Robo advisors in Australia
Compare robo-advice platforms to put your investing on autopilot.
Traditional financial advice can be very expensive, with an average annual cost of around $4,300.1
This puts it out of the reach of most people, which is where robo-advice comes in.
Robo-advisors are a kind of digital financial adviser that use modern technology to offer low-cost investment management services and help invest your money for you.
Find a robo-advisor
You can use the table below to compare the top Australian robo-advisors on things like fees, available products and minimum investment amounts.
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What is robo-advice exactly?
A robo-advisor is an online platform or app that provides the same services as a traditional financial adviser. Using a mix of algorithms and analysis from experts working behind the scenes, these digital advisers create financial plans for customers and automatically manage their investments.
The investment portfolio you receive is based on your financial goals, investment time frame and appetite for risk. Once your money is invested, the robo-advisor manages your portfolio and re-balances it whenever necessary to ensure it remains in line with your risk tolerance levels.
Why use a robo-advisor?
At about one-tenth of the cost, robo-advisors are much cheaper than having a traditional financial adviser actively manage your investments. This makes financial advice accessible to all Australians.
The other advantage of using a robo-advisor instead of making decisions yourself is that it removes emotion from investing, which can often lead you to make the wrong decisions.
For the 80% of the population who either cannot afford or are unwilling to pay the fees to receive traditional financial advice, robo-advisors offer a convenient and affordable alternative.
The top robo-advisors in Australia
Spaceship Voyager
Spaceship Voyager is an investment app that provides 5 different diversified portfolios that offer a range of conservative, balanced and high growth strategies:
- Spaceship Index (High growth)
- Spaceship Universe (High growth)
- Spaceship Origin (High growth)
- Spaceship Galaxy (Balanced)
- Spaceship Explorer (Conservative)
You won't be charged a fee if you have a balance below $100, but will pay a $2-3 monthly fee above that. You'll also be charged a yearly management fee of 0.15-0.50% depending on which portfolio you invest in.
Stockspot
Stockspot manages thousands of clients, having launched in 2013 as one of thee first robo-advice services in Australia. It offers 7 different investment portfolios that range from conservative to aggressive growth, as well as sustainable options:
- Amethyst (Conservative)
- Sapphire (Moderately conservative)
- Turquoise (Balanced)
- Emerald (Growth)
- Topaz (Aggressive growth)
- Topaz Income (Aggressive growth)
- Topaz Inflation (Aggressive growth)
Stockspot uses a tiered pricing model which vary based on the size of your account balance.
The Bronze plan (accounts under $10,000) charges no fees for the first 6 months and then $5.50/month.
Accounts over $10,000 (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond) are charged a percentage fee ranging from 0.396-0.66% depending on the size of your balance.
There are no additional brokerage or administration fees and balances over $50,000 receive access to "themes", which allow clients to select additional ETFs at no extra cost.
InvestSMART
Although its robo-advice service was launched in July 2015, InvestSMART has been offering investment advice to Australians since 1999.
When you sign up with InvestSMART, you're asked to provide some details about your investing plan and financial situation and are then given an investment portfolio that matches your goal.
There are 5 investment portfolios available, ranging from conservative to high growth (along with an ethical growth portfolio), as well as 5 single asset class ETFs (exchange-traded funds) including cash, equities and property.
You'll pay a 0.55% p.a. fee for balances up to $100,000, or a capped $550 yearly fee for balances over $100,000.
InvestSMART was named the most loved robo-advisor in Australia in the 2024 Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards.
QuietGrowth
Launched in August 2015, QuietGrowth is an automated online investment management provider.
With a minimum account balance of $3,000, QuietGrowth can manage investments in individual, joint, SMSF and trust accounts. Like other robo-advisors, QuietGrowth will ask you to answer some questions about your investing goals before assigning you a portfolio.
Fees range from 0.36-0.6% p.a. depending on the size of your portfolio, with accounts under $10,000 charged 0.6% p.a..
Raiz Invest
Launched in January 2016 under the name Acorns Australia before rebranding to Raiz Invest, Raiz is the local arm of a US parent company that now has more than 1 million customers.
It offers something a little different to most other robo-advisors by allowing you to link your bank accounts and credit cards to your Raiz account and then investing the spare change from your daily purchases.
You can set aside a recurring investment amount daily, monthly or weekly, or even invest a lump sum with the help of the Raiz app.
Your money can be invested in a choice of 6 diversified portfolios based on your risk tolerance (from conservative to aggressive), or a dedicated property or Bitcoin portfolio.
Fees from $4.50 per month (for accounts under $20,000) or 0.275% p.a. (for accounts over $20,000).
You can also open a Raiz Plus Portfolio, which lets you personalise the investments in your portfolio. Plus Portfolios are charged $5.50 per month (for accounts under $25,000) or 0.275% p.a. (for accounts over $25,000).
Raiz's Plus Portfolios won the Investment Innovation award in the 2024 Finder Innovation Awards.
Finder survey: What do Australians from different states use to invest in the stock market?
| Response | WA | VIC | SA | QLD | NSW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| An online broker or share trading platform | 24.79% | 25.26% | 13.92% | 26.46% | 25.19% |
| Micro-investment app | 4.27% | 2.46% | 1.27% | 2.24% | 2.31% |
| Full-service stock broker | 0.85% | 2.11% | 2.53% | 3.59% | 1.03% |
| Robo-advisor | 0.85% | 0.7% | 1.27% | 0.9% | 0.77% |
| Managed fund | 1.05% | 2.53% | 2.69% | 3.34% | |
| Other | 0.35% | 2.24% | 2.06% |
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1145 Australians, December 2023
Data for ACT, NT, TAS not shown due to insufficient sample size. Some other states may also be excluded for this reason.
Data for ACT, NT, TAS not shown due to insufficient sample size. Some other states may also be excluded for this reason.
What are the downsides of robo-advisors?
Robo-advice for the most part can help investors, especially those who are starting out. But like all things, it comes with some limitations:
- Robo-advisors lack the flexibility that other services can provide. You can't buy individual shares for example through robo-advice.
- They aren't personalised.
- Most robo-advisors are pretty limited with the services they offer. They can't help you with tax or estate planning.
How do I sign up to a robo-advice service?
Although the exact sign-up process differs between robo-advisors, you will generally need to follow these steps:
- Provide your name, contact details and proof of identity.
- Complete a questionnaire regarding your investment time frame and your tolerance for withstanding market fluctuations.
- The robo-advisor generates a recommended investment portfolio. This is often accompanied by a Statement of Advice, which is required by Australian law if you are being given personal advice.
- If you’re happy with the investment portfolio, you can opt to proceed with the recommended strategy.
- Provide your bank account details to fund the investment.
- The robo-advisor invests your money in the chosen portfolio.
- The robo-advisor monitors your portfolio and makes adjustments when necessary to make sure it satisfies your tolerance for risk.
Frequently asked questions
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Ask a question
Please profile all the Australian robo advisers. These are missing.
Earnie
SixPark
I am thinking about investing and I am unable to find information on
– assets under management
– simple fee calculation
Can you feature these on finder please? for the fee calculation you can use $25,000 as an example amount.
Hi Emma,
Thanks for your feedback!
We are working on profiles for Earnie and Sixpark, please watch this space :)