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Wealthsimple Review 2023: Findings Revealed
Swen Keller
- URL: https://www.wealthsimple.com/
- Year Founded: 2014
- Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Monthly/Yearly fees: Up to 0.5% management fee on available assets
- Account types: Non-registered account (joint account), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Spousal RRSP, Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), Locked-in Retirement Account (LIRA), Crypto account, Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), and Save or Joint Save
- Physical Card: Yes
- Platform App: Mobile, Web
- No. of Cryptocurrencies: 63+
- Fiat Available: USD and CAD
- Deposit Methods: Linked bank account, INTERAC eTransfer, Debit card, direct deposit, investment transfer from another institution, wire transfer
Wealthsimple Review: Our Opinion
Wealthsimple stands out for allowing users to build their personal finance and investment portfolio and it has no commissions or account minimums.
It also offers advice on demand from financial advisors and protects user deposits through CDIC (Canadian Investor Protection Fund) or CIPF, it supports a sizable selection of cryptocurrencies in the neobank industry.
That said, where Wealthsimple falls through is in customer service as users on various client review platforms complain of terrible support, losing funds, and inability to communicate with the team.
The platform has a 2/5 star rating on TrustPilot, which is one of the lowest for neobanks.
What is Wealthsimple?
Wealthsimple is a financial technology company that uses innovation to create powerful tools like an app that allows you to trade stocks, ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), and a hands-off portfolio that puts users’ cash up to work and makes investments based on their risk tolerance.
To achieve its goal, Wealthsimple offers a variety of products including:
- Wealthsimple Trade: A Canadian commission-free trading platform that allows users to buy and sell thousands of stocks.
- Wealthsimple Invest: Allows users to build investment portfolios which are a combination of equities and bonds aligned to custom financial goals.
- Wealthsimple Crypto: A regulated crypto exchange in Canada that allows you to buy and sell over 63 coins and tokens.
Other products include Wealthsimple Tax, Wealthsimple Cash, and Halal investing portfolio.
A Bit Of Wealthsimple History
Wealthsimple is a Canadian financial investment management service that was co-founded in September 2014 by Rudy Adler, Brett Huneycutt, and Michael Katchen is based in Toronto.
The company is primarily owned by Power Corporation which has a 42.5% stake through investments made via their holdings in IGM Financial, Portage, and Power Financial.
Before Wealthsimple, Michael Katchen worked for a Silicon Valley-based startup called 1000Memories. After Ancestry.com purchased 1000Memories in 2012, Michael Katchen created a spreadsheet with tips to help his colleagues build investment portfolios. Their interest in the spreadsheet helped inspire the concept of Wealthsimple and in 2014 he returned to Toronto to found the platform.
Currently, the Wealthsimple platform hosts over 3 million Canadians and allows these users to buy, sell, and stake over 63 cryptocurrencies.
It also offers a custom portfolio service via Wealthsimple Investment accounts that enables you to choose from thousands of stocks and ETFs.
Concerning controversies, Wealthsimple Advisor was fined $100,000 and $20,000 in a client privacy case settlement agreement with MFDA where it was accused that it failed to properly protect client privacy.
Pros
- Commission-free
- Supports more than 63 cryptocurrencies
- Thousands of stocks available
Cons
- Client privacy controversies
Wealthsimple Review: Unique Features
Wealthsimple Cash Account
The Wealthsimple cash account is a hybrid account that lets you pay, get paid instantly, and earn interest rates on your deposits.
Despite being a high-interest account, it is also a checking account that gives you access to your money at any time.
You can pay for things using the Cash card, and send and receive money from family and friends using a Cash handle or phone number.
The cash account lets you request money from friends and also split bills with them.
Aside from sending and receiving funds, the Cash account offers the following features: Bill payment, Direct deposit, INTERAC e-transfer, and Pre-authorized debit.
Users can automatically invest their paycheque and also earn 4% interest on the money in their account and 1% on crypto, stock, or cash back rewards when they spend from their Cash account.
Cash accounts are currently available through the mobile app.
There are no fees and security questions.
You can send and receive any amount of money up to $5,000 daily.
Currently, Wealthsimple does not offer joint Cash accounts. You can only open one Cash account under your name.
Cash Accounts are only available to Canadian residents with a valid Canadian phone number. They are also required to meet the age requirements for their province.
To create a Cash account, do the following:
Download the Wealthsimple mobile app and Sign up with an email
Scroll to the Card icon at the bottom of your screen and Tap the cash tab.
Follow the onscreen prompts to open your Cash account.
Once your account is created, you can start sending and spending funds immediately.
Save for Business Account
The Wealthsimple Save Account for businesses is a Business smart savings account or corporate checking account that helps you save the money you don’t need for your everyday business expenses with 1.1% interest.
Wealthsimple offers paperless account opening. This means no paperwork or meeting is required to open an account. There are also no account fees and account minimum.
To open a Business Savings account all you need to do is to answer a few questions about you and your incorporated business.
Once that is done you can start investing in 5 minutes.
The Save for Business Account is only available for incorporated businesses.
Save for Business accounts are for savings only, this means you cannot spend from the account.
Wealthsimple does have plans to offer spending features for these accounts in the future.
How to Buy Crypto with Wealthsimple?
To buy over 63+ cryptocurrencies with Wealthsimple on the web platform:
Go to my.wealthsimple.com and log in to your Crypto, Stocks, and ETFs profile.
Next, go to the magnifying glass icon at the top of your page then enter the name or the symbol of the cryptocurrency you’d like to buy.
Choose the crypto you’d want to buy and enter the amount that you want to buy.
Tap Buy
Next, review the order details and choose Place Order.
To buy with the Wealthsimple trade app:
Sign up for the Wealthsimple app on the mobile device.
Tap the Discover Tap at the bottom of the screen.
Enter the name of the digital currency you want to buy in the search bar and choose it from the list.
Tap Buy (if you don’t see this, hit Trade to reveal the Buy button).
Select the type of order you want to place (Limit Buy or Market Buy) by choosing one of the options from the drop-down menu at the top of your device.
Input the dollar value of the crypto you’d like to purchase and tap Continue.
Go over the transaction details and hit Confirm Order.
How is Crypto Stored?
Wealthsimple offers individual hot digital wallets that allow you to store your cryptocurrency assets on the platform.
Cryptocurrencies Available on Revolut
Wealthsimple supports over 63 cryptocurrencies.
Supported cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, ApeCoin, Aave, Avalanche, Axie Infinity, Basic Attention Token, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Cosmos, Celo, Chainlink, Compound, The Graph, Fantom, Filecoin, Stellar, Loopring, Sandbox, Tezos, USD Coin, Quant, Uniswap, Dai, etc.
Wealthsimple Review: Fees
Crypto Fees
Wealthsimple charges a 1.5% to 2% operations fee for crypto trading accounts.
This is charged by Wealthsimple applying a spread on the bid and ask prices. Trading spreads are offered in the Wealthsimple app:
- Commission Fees: $0
- Account Opening: $0
- Account Closing: $0
- Deposits via Bank Transfer (EFT): $0
- Withdrawals via Bank Transfer (EFT): $0
- Electronic Statements and Trade Confirmations: $0
- Inactive Accounts: $0
- Operations Fee: 1.5% to 2% per transaction
Wealthsimple also charges the by-request transactions or extenuating circumstance fee that is charged at $75 per hour.
It also charges staking fees for supported assets which include:
- Solana: 30%
- Ethereum: 30%
- Cardano: 30%
Invest Savings Account Fees
Wealthsimple charges the following investment management fees:
Net Deposits to Portfolio: Under $99,999
Fee on AUM: 0.50%
Net Deposits to Portfolio: Above $100,000
Fee on AUM: 0.40%
Smart Savings Balance (not available for new clients): Above $1
Fee on AUM: 0.25%
There’s also a currency conversion fee of 0.4%.
Security: Is Wealthsimple Safe?
Wealthsimple is a FINTRAC-registered money services business.
Users’ balance in the Cash account is held in trust with members of the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC).
Wealthsimple is not a CDIC member.
Users’ funds in the WS Cash accounts are covered by the CDIC deposit protection for a combined amount of up to CAD 300,000. While Apex Clearing Corporation holds all the funds in investment accounts.
Wealthsimple uses state-of-the-art data encryption when handling financial information and two-factor authentication protection.
Users’ accounts held with Wealthsimple’s custodial brokers are protected within specified limits in the event of their insolvency by CIPF.
Wealthsimple is also backed by $380m in investments from some of the world’s largest financial institutions.
Users’ accounts are protected with two-step verification. Wealthsimple supports verification codes by an Authenticator app, automated phone call, or text message.
Staking Rewards and Cashbacks
Wealthsimple only supports 3 assets for crypto staking: Solana, Ethereum, and Cardano.
It offers up to 4.5% in earnings per year.
The platform requires crypto-Canadian investors to stake a minimum amount of assets for each coin.
For Solana, you need to stake 0.02 SOL while for Ethereum and Cardano, you need to stake a minimum of 0.01 ETH and 10 ADA respectively.
To stake supported crypto assets, sign into the Wealthsimple app.
Next, press on your Crypto account tab.
Tap Portfolio and select an eligible crypto you want to stake.
Move down to Staking Rewards and hit Get Started.
Go through the information mentioned and hit I Understand.
Next, tap Confirm to stake the chosen amount of your eligible digital asset.
If you want to view and manage your staking rewards, sign in to the Wealthsimple app and then tap your Crypto account.
Under Portfolio, select the staked crypto.
Move down to Staking Rewards and hit Manage to view or manage your rewards.
There’s an option to automatically stake all future crypto purchases of eligible coins.
To do so:
- Sign into your Wealthsimple account
- Tap the Arrow button at the bottom of your screen
- Choose your Crypto account and under Portfolio select staked crypto
- Next, scroll down to Staking Rewards and tap on Manage to view or manage your rewards
- Move the toggle button beside Auto-staking to turn on the feature.
You can also unstake an asset by going to Staking Rewards and then tapping Manage then Unstake and Confirm.
Supported Countries
Wealthsimple is only available to residents of Canada.
Individuals residing outside of Canada including Canadian citizens residing abroad cannot hold accounts with Wealthsimple.
Wealthsimple Licences
Wealthsimple Investments Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization.
Wealthsimple Payments Inc. is a registered money services business registered and licensed by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
Wealthsimple is also a member of the Canadian Investment Industry Regulatory Organization (CIRO). Customers’ accounts are protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
Opening a Wealthsimple Account
To open a Wealthsimple savings account or any type go to https://www.wealthsimple.com.
Next, tap Get Started and enter your email address and password.
Choose the product you want to start with and follow the on-screen prompts to fill in your data including your full name, Social Insurance Number (SIN), Date of Birth, employment information, and mobile number.
Next, you’ll need to open an account type depending on your goals.
Supported account types include: Non-registered accounts (joint accounts), Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA), Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP), Spousal RRSPs, Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIF), Locked-in Retirement Accounts (LIRA), Crypto accounts, Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), and Save or Joint Save
That’s all! You’ve successfully created a Wealthsimple Invest account.
Wealthsimple Cash Card
The Cash card is a prepaid MasterCard paired with the Cash account and allows you to spend funds directly from your spending account.
The card can be used anywhere MasterCard credit is accepted worldwide.
There are no monthly fees or account minimum for using the card. Wealthsimple offers a virtual card and a physical card.
With the Wealthsimple prepaid Card transaction fees do not apply when using it. It also does not affect your credit score.
The physical card is shipped within 10-14 business days after requesting the card. Once you receive the card you will need to activate the card for use.
Even though Wealthsimple does not charge any fees for using the Cash card, third-party fees apply for certain actions with the card.
Below are the fees that you may be charged:
- ATM Withdrawal Fees: A standard fee of about $3.00 may apply when you make a withdrawal at the ATM.
- Currency Conversion Fee: This fee is determined by MasterCard using the range of rates available in wholesale currency markets for the applicable processing date.
Wealthsimple has a currency fee calculator that can give you an estimate or a preliminary rate based on the rate provided by Mastercard.
Since this rate is not fixed, it can change between the time of authorization and settlement.
To use the Wealthsimple card, you need to first fund your account. Once you do this, you will be assigned a spending account. You can view your Spending balance at the top center of the Cash app homepage.
Below is the card spending limit for PoS and ATM withdrawals:
- POS/Maximum Spending Limit
- Maximum Spending Limit Per Transaction: N/A
- Maximum Spending Limit Per Day: CA$5,000
- Maximum Spending Limit Per Month: N/A
- ATM Withdrawals
- Maximum Spending Limit Per Transaction: $500
- Maximum Spending Limit Per Day: $1000
- Maximum Spending Limit Per Month: N/A
Wealthsimple Mobile App
The Wealthsimple Trade app allows you to access Stocks, Options, Managed Portfolios, ETFs, and Crypto on the go. The app gives you access to smart investing tools and personalized advice designed to build your personal finance and long-term wealth.
Customized investing portfolios offer lower fees than most mutual funds. Wealthsimple diversifies your portfolio by investing your money in different assets across the markets that help you to minimize your risk and maximize reward. The funds are invested according to your long-term goals and risk tolerance.
The customized portfolio runs on auto-pilot and features automatic deposits, dividend reinvestment, and portfolio rebalancing.
With the Wealthsimple Trade mobile app, you can start trading stocks with as little as $1.
There are no commissions and no account minimums. You can choose from thousands of stocks and ETFs and also access USD accounts for $10 per month. The USD account allows you to skip FX transaction fees on USD trades.
The mobile app also gives you access to Wealthsimple Crypto, which allows you to buy, sell, and stake over 63 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
You can also access the Cash account which allows you to earn over 4% interest in your entire balance and enjoy other features like early paydays via direct deposit, INTERAC e-transfer, bill payments, 1% cashback, etc.
With the Wealthsimple mobile app, you can open a personal non-registered investing account or get the tax benefits of registered accounts like TFSAs and RRSPs.
You can also get in-app support from Wealthsimple’s financial advisors.
Wealthsimple Deposit and Withdraw Methods
Wealthsimple offers the following deposit methods including linked bank account, INTERAC eTransfer, Debit card, direct deposit, investment transfer from another institution, and wire transfer.
Wealthsimple Review: Customer Service
Wealthsimple offers customer service via email through a support form and phone at 1-855-255-9038.
The platform also has a robust support center and FAQ section with lots of detailed articles on personal finance and guides on how to use the platform.
That said, customer reviews on third-party review platforms show that Wealthsimple’s customer support is poor.
Wealthsimple Compared with its Main 2 Competitors
The 2 main competitors of Wealthsimple are Questrade and CIBC Investor’s Edge. Both platforms like Wealthsimple target Canadian investors.
However, in comparison to Wealthsimple CIBC charges commissions while Questrade has higher standard fees.
Also, Questrade and CIBC do not support cryptocurrencies directly only via ETFs and third-party exchanges.
Where they do outshine Wealthsimple is in
their offerings, as they provide a wider range of investment options.
What is a NeoBank?
A neobank is an online banking platform that does not have physical banking halls and strictly operates on the web or via a mobile app.
Neobanks are usually partnered with traditional banks where they store their funds.
How to Choose the Right NeoBank for Your Needs?
To choose the right neobank you should consider the following:
- Applicable transaction and management fees
- Ease of funding
- Supported investment products
- Customer reviews of the platform
- How it compares to its alternatives
Wealthsimple Review: Conclusion
Wealthsimple is a basic investment portfolio creation service and stands out for its sizable selection of crypto offerings in comparison to competitors. However, it falls through in customer support as users on various client review platforms rate the service poorly.
If you’re seeking NeoBanks that address some of Wealthsimple’s perceived shortcomings and offer a broader range of tools, our M1 Finance breakdown offers a comprehensive alternative, detailing its advantages over other Neobanks.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Yes, Wealthsimple is a legit Canadian company that has been in operation since 2014.
Poor customer service is the primary downside of Wealthsimple. It also offers limited investment options when compared to similar solutions.
No, Wealthsimple is only allowed to open Canadian accounts for residents of the country.
No, you cannot use Wealthsimple in the United States even if you’re a Canadian citizen.
Wealthsimple Trade is a commission-free stock trading platform. Wealthsimple Trade offers two different kinds of accounts – Trade accounts and Crypto accounts.
We always try to provide the most accurate information available, and make sure our team follow through.
If you want to know more about our Crypto Exchanges Review Methodology follow the link below
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