Nest Wealth is an online platform offering digital wealth solutions to large enterprises, financial advisors and individual investors.
Its robo-advisor platform (the focus of this review) supports several account types, including RRSPs, TFSAs, RRIFs and RESPs, and charges a flat monthly fee, which is capped at $150 regardless of account balance.
But, while flat fee pricing might sound appealing, not everyone will save money with Nest Wealth.
In fact, many customers will pay far more in fees than they would with other low-cost robo-advisors. Add to that Nest Wealth’s limited customer support options, and you may wonder how it stacks up against top names like Wealthsimple or Questwealth portfolios. Find out in this full review.
Who Nest Wealth is best for?
Nest Wealth is best suited for clients who are referred to the robo-advisor by their financial advisor. This provides access to preferred pricing (0.35% AUM), which can result in significant savings, especially for smaller accounts. Even if you’re not a “referred” customer, you’ll benefit from the capped monthly fees if you have a large account, e.g., $500,000+. Nest Wealth is not well-suited for beginners with small accounts. While you can start investing with $1,000, you need $20,000 to access customized ETF portfolios, and anything under $1,000 sits in cash. Wealthsimple, on the other hand, allows you to start investing with as little as $1.
Nest Wealth pros and cons
Pros
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Fully automated investing
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Simply flat fee monthly pricing
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Helpful investment illustrator tool
Cons
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Nest Wealth seems to prioritize its products and services to financial advisors, not individuals
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You must have $20,000 to access a customized ETF portfolio
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Limited customer support
Nest Wealth offers most customers flat monthly pricing, with fees capped at $150 regardless of portfolio size. This benefits clients with high account balances, but the pricing is not as transparent or straightforward as Nest Wealth makes it seem. First, I struggled to locate a full pricing schedule on Nest Wealth’s website until I found one on page 10 of an Investment Management Agreement (PDF). Here’s what it shows:
*The Nest Wealth website indicates fees start at $10, so the $5 amount listed above may be outdated.
Where it gets slightly more complicated (after reading the fine print) is that the table above only pertains to Nest Wealth clients not referred by a financial advisor. Clients referred through a financial advisor do not pay a flat fee but “0.35% of the net asset value or assets under management per Client ID.” In other words, referred clients receive preferred pricing.
Another noteworthy point is that the fees are charged “per Client ID.” Nest Wealth states, “Additional client IDs are typically generated when you open accounts under a new legal entity (e.g., joint, corporate, trust, RESPs, etc.).Therefore, if you hold multiple accounts with Nest Wealth, you may pay multiple management fees, depending on their registration.
Platform
Like most robo-advisors, Nest Wealth’s web app looks clean and modern. Unfortunately, it does not offer a mobile app for iOS or Android, unlike Wealthsimple, Questwealth and other top robo-advisors. Research tools are limited, but that’s normal for an automated investment platform. If you’re a DIY investor looking for in-depth market research capability, you’re likely better off with a self-directed trading platform.
Research and education
Nest Wealth offers little in the way of educational tools on its website. There is a blog, but it seems more geared toward the services Nest Wealth offers financial advisors than for individual investors.
There is a helpful illustrator tool that allows you to begin building your portfolio right from the robo-advisor homepage. You start by filling in your age, how much you have already saved and your primary investment objective, e.g., save for retirement, retirement income, save for a home, education, etc.
You also let them know how many years you plan to continue saving and how much. Nest Wealth will then estimate your savings amount at your target age and let you know how much you can expect to save investing with Nest Wealth versus a typical mutual fund. You can edit your information to see different outcomes.
Nest Wealth’s customer service options are limited, which is a point of frustration for clients if commentary on Reddit threads and other online forums is any indication. You can only contact the company email or online contact form; no telephone support exists. And, there is no live chat option, which other investing platforms offer.
What I like (and don’t) about Nest Wealth
I like the concept of flat monthly fee pricing, and Nest Wealth can be more affordable than other robo-advisors, but it can also be far more costly.
For example, it charges a $50 monthly fee ($300 annually) on account balances between $10,000 and $74,999. If you have an average balance of $70,000, the fee equates to 0.43% annually. Not bad, considering that Wealthsimple would charge 0.50% for the same account balance.
However, if your average balance is $10,000, that $300 fee is a whopping 3.00%, which is outrageous. So, you really have to understand where your account sits in Nest Wealth’s fee structure to determine if you’re getting a good deal.
Additionally, my perception is that Nest Wealth has shifted its focus away from individual investors and its robo-advisor platform. This is pretty evident as soon as you arrive at its website homepage, where it highlights its “digital wealth ecosystem” geared towards banks and wealth managers and its financial planning solutions — for financial advisors and planners. You have to click a couple of times to find the robo-advisor landing page. When you combine this with the minimal customer support options, it’s hardly a compelling value proposition.
Nest Wealth compared
Nest Wealth vs. Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple is one of the best robo-advisors in Canada. In fact, it’s our top choice for beginners or passive investors. Its management fees of 0.20% to 0.50% are competitive, it offers a wide range of account types and portfolio options, and customers can access a human advisor for additional support when needed. And if you decide at some point that you’d prefer to fully manage your investments, it offers a self-directed trading platform with commission-free stock and ETF trades.
Nest Wealth has one potential advantage over Wealthsimple. Investors with extremely large account balances could pay less in fees due to its $150 monthly fee cap regardless of portfolio size. Aside from that, Wealthsimple is the better option.
Nest Wealth vs. Questwealth portfolios
Questwealth portfolios is the robo-advisor arm of Questrade, a leading Canadian online brokerage. It offers low management fees from 0.20% to 0.25% and supports several account types. You can invest in passive ETF portfolios, including socially responsible investment (SRI) portfolios and benefit from automatic rebalancing.
While the account minimum is $250, it’s significantly less than Nest Wealth, which requires you to have at least $20,000 to access customized ETF portfolios. For that reason alone, even with Nest Wealth’s flat monthly pricing, it's hard to recommend it over Questwealth.
Nest Wealth vs. BMO Smart Folio
BMO Smart Folio is a robo-advisor offered by BMO, one of Canada’s big banks. It offers individual and joint non-registered accounts and four registered account types (RRSP, TFSA, RESP and RRIF).
While BMO is transparent about its Smartfolio advisory fees, which range from 0.70% down to 0.40%, they are higher than those of other robo-advisors, including Nest Wealth. That said, you can start investing with as little as $1,000, making BMO Smartfolio a better option than Nest Wealth for beginners or small accounts.
FAQs
Colin Graves is a Winnipeg-based financial writer and editor whose work has been featured in publications such as Time, MoneySense, MapleMoney, Retire Happy, The College Investor, and more. Before becoming a full-time writer, Colin was a bank manager for over 15 years.
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