Empower Review: Is it a Company You Can Trust?

With some of the best financial management tools available to aid in people’s personal financial decisions, Empower is an essential partner to anyone looking to make the most out of their investments.

Empower (formerly known as Personal Capital) is the nation’s leading financial advisor. Trusted by millions of people, it offers competitive fees and unrivaled services.

Below I will provide a comprehensive review of Empower to see if it checks all of the boxes for you when it comes to wealth management and investing.

What is Empower?

Empower is a revolutionary online financial advice platform that combines traditional in-person advisors with modern robo-advisors to offer users a pioneering and socially conscious advisory service.

If you are looking for a place to grow your investments, pool your resources or begin retirement planning, then you will be at home with Empower.

Personal Capital (now Empower) was founded by Bill Harris with a view to modernizing the financial investment industry. He brought over 21 years of experience to the company.

In response to modern financial concerns, Empower is dynamic and provides varied financial advice to its clients, depending on their asset class and personal preferences.

Irrespective of your financial goals, Empower is a sound investment partner. Are you still undecided about whether to invest with Empower? Then dig into my detailed and up-to-date company review and be in the know.

In this article, I cover both the basics and intricacies of Empower, highlighting all the hidden pros and cons.

How Empower Works

Empower offers two options, according to whether you wish to take advantage of its free services or choose to make an investment with the company.

Its free offering consists of an online financial dashboard crammed with user-friendly tools and is the most popular option for visitors to the site.

However, a significant percentage ultimately transition by depositing an investment. For clients whose accounts meet the minimum balance requirements of Empower, an infinite world of opportunities and tools becomes available.

As a paid user, you can enjoy premium services such as access to educational articles, personal strategy formulations and many more benefits, as detailed below.

Empower Financial Tools

Depending on your chosen Empower plan, you have access to a variety of tools to enhance your financial life.

The financial tools available to you with the free program are limited but nonetheless powerful. All clients with an Empower account can access these.

The vast majority of the company’s millions of users settle for the free dashboard, which is a testament to its functionality.

Under Wealth Management, however, the tools are a lot more diverse and enable a more hands-on approach to managing your assets and achieving your financial milestones.

Financial advisers are on standby to answer questions related to investment management, retirement patterns, insurance options and much more.

Mobile App

The Empower mobile app allows you to consolidate all of your resources in one convenient location, giving you access to tools such as the Retirement Planner when you are on the go.

It is compatible with Android, iOS, tablet and PC; Empower is with you every step of the way in real time with its award-winning mobile app.

Retirement Planner

Empower employs cutting-edge technology to give you a feel of what your retirement might look like.

Using the Retirement Planner’s practical features, you can assess your current retirement savings strategy to determine whether you are on track for a smooth retirement.

If you are concerned about a change in employment or a child coming into the picture, Empower can adapt to the major events in your life.

Net Worth Calculator

Once you have consolidated your assets on Empowers dashboard, you can use the Net Worth Calculator to evaluate the various aspects of your financial status, such as your net worth and portfolio balances.

Viewing your portfolio on one platform is revolutionary. It allows you to monitor the success of your assets and weed out the “losers” from the “winners.”

Savings Planner

Spending analysis is an essential component of financial literacy. It is crucial for short-term budgeting and long-term monitoring of spending behaviors, offering invaluable insight into areas where you could make savings.

The Empower dashboard lets you monitor your income and expenditure, so you can identify those activities that generate money and those that absorb it.

Consequently, you can more easily devise strategies to meet your financial goals, such as offsetting debt.

Investment Checkup

On the financial dashboard, you can view your cash savings and investment portfolios, allowing you to form a complete picture of your assets and finances.

This will enable you to make informed financial decisions. By filling in a questionnaire, you will be able to evaluate the success of specific investments.

Fee Analyzer

Empower’s Fee Analyzer is essential for identifying and thus avoiding additional charges you may incur on your various accounts, such as a mutual funds account, a 401(K) account or a retirement account.

The Fee Analyzer allows you to link your accounts and evaluate alternative, cost-efficient options, such as exchange-traded funds.

Empower also monitors your cash flow using another tool. The fee analyzing tool works best when you link your bank accounts and credit card, providing a comprehensive means of tracking your payments and expenses.

Empower Wealth Management Services

Empower’s resources are concentrated on managing the investable assets of its clients, and with Wealth Management membership, you can access numerous additional features to help maximize your investments.

You may invest through a hands-off or a hands-on model; however, Empower offers a greater number of tools for the former.

Once you choose its Wealth Management option, you unlock several comprehensive financial planning services.

For each of the investment accounts on offer, different financial planning tools are available. Investment accounts are tiered, meaning the higher your balance, the more devices you can access.

Empower performs a holistic evaluation and considers factors such as time horizon, risk tolerance and financial and investment goals to develop a customized investment strategy.

The company uses a combination of human advisors and robo-advisors to enable you to exploit the best of both worlds for a reasonable price.

Empower Private Client

To qualify as a private client, you must have a balance of at least $10 million invested with Empower. You will be offered competitive rates and many advanced tools.

For example, one of the perks of being a high-stakes investor with Empower is the ability to invest in individual bonds.

Empower manages all your financial accounts, including your cash account and retirement funds, to provide you with an exceptional level of economic freedom and security.

With Empower, you can rest assured that your money is working for you. You can also diversify your assets under management to obtain a complete financial picture.

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)

In addition to the extensive work of smart investing that Empower does on your behalf, it allows you to protect your ideologies by investing only in companies you believe in through socially responsible investing (SRIs).

With such a plan, Empower will invest your assets with consideration to environmental consciousness, social impact and management plan.

SRIs are becoming increasingly popular as they are ideal for people who are conscious about the environment and want to invest in sustainable, eco-friendly companies that have little or no negative impact on local communities.

Another critical aspect of SRIs is the companies’ leadership models and the returns allocated to executive employees and directors.

If you are an account holder with over $1 million in investments, you are also eligible for estate planning on top of your retirement planning subscription, where your private equity is incorporated into your investments portfolio.

Empower supports a variety of accounts, including the following:

• SEP and IRA
• Roth
• Traditional rollover
• Non-retirement
• Trust
• Cash
• 401(k), HSA and 529, which are indirectly managed

Cash accounts are not charged the annual fee associated with investment accounts; however, their interest rates are not as high.

Personal Strategy

Empower’s Personal Strategy consists of four steps, each geared toward achieving results that positively impact your investment.

The first step is Portfolio Building, in which the company uses a tried-and-tested model to maximize your returns for a given risk level.

Strategy Selection comes next, where your portfolio is personalized according to your preferences by way of a state-of-the-art algorithm.

The third step is Dynamic Portfolio Allocation followed by the last step, Monitoring and Maintenance, to ensure your portfolio is working effectively.

This includes rebalancing strategies and tax optimization.

401(k) Management

Through the Fee Analyzer tool, Empower allows you to isolate the additional charges you might be paying on your 401(k) account.

These hidden fees can accumulate in the hundreds of thousands and significantly set back your retirement goals.

You may add your 401(k) tab under manageable accounts and receive information on cost-effective alternatives to your retirement plans.

Empower Cash

Empower is your one-stop shop for all your monetary needs. With Empower, your cash is FDIC insured as it passes between UMB banks.

In addition, Empower is easy to use either via its online platform or its mobile app, making it convenient for a variety of customers.

Furthermore, the company offers 3.35 and 3.45 percent APY for Empower Advisory clients.

Empower Advisors

Empower offers various forms of financial advice to its clients. If you opt for the free financial dashboard, you may submit questions relating to working hours, which someone from the Empower team will answer.

If you qualify for the $100 thousand Wealth Management package, you receive access to a financial adviser. You are provided with their contact details, and you may make inquiries via phone call, FaceTime, email or chat, depending on the adviser’s location and working hours.

For a $200 thousand investment, you have access to two dedicated financial advisers, who are available from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.

Robo-advisors fill in the gaps by providing round-the-clock customer support.

Empower Fees

First $1 million

0.89%

First $3 million	0.79%
Next $2 million	0.69%
Next $5 million	0.59%
Over $10 million	0.49%

Who Should Use Empower?

Empower is a powerful financial platform aimed at select demographics. The group that stands to benefit the most from its services consists of people looking for a budgeting app that does more.

As such, Empower provides multiple budgeting tools and additional investment advice to educate clients who wish to take a more hands-on approach to their investing.

The second group best suited to Empower is made up of high-net-worth individuals looking for high-end investment services.

These people will be able to afford Empower’s high minimum balance and steep fees. In return, such users can expect world-class services and customer support as well as access to competitive investment opportunities.

How Does Empower Compare?

Getting Started with Empower

Signing up for Empower is a simple process. If you follow the key steps below, you will be well on your way toward starting your wealth investment journey.

1. Create your free account – To create your free account, go to the Empower website and fill in the questionnaire, providing your information as it appears in your legal documents.
2. Link your financial accounts – To link your financial accounts, log in to your account and proceed to the financial dashboard, where you need to click on the + located at the top right of the screen, then select the type of account you would like to link to your account.
3. Talk to an advisor – Before you embark on your investment journey, you should talk to an expert to learn the ropes and familiarize yourself with the best saving and investment practices. Ask about creating a customized financial plan based on your needs and goals.

Is Empower Worth Using?

Now that you’ve read through our Empower review, you know it is a powerful platform, serving clients in many different financial situations and providing them with the necessary management tools to make informed financial decisions.

For this reason, Empower is an essential resource if you are looking to make the most out of your investments.

Empower FAQs

Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions regarding Empower.