(Edited)
Review of Blooom
A robotic advisor for investment accounts
Effective 401(k) management
Free account analysis
Fees vary from 0.12-6.0%
A simplistic, yet intuitive interface
Summary
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.
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.
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, the user’s main part is finished and Blooom will take over from there. The 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.
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%
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.
- Head over to blooom’s site using our link above.
- Click the get started button
- Put in your details.
- Follow the prompts from there.
Our Blooom Review
Bloom 401k management is effective
Access to financial advisors
Free analysis
No account minimum
Pros
Limited direct IRA management
High fees for small accounts
Cons
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.
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