[tedmiston]

One of the two companies actually says in their FAQ (paraphrasing): "Couldn't I just invest a small amount of money with you, then manage a second much larger account myself by hand, mirroring each trade? Yes, but we think our fees are cheaper than the time you'd spend doing that."

[Applejinx]

What if you get a computer to do it?

[0xCMP]

Still has fees. Unless you use something like Robinhood through a partner.

[tedmiston]

There's some gray area with Vanguard ETFs fees [1] for example:

> Vanguard mutual funds & ETFs (exchange-traded funds)

> There are no commissions when you buy and sell low-cost Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs.

> If you buy and sell the same Vanguard ETF® in a Vanguard Brokerage Account more than 25 times in a 12-month period, you may be restricted from purchasing that Vanguard ETF through your Vanguard Brokerage Account for 60 days.

That said, mimicking could entail more than 25 transactions per ETF per year. I don't know that we really have the ability to predict the number of trades that the robo-advisor will do from the outside though.

[1]: https://investor.vanguard.com/investing/trading-fees-commiss...

[tanderson92]

This clearly only applies to actual Vanguard accounts, not Vanguard ETFs held in other brokerage accounts.

[tedmiston]

You're definitely correct, but also Wealthfront recommends Vanguard ETFs disproportionately for their value [1]. A glance at my personal portfolio tuned to the higher end on their risk scale shows ~30% Vanguard ETFs.

[1]: https://support.wealthfront.com/hc/en-us/articles/209353626-...