Our Take

Robo-investing is typically a process where you answer questions about risk tolerance, age, and income to determine a model portfolio that is invested in funds and periodically rebalanced. While Titan offers this servꦿice, the company does more than that. Titan offers its investors access to more actively managed funds, which seek to outperform index🗹 funds. Titan also offers direct access to alternative asset classes often reserved only for accredited investors, including real estate and venture capital.

The company has seen some changes in its fee structure going into 2025. It has flattened the portfolio-specific fees, which were previously tiered, and i🧸ntroduced a client fee instead. In terms of the robo-advisory, however, things remain simple and cheap. We’ll dig into theﷺ pros and cons of Titan’s more active approach so you can determine whether the company’s offerings are right for you.

Account Overview

Account Setup

The account setup is typical for a robo-advisor. Titan requires you to enter your address and contact information and then complete text verification in order to move forward into the basic information-gathering process, mainly identifying your age, net worth, goal for opening the account, investment time horizon, and risk tolerance. For each piece of information requested, there is an option to click an🌃d le🦹arn why it is necessary.

When you are done inputting your data, the system recommends three different strategies, including more꧑ traditional accounts and alternative asset accounts. ಌFor the passive and actively managed funds, Titan suggests three options: a diversified growth portfolio, an automated stocks and bonds portfolio, and a low-risk portfolio. Custom portfolios are also available.

The minimum account size for passive and actively managed funds at Titan is $500. Once you decide to move forward, the process will be similar to that of other accounts. You fund the account, then ♔get up and running with your portfolio. A nice feature of Titan-managed accounts is that they support fractional share trading, so you can get invested right away.

Goal Planning

Goal planning on Titan is somewhat limited. There is a retirement planning tool that takes in your annual income, current retirement assets, and years to retirement to calculate whether you are on track. Beyond that, Titan’s planning tools are unable to account for large purchases such as a home, vehicle, or college. All clients have access to a range of financial calculator tools.

Account Services

Many robo-advisors provide a variety of services for their account holders, including cash management products and customization, as well as various features some investors look for, such as charitable giving tools; a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:environmental, ꦇsocial, and governance (ESG) investing; and the ability to sync and analyze outside accounts. Titan offers some cash management options at this point, but little else.&nbsꩲp;

Cash Management

Titan has a cash management program called Smart Treasury, which provides an APY as high as 4.23%. Titan searches for the best short-term rates across 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:treasury securities for Smart Treasury, so that cash is invested at the highest possible rate for a high after-tax interest rate. Further, the Smart Treasury program also spreads investments across institutions to maximum FDIC protectio♛n.

Although the Smart Treasury cash management services provide a competitive interest rate, Titan does not offer any cash management tools such as checking, bill paying, or other traditional banking services. Compared to other robo-advisors, Titan’s cash management tools are limited, even if the interes♔t rate paid🀅 through Smart Treasury is competitive.

Portfolio Construction

Portfolios are created utilizing 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:modern portfolio theory (MPT) and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:mean-variance analysis optimization. The passively managed portfolios - called Automated Bonds and Automated Stocks, respectively - are rebalanced when they are flagged by Titan’s algorithms. At a minimum, the rebalancing is quarterly. Actively managed portfolios are also constructed using modern portfolio theory, but are managed more opportunistically in an attempt to obtain better r✤eturns than the S&P 500.

In addition tꦍo the automated stock and bond offerings, Titan gives investors access to three actively managed portfolios:

• Titan Flagship: A fund focused on U.S. large-cap companies
• Titan Opportunities: A fund looking for small-cap growth 
• Titan Offshore: A fund looking for non-U.S. stocks

Titan also has a cryptocurrency fund with exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum. There are also non-proprietary alternative investment funds, i🐲ncluding Carlyle Tactical Private Credit, Apollo Diversified Credit, ARK Venture, and Apollo Real Estate. 

These funds often have a higher cash reserve requirement than the Titan funds, meaning that 1% of the money invested in these funds is held in cash to cover fees. There may also be additional restrictions on the timing and size of withdrawals when inve꧒sting in these funds. It is important to note that the actual robo-advisor controlled portfolios exclusively deal with ETFs.

Available Assets

Portfolio Customization

Portfolio customization at Titan is primarily related to the specific answers each client provides when creating or maintaining an account, including the goals they have for the account, how risk-averse they are, and which asset classes they want to invest in. These decisions help Titan determine the portfolio suggestions and mixes. While the portfolios can’t be customized for each client, specific securities can be omitted from a portfolio. The crypto portfolio is outside of thꦅe robo-advisor account and is not managed by it, although both can be added within the same overall investor account.

Portfolio Management

The robo-advisor controlled portfolios are rebalanced as needed based on drift triggers. If there is no triggering event, the portfolios are still assessed quarterly at a minimum. The robo-advisor controlled portfolios are not managed for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:tax-loss harvesting, andꦬ there is no ability ꦐto direct charitable giving from these accounts.

Clients can, however, see progress toward their goals in real-time. Ano🐎ther positive about Titan is that it supports fractional shares, allowing new funds and dividends to be invested into the portfolio quickly.

User Experience 

Desktop

The desktop platform works smoothly. It is a basic🃏 website that covers all the key information effectively. You can also see the various investment options available without logging in. If you have an account, you can easily choose products to add. The retirement calculators are relatively basic and easy to use on the desktop platform. The website lacks a traditional search bar, but a chatbot and answers function fulfill that need, providing content based on your query. 

Mobile 

The mobile platform largely mirrors the desktop experience, and is easy to navigate. The platform is clearly designed with a mobile-first tilt, so the app and mobile site experience are intuitive and fast. The app has ratings of 4.0 and 4.6 on Google Play and the Apple App Store respectively. 

Customer Service

• Live chat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
• Virtual chatbot 
• Email support

Customer service at Titan is l🐬imited, but prospective and existing clients can speak with customer service via online chat between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET. There is no phone support available at this time; however, Titan’s Investor Relations team is staffed with series 7 aꦦnd series 63-licensed professionals who are available to chat with clients about portfolio construction, investment strategies, and more. Access is available via the Titan app, email, or text chat.

Titan does not provide access to financial planners that can help map out long-term strategies and detailed retirement goals, but it does integrate with some outside applications. This includes linking to Empower (previously called Personal Capital), which offers free financial planning and personal wealth management services that include the ability to link multiple external accounts, including Titan accounts, to show an investor’s complete financial picture. Titan does not currently integrate with Quicken or any applications related to crypto positions.

Security 

Titan provides standard security, including encrypted websites that utilize two-step authentication and/or biometrics for saf൲e connections. Tita💯n also provides SIPC and FDIC coverage for accounts. On cash equivalents, Titan is able to utilize multiple banks, which provides coverage for up to $5 million, allowing more investor cash to fall under the FDIC insurance umbrella.

Education 

Titan provides educational and research content on its website. It has research and news update articles, as well as a suite of videos on various educational topics. The videos are typically less than two minutes in length and offer introductions to topics such as “What is Venture Capital,” “What is the Stock Market,” “What is Robo-Investing,” and so on. There is separate retirement planning software on Titan Invest, as well as calculators to s♈ee future projections.

While it is nice to see educational and other supporting information, the larger brokerage co✤mpanies typically have much more to offer for investing education and market research and it is often available for free without even opening an account. So, while Titan has some decent content, it is not especially unique. Further, while there is an FAQ section on the Titan website, it is difficult to find the page, and more than a few topics don’t have a corresponding FAQ. 

Commissions and Fees

Titan’s fees are high relative to other, more traditional robo-advisors, but this is largely because of its structure with a set client fee of $25 a month ($250 if paid annually) and 0.2% on assets under management. At lower account balances, this is a significant jump compared to pure, low-cost robo-advisors.

However, this may be seen as a great value given that the same𒊎 0.2% applies to its actively managed funds, Smart Treasury, and alternative asset classes, such as venture capital and credit strategies, that are not typically offered by robo-advisors. 

The basic robo-advisor accounts, Automated Stocks, and Automated Bonds are no longer fee-free, but the larger offering available through Titan is now available to intereste𒐪d investors for much less. In addition to the client fee and advisory fee, underlying investment♑s like ETFs will also have nominal management fees.

The Bottom Line

Titan works well and is easy to use, but is it right for you? That depends on what you are looking for. If you want a no-frills robo-advisor with low fees, Titan’s new membership and🌜 advisory fee structure has pushed it out of that space. Titan can still offer value if you are looking tꦍo have some of your portfolio actively managed or if you want access to private equity, real estate, and credit strategies. Titan offers non-accredited investors access to these markets for much less than what actual hedge funds charge.

If you are looking for a full-featured robo-advisor experience, however, Titan can't compete with the more immersive and customizable experiences at Wealthfront and Betterment or the value for money of a Fidelity Go or Schwab Intelligent Portfolios at lower balance, fee-free tiers.

Regarding Titan’s actively managed strategies, the performance of the investments needs to be high enough to make up for the higher management fees. Returns on Titan’s funds benchmarked against the S&P have outperformed during recent stretches, but Titan’s Flagship Fund has an annualized return of 13.51% since inception on Feb. 20, 2018. This is ahead of its benchmark currently, but there have been some peaks and valleys as with all active funds.  

How Does Titan Save You Money on Taxes?

Titan doesn't really do a lot in terms of tax savings beyond using some tax-advantaged treasury funds for the Smart Treasury account. The savings account is outside the robo-advisor accounts of Automated Stocks and Automated Bonds, neither of which offer any tax-loss harvesting or tax optimization in terms of asset selection.

Is It Safe to Use Titan to Invest?

Yes, Titan is safe to use. The company is registered with the SEC and is reputable. The safety of the company and the assets invested in the company, however, is not the same as the safety of the investments chosen. The꧙ various investing options at Titan span from a traditional portfolio of ETFs to exposure to other markets, including private equity and real estate, so there is a range of potential investment outcome🤪s. 

Is Titan FDIC Insured?

The Titan cash product, which is a higher-yield savings vehicle, provides up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance. Customers who sign up for Titan’s Cash Sweep program receive up to $5 million in FDIC insurance; this higher coverage is achieved by the program manager using partner banks to invest cash. 

Investment accounts are provided with standard SIPC protection against failure of the brokerage firm, up to $500,000, with a maximum of $250,000 in cash. 

What Is the Minimum You Can Invest With Titan?

The minimum investment amount at Titan Invest changes based on the investment vehicle. The Smart Treasury product requires just $5, but higher balances are required to access all the investment options. 💮Automated and actively managed accounts require a minimum investment of $500, which is the overall investment minimum, with the caveat that some third-party investments require a higher asset level.

Who Is the CEO of Titan?

Clayton “Clay” Gardner is co-CEO and founder of the company. Joe Percoco is the other co-CEO. Clay and Joe were friends at Wharton. Their other partner, Max Bernardy, graduated from Stanford. While working at hedge funds and large banks, they thought it would make sense to provide smaller investors with access to the same trading strategies, including access to alternative strategies, offered by hedge funds. Their platform dream, which also included actively managed funds utilizing strategies used by other hedge funds, evolved into Ti🐬tan. Gardner is responsible for the portfolio creation and active management strategies for the portfolios.

How We Picked the Best Robo-Advisors

Providing readers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of digital wealth management companies, more commonly know♐n as robo-advisors, is a top priority of Investopedia. To collect data for our 20💞24 best robo-advisor awards and rankings, we sent a digital survey with 64 questions directly to each of the 21 companies we included in our rubric. Our team of researchers verified the survey responses and collected any missing data points through online research and conversations with each company directly. The data collection process took place from Jan. 8 to Feb. 9, 2024.

We then developed a quantitative model that scored each company to rate its performance across nine major categories and 59 criteria to find the best robo-a🃏dvisors. The score for each company’s overall star rating is a weighted average of the criteria:

• Goal Planning - 21.00%
• Portfolio Contents - 17.00%
• Portfolio Management - 17.00%
• Fees - 15.00%
• Account Services - 10.00%
• Account Setup - 5.00%
• Customer Service - 5.00%
  
• Security & Education - 5.00%
• User Experience - 5.00%

Many of the companies we review for our projects grant our teꦫam of exper💝t writers and editors access to live accounts so they can perform hands-on testing. Robo-advisor companies allowed us to do this, as well.

Through this all-encompassing data collection and review process, Investopedia has provided you with an unbiased and thorough review of the top robo-advisors. Read more about 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩ಞ网:how wဣe research and review robo-advisors.

The above material and content should not be considered to be a recommendation. Investing in digital assets is highly speculative and volatile, and only suitable for investors who are able to bear the risk of potential loss and experience sharp drawdowns. Digital assets are not legal tender and are not backed by the U.S. government. Digital assets are not subject to FDIC insurance or SIPC protections.