Wealthsimple Review 2020 – Customer experience, returns, Pros & Cons

When it comes to entrusting your money to any financial service, it is essential to research whether a particular financial product is both safe and reliable. The credibility of Fintech Company is usually determined by a several factors, such as whether it is regulated in a trustworthy jurisdiction, its membership among other well-respected organizations, and if the customer funds are insured.

In 2015 Wealthsimple acquired Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc. (ShareOwner), which acts as a custodial broker for their services. Securities in all Wealthsimple accounts are protected through ShareOwner by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) within specified limits (see table below). It is important to note that the CIPF provides insurance when the CIPF member firm's insolvency causes a financial loss, but it will not cover your losses in the stock market, ETFs etc.

* Some exceptions apply; please go here to learn about limitations and exceptions

It's also worth noting that ShareOwner is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, also known as IIROC, which provides additional protection and regulation. Both Wealthsimple Inc. and Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc. are incorporated in Canada, which means they are federally regulated and governed by Canadian law.

User experience with Wealthsimple products

As mentioned before, there are three main products that Wealthsimple is offering: Wealthsimple Invest, Wealthsimple Cash and Wealthsimple Trade (scroll down to find individual reviews of each product). Once you become Wealthsimple customer, there is a good chance that you will end up using a combination of Wealthsimple products, and it's fundamental to understand how they interact together.

From the early days, Wealthsimple was branded as a financial product line focused on millenials because of its simplicity and easy to understand interface. However, one major downside that we specifically found after using Wealthsimple for over a year is that Wealthsimple Trade can only be used via the mobile app. In contrast, Wealthsimple Invest and Wealthsimple Cash can be used via app and website interface. It creates somewhat of an inconvenience when you want to see your investment and saving performance across all Wealthsimple products. That is the primary reason why we have ranked the overall user experience 8 out of 10.

On the bright side, you won't have to create a separate account when you start using Wealthsimple Trade. Conveniently, if you already have Wealthsimple Invest, you will be able to use the same login credentials.

How much can you make with Wealthsimple?

It depends on which Wealthsimple product(s) you will be using, but ultimately Wealthsimple has very little to do with how much you will make. For example, Wealthsimple Invest provides you with an investment strategy and a platform that allows you to utilize that investment strategy, but everything boils down to overall market performance. You can read about this in more detail by clicking a particular Wealthsimple product review button on the side.

Another important factor is your own risk tolerance. Usually, riskier investments such as stocks carry more potential for higher returns, but at the same time can lead to more significant losses.

How much can
you make with:

Customer support

If this is not the first review you have read about Wealthsimple, you may be familiar with some negative reviews regarding the slow support. Personally, we have experienced few instances where we have had to reach out to customer support, and when we have, our experience was nothing but great. We assume that perhaps such negative reviews come from the early days when Wealthsimple was still learning how to cope with a large influx of new customers.

There are two primary options for how you can reach Wealthsimple support. If you are a millennial, you probably will appreciate the option to create a support ticket, but if for some reason you prefer calling, the help center number is provided at the bottom of the Wealthsimple help page.

Prerequisites for opening Wealthsimple account

To create a Wealthsimple account, you will need to go through a reasonably quick registration process. However, you must meet the following requirements:

As long as your details can be verified with a credit reporting agency, your account will be opened immediately. However, in some instances where your information can't be verified, Wealthsimple will ask you to correct the information or provide additional documentation.