Online financial planning provider’s registration as SEC adviser allows investment advice delivered by personal CFP® practitioners
LearnVest, the online personal finance start-up founded by Alexa von Tobel, announced today that it is now an SEC registered investment adviser and added a plan called “Portfolio Builder” to address general investment recommendations.
Readers should recognize LearnVest from recent updates (see: LearnVest’s Mission to Wrangle Your Personal Finances) and as a member of the wave of “robo-adviser” start-ups, with Personal Capital, Wealthfront, and Betterment among them.
Without the investment adviser registration, LearnVest previously limited advice delivered through its online program to budgeting and money management. LearnVest clients could enroll in the “Complete Plan” program for $349 per year and receive a financial plan, four phone calls, and unlimited email support from the company’s CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM) certificants.
Going forward, clients still have the option to work with a personal CFP® practitioner at the $349 per year level (now called “The 5-Year Planner” level) or choose to receive general investment advice under the “Portfolio Builder” plan priced at $599 per year.
While investment advice is now available, Portfolio Builder clients won’t receive specific guidance on buying or selling securities or which investment account custodian to select. Clients will need to perform those selections on their own with general input from their LearnVest planner.
There’s a lot of media coverage on LearnVest’s announcement, so visit Google’s News results page and select the outlet of interest.
To learn more about LearnVest’s positioning in the market, watch their 1:07 explainer video below.
Finally, view the LearnVest SEC Form ADV Part II brochure here.
