted average fund fees of most commonly used portfolio with 90% equity and 10% fixed income

Guideline information from guideline.com.