Review of Blooom

What Is Blooom?

Blooom is a web-based robo advisor for investment accounts, specifically those for retirement.

It focuses on retirement accounts, such as 401(k) and 403(b). Blooom is a fiduciary and legally obligated to act in your best interests.

There is no account minimum and the option to pay a reduced flat annual fee, making Blooom a very affordable option.

Blooom was founded in 2013 and has analyzed over $1.6 billion in assets over the years. Being that they are a robo-platform, Blooom has the privilege of managing any account, no matter the employer.

Blooom advises the user on the performance of their accounts and gives advice on improvements that could be made.

Since Blooom is a robo-advisor, investments are based on statistics and the user’s input.

Blooom has a very simple and straightforward model: There’s no account minimum, and the management cost is a flat annual fee ranging from $45 to $250 per year, depending on the level of service you need.

It’s easy to register for an account and have Blooom analyze your 401(k) for free. You also have access to financial advisors and can get helpful personalized guidance in both the Standard and Unlimited tiers.

Chosen 203 times

• 401(k) management
• No account management fee
• Free analysis
• Access to account advisors

4.3Read 8 reviews

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Where Bloom Stands Out

Blooom stands out for the fact that it focuses on retirement plans like IRAs and 401(k)s. Blooom offers management services that are often overlooked at other advisors and they have a very straightforward model.

Where Blooom Falls Short

Only those with accounts at Fidelity can have their IRAs fully managed. Flat fees are attractive for higher account balances but are slightly on the high side for accounts with lower balances.

Access to Blooom’s customer support is only available online, via email and chat.

How Blooom Works

Blooom works in conjunction with your existing retirement account.

When registering for an account, Blooom has users link their 401(k) or IRA retirement account to Blooom. Once connected, Blooom analyzes the account and compares it against over 25,000 different accounts in their system.

Once the analysis is complete, a user will be presented with a flower. The health of the flower will indicate the health of the account.

Blooom will break down the reasoning behind the health of your Blooom 401(k) or IRA account. For example, the user in the image above does not have a healthy account and is being presented with some points on the side.

After the user’s investment account has been analyzed, the next step is Blooom’s advice on how to improve your account.

This includes a breakdown comparison of your current account status and what Blooom suggests it can improve for you with their service.

As shown below, the breakdown is quite comprehensive and easy to read and understand.

After the user is presented with their recommendations, they are then asked to give their preferences on how they prefer their account to be managed. The user can select their preference between heavy stocks or bonds.

Once that is finished, your main part is finished and Blooom will take over from there. Your account will be self-managed by Blooom and you can sit back and watch your account grow from your desk at home.

However, you can take a more active role on the account if you wish. You can choose to change both your investment mix and your retirement date if you so choose.

Blooom does a portfolio review or rebalancing, every 90 days to ensure you are on track. Blooom will make automatic adjustments if necessary.

Supported Accounts

Blooom stands out for its strategy of exclusively managing employer-sponsored retirement plans: 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, TSPs and 401(a)s, and IRAs.

While Blooom works with different types of IRAs – traditional, SEP, SIMPLE, Roth, spousal, nondeductible and self-directed – it can only manage IRAs held at Fideltiy. IRAs held at TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and Vanguard can receive a custom investment strategy but clients must implement it on their own

Rates and Fees

Blooom offers competitive fees, with no cost for an account analysis.

Blooom does not have an account minimum and charges a $10 flat monthly account management fee.

The fees as a percentage of assets vary, as follows:

• $2,000 – 6%
• $10,000 – 1.2%
• $25,000 – .48%
• $50,000 – .24%
• $100,000 – .12%

In comparison, robo-advisors typically charge around 0.25% to 0.50% and human advisors charge around 1% for assets under management.

Given that Blooom is one of the few robo-advisors that specializes in 401(k) management we feel the fees are reasonable.

Blooom’s flat fees allow you to choose the level of service that best suits your needs. Tiers start at $45 per year, per account with the DIY package, which provides you with a personalized portfolio.

The next tier is $120 per year, per account, with the Standard package, which supplements the personalized portfolio with auto-optimization, transaction activity alerts and advisor access.

Blooom’s most comprehensive tier is the Unlimited package. It costs $250 a year for an unlimited number of accounts and it gives you all the services in the Standard and DIY tiers, along with priority advisor access. This will give you the ability to live chat with an advisor during business hours.

How to Use Blooom

Bloom’s interface is simplistic, yet intuitive. The main page presents the user with a preview of their accounts, with shortcuts to accounts and balances to the left, and a total account amount at the bottom.

As seen above, Blooom is linked with three accounts, totaling $27,200. The user has the option of looking into the details of the selected account. Let’s see how Blooom presents that.

So, on the left is an easy-to-read ratio pie chart of the account. On the right is an in-depth breakdown of every dollar amount in the account.

Creating an Account with Blooom

Now that you’ve read our Blooom reviews and how they work, you probably want to know how you can get started. Well, it’s fairly simple.

1. Head over to blooom’s site using our link above.
2. Click the get started button
3. Put in your details.
4. Follow the prompts from there.

Other Features

There are some other great features that make Blooom stand out:

Automatic Rebalancing

As the market changes and moves down or up, your investment will also change over time. With Automatic Rebalancing, Blooom will monior your account. If the allocation moves too far from its target, it will buy or sell investments to bring your allocation back in line.

Customer accounts are reviewed by Blooom every 95 days and your allocation will be adjusted accordingly. You will receive an email confirming any transactions in your account and see any changes in your account activity.

Human Advisors

Sometimes you may want to discuss your accounts with a human advisor for that personal touch and that is exactly what Blooom offers.

Human advisors can help you determine your goals, your long-term investment plan, and discuss your risk tolerance to help determine the optimal strategy for your needs.

Human advisors are available for the Standard and Unlimited tiers, offering email and live online chat support with registered investment advisors.

They will cover all topics that are not necessarily linked to 401(k) management, such as budgeting, debt repayment, and preparing for major life events. All advisors are Series 65 licensed and act as fiduciaries.

Our Blooom Review

While there are many different options out there for managing or analyzing your retirement accounts, Blooom has some nice perks that may be of interest.

Probably the most prominent is the ease of use and passive nature of the service. Because it is a robo-account, Blooom is mostly self-running, with little need from the user after the initial set-up.

Blooom also comes in at a fairly competitive price, with low fees and a flat monthly subscription rate.

Bloom also works with multiple accounts and can seamlessly connect with your already established retirement accounts.

Is Blooom safe? Yes. Blooom is a trusted robo-advisor that uses 256-bit encryption and bank-level security. They also offer third-party authentication whenever you request changes to your account.

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