Get to know your portfolio options
Betterment helps take the stress out of investing with a range of expert-built portfolio options, made of generally low-cost ETFs (exchange-traded funds). Given the breadth of available choices, it’s natural to wonder which portfolio is right for your financial situation.
The good news is each option has been designed to help investors, like you, reach their financial goals. While all of our portfolios combining stocks and bonds possess similar expected risk and return profiles, Betterment will recommend an investment allocation for you, based on the time horizon and goal type you select. You can also adjust your diversification and risk preferences.
For most portfolios that hold both stocks and bonds, our “auto-adjust” feature systematically glides your portfolio(s) to a lower overall risk level as you get closer to, enter, and progress through retirement. This feature is very similar to a “glidepath,” which is found in target-date funds (TDFs). It’s great for those that want to “set it, and forget it.” With that, let’s review your portfolio options.
Core
Well-diversified, low-cost, and built for long-term investing, the Core portfolio features a broad collection of ETFs made of thousands of stocks and bonds from around the world. This is the default investment option for those who do not specify a portfolio strategy.
Innovative Technology
A well-diversified portfolio allocated similarly to the Core portfolio, but with a subset of stocks allocated to high-growth potential companies such as clean energy, semiconductors, robots, virtual reality, blockchain, and nanotechnology. This comes with increased exposure to risk.
Value Tilt
A well-diversified portfolio allocated similarly to the Core portfolio, but with a subset of the stocks allocation focused on potentially undervalued U.S. companies, according to certain financial metrics.
Broad Impact
A well-diversified portfolio that invests in companies that rank highly on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria.
Climate Impact
A well-diversified portfolio that invests in companies working to lower carbon emissions, fund green projects, and divest from holders of fossil fuel reserves—while still designed for potential long-term growth.
Social Impact
A well-diversified portfolio that invests in companies actively working toward minority empowerment and gender diversity as part of its long-term strategy.
Goldman Sachs Smart Beta
Targets companies that have potential to outperform the broader market over the long term. Diverse and relatively low-cost, this portfolio comes with higher exposure to risk.
BlackRock Target Income
A 100% bond portfolio with different income yields to help protect you against stock market volatility. This portfolio option is more suitable for investors with shorter time horizons, or for those that are seeking to generate income.
Flexible portfolio
A Flexible portfolio gives you more control over your investments, and allows you to modify the individual asset class weights to best fit your preferences. We’ll provide guidance on the risk exposure and diversification of your portfolio, based on your adjustments. See when using a Flexible portfolio might be right for you.
After you make a portfolio selection, Betterment will handle the rest. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- All portfolios benefit from auto-rebalancing, which returns the value of all allocated funds back to the target weight (after the portfolio drifts with market movements). Rebalancing may be subject to a drift threshold and account balance minimum.
- Although changing a portfolio’s asset allocation and fund selection can cause changes in the portfolio’s performance, Betterment has designed each portfolio to be suitable in terms of its riskiness and return potential for a given time horizon and level of risk. Which is to say, you should feel comfortable choosing a portfolio based on your convictions and values. If you’re uncertain where to start, the Betterment Core portfolio is a great way to go—and it is the portfolio used by the majority of Betterment users.
Keep in mind: As your investment fiduciary, Betterment monitors market action and portfolio performance, and will periodically update asset allocation or include more cost-efficient underlying funds to help optimize your portfolio performance. We’re here to help you make decisions that bring your goals into focus, and be invested in your future.