Moka (formerly Mylo) vs. Wealthsimple Review 2024

Wealthsimple is a financial platform founded in Toronto, Canada back in 2014.

Upon launch, Wealthsimple provided a robo advisor service, offering Canadians a low-cost means to passive investing, allowing new investors to get started with as little as $1.

Today, Wealthsimple now offers five unique services: Wealthsimple Invest, its robo-advisor service; Wealthsimple Trade, its online brokerage; Wealthsimple Crypto, its crypto-trading platform; Wealthsimple Cash, its hybrid bank account; and, Wealthsimple Tax, its donation-based tax-filing service.

Today, Wealthsimple has over $5 billion in assets under management and operates in the United States and the United Kingdom as well.

Since Wealthsimple Invest is most similar to Moka, we’ll take a look at how this specific product holds up against the competition.

Wealthsimple: How It Works

When you sign up for Wealthsimpl Invest, you’ll complete a questionnaire to help them determine which of their portfolios will suit your risk tolerance.

After that, you’ll be prompted to connect your bank accounts. After your accounts have been linked, you can fund your Wealthsimple account by either one-time deposits or by setting up an automatic deposit. You can start with as little as $1.

Wealthsimple is a robo advisor, which means you don’t have to do any of the investing yourself. Your investments will be managed automatically by Wealthsimple. Wealthsimple charges a fee of 0.50% of your investment balance for this service, which is very cost-competitive.

Wealthsimple: Portfolio Options

Wealthsimple offers four different types of portfolios to choose from depending on your risk tolerance.

Risk tolerance levels with Wealthsimple include Conservative, Balanced, and Growth, with variations of each in between.

You’ll select your portfolio by filling out a questionnaire when you sign up, or you can schedule a meeting with their investment advisor.

Wealthsimple also offers Socially Responsible Investing and Halal portfolios.

You can invest your money in any of the following registered accounts, along with non-registered accounts.

• TFSA
• RRSP
• RESP
• Spousal RRSP
• Joint
• Corporate
• Trust

Wealthsimple: Additional products

As mentioned earlier in this article, Wealthsimple started as a robo advisor but have since added several additional products to their portfolio, including:

• Save: Hold cash in a non-registered account earning 0.50% interest
• Trade: Buy stocks, bonds, and ETFs directly through the Wealthsimple Trade investing app
• Crypto: Buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum instantly through the Wealthsimple Trade mobile apps
• Tax: File your taxes for free through Wealthsimple Tax, even if you aren’t an existing Wealthsimple customer

Wealthsimple: Safety and Security

Wealthsimple Invest is entirely safe to use and puts security at the forefront of the digital investing experience that it provides.

Wealthsimple is protected by the CIPF. If Wealthsimple becomes insolvent, your money is insured up to $1,000,000. This insurance is free and included, but will not protect you against downturns in the market.

It is also regulated by the IIROC, which regulates all investment firms operating in Canada.

As far as security measures go, Wealthsimple offers biometric and two-step authentication when accessing your account through their mobile application.

When it comes to starting investing, both Wealthsimple and Moka have good products for newbie investors with little cash to spare for their portfolios.

In both instances, your money is protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), so you can rest assured they are both safe options.

That said, in our opinion, Moka’s $7 per month fee is a high management fee on a small account, and Wealthsimple’s 0.50% management fee is much more economical if you’re just starting to invest.

However, if you can invest a lot of money upon opening an account, Mylo is undoubtedly the more affordable option, especially considering that you can still use Wealthsimple’s additional products without opening a Wealthsimple Invest account.