Does investing in the stock market seem like a black box to you? Sure, you can hire an investment advisor for guidance, but that can get expensive. You can also go the robo-advisor route if you're comfortable with fully-automated advice. Another alternative is Nest Egg.
Nest Egg is a robo-advisor that also offers the option to speak with a live person when needed. To use its platform, you’ll need to connect with one of its partner banks or credit unions.
Investments and personal assistance are provided through the partner bank while the investment robo-advisor service is provided through Nest Egg. Let’s take a closer look at what it's all about.
Quick Summary
- Assigns risk score based on your risk tolerance
- Automated, quarterly portfolio rebalancing
- Must connect with partner bank to use service
Nest Egg Details | |
|---|---|
Product Name | Nest Egg |
Services | Portfolio Analysis Investment Planning Wealth Management |
Cost | Free |
Promotions | None |
Who Is Nest Egg?
Nest Egg (Nest Investments LLC) is a fintech that allows people to determine their risk level and invest based on a risk score. Its CEO and founder is Michael Church. Nest Egg is a Registered Investment Adviser and is based in Philadelphia, PA.
What Do They Offer?
Nest Egg partners with banks to offer digital investment advice to their customers. Basically, it's a robo-advisor that guides people through building an investment portfolio that is aligned with their financial goals and risk tolerance. In addition to automated portfolio analysis and financial advice, customers connected through a bank can choose to speak with their bank’s advisor.
After answering a few investment-related questions, its software determines your level of risk. The result is a risk score that that it calls your "Nest Egg Number." From that risk score, you'll be provided suggestions for a portfolio.
The portfolio that it recommends will be a configuration of equities, fixed income, alternatives, and cash, all based on your risk score and investment objectives. From there, the software will rebalance your portfolio each quarter. If some goals are coming up short, it will recommend additional contributions to the portfolio.
Limited List Of Partner Banks
If you want to invest with Nest Egg, you’ll need to connect with a local bank or credit union that it has a relationship with. One bank it's partnered with is OceanFirst, which also has a stake in Nest Egg of between 10%-25%.
Beyond OceanFirst, its difficult to know for sure which banks work with Nest Egg. You can type your bank into the search box on its home page to see if they're a partner. However, typing in the following didn’t bring up any results:
- Bank of America
- Capital One
- Chase
- Citi
- Etrade
- PenFed
- Schwab
- TD Ameritrade
- Wells Fargo
Perhaps OceanFirst is currently the only available bank? Unfortunately, there's no objective way to know for sure. It would be helpful if Nest Egg would provide a list of available banks for customers to consult.
Additionally, the company would do well to provide more general information about its services on its website, including a full fee disclosure.
Are There Any Fees?
While Nest Egg is free to use, there will be commissions on investments charged by the partner bank. Banks benefit by signing on as partners since it increases their customer base and fees.
In fact, a Nest Egg press release says, “The platform enables banks to increase fee income and wallet share.” Buy and sell investments for free with these brokers.
How Do I Open An Account?
It appears that you'll need to work with a branch representative at one of its partner banks to take its risk questionnaire and begin using the platform. Or you can visit https://www.mybanknestegg.com to schedule a consultation with a Nest Egg advisor.
Is My Money Safe?
Nest Egg is an investment company and does not offer deposit accounts. This means it is not FDIC-insured. It does use TD Ameritrade as its partner custodian, however, which means Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protection is available.
Is It Worth It?
If you’ve tried other robo advisor investment services and weren’t impressed or found they didn’t meet your needs, Nest Egg may be worth a try. With its mix of purely automated robo-advising and the ability to speak with a live person, it could be a good match for those who want a little more human involvement.
Unfortunately, it appears that it has a very small number of partner banks, which might be a deciding factor when choosing the service. Also, it should be understood that while Nest Egg's platform is free, its partner banks are still free to charge their own investment commissions and/or fees.
If you're looking for a cheap investment platform or robo-advisor that doesn't require you to be a customer of a particular bank or credit union, these are our top choices.
Nest Egg Features
Services | Portfolio analysis |
Cost |
|
Portfolio Analysis | Yes, via Monte Carlo Simulations™ |
Access to Human Advisors | Yes |
Ongoing Wealth Management | Yes |
Automatic Rebalancing | Yes (quarterly) |
FDIC Insurance | No |
SIPC Insurance | Yes |
Partner Custodian | TD Ameritrade |
Customer Service Number | 1-877-472-9200 |
Customer Service Hours | 24/7 availability |
Mobile Apps | No |
Promotions | None |
Nest Egg Review
- Product Cost
- Tools and Features
- Ease of Use
- Customer Service
- Availability
Overall
Summary
Nest Egg partners with local banks and credit unions to help you manage your investment portfolio and reach your financial goals.
Pros
- Portfolio analysis using Monte Carlo simulations
- Ongoing portfolio management
- Access to human advisors
- No monthly cost
Cons
- Limited number of partners banks and credit unions
- Partners may charge their own investment commissions
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.