Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Reviews

Summary of a Reddit post

They tried Schwab Intelligent Portfolios in two IRAs and a taxable account on the basic tier, then cancelled via an in-kind transfer for a more growth-tilted mix, while praising Schwab customer service.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They tried Schwab Intelligent Portfolios at its most aggressive allocation and found six months of performance lackluster, so they switched to a self-managed three fund portfolio with Schwab funds.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They have used Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for four years with solid gains and like that it does tax harvesting painlessly, but find it conservative and note their own mutual funds did better.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They set up a moderately aggressive Schwab Intelligent Portfolios account a few years ago and still keep it. Performance seems reasonable but not stellar, though tax loss harvesting keeps realized gains minimal.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They switched to Schwab Intelligent Portfolios a month ago after growing tired of market swings and report a modest gain so far, along with much lower stress.

Summary of a Reddit post

They moved from stressful day trading to a max-risk Schwab Intelligent Portfolio, are up about 10 percent in three months, accept the cash holding as savings-like, and say they quite like it.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They closed their Schwab Intelligent Portfolio after a few months because their taxable account, IRA and target date fund matched or beat it with lower fees, and they prefer doing their own transfers.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They have Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium mainly for unlimited CFP access, which they found worth it, but plan to leave and object to the large cash requirement, calling Schwab reasoning for it weak.

Summary of a Reddit post

They set their Schwab Intelligent Portfolio fairly aggressively and found it lost far less than the S&P 500 in a down quarter, calling it working as intended despite lagging in the prior year, and like its cash interest.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They hold a Schwab Intelligent Portfolio and wish it kept less in cash, though they acknowledge the cash is placed in a money market type fund rather than sitting idle.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They left Schwab Intelligent Portfolios after the premium tier ended, opening a new self-directed Roth and moving ETFs in kind by phone; the week-long process was smooth and professional with only a mild retention pitch.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They have held IRA money in Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium for years and found the yearly CFP review worthwhile, with minor but useful suggestions, even if the waits for appointments can be long.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They opened a Schwab Intelligent Portfolio in 2019 aimed at a 2032 retirement and report solid average yearly returns after fees. They note the cash holding but simply set it and forget it.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They opened IRA accounts for themselves and their young niece in Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, find it easy to add funds, and review quarterly or twice a year, seeing set-and-forget as ideal for the niece.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They had Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for five years and feel they missed a lot of gains versus target date funds. They found it stress free but saw little active management and uninvested cash dragging results.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They have held a less aggressive Schwab Intelligent Portfolio for nine years with strong yearly returns and a smaller drop in 2022 than the S&P 500, and value the free rebalancing and peace of mind.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They have used Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for years in a taxable account as fire and forget with a moderate aggressive profile; it trails their other account slightly, but the cash sits in a decent money market.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They hold a managed Schwab Intelligent Portfolios account alongside a self-managed Roth, find it ok with periodic rebalancing, and have no real complaints other than the cash drag.

Summary of a Reddit comment

Started moving their Roth out of the robo-advisor today, regretting falling for the hype; it is up about 64% since inception versus roughly 150% they estimate low-cost index funds would have returned.

Summary of a Reddit comment

Opened in December 2020 and rates it just ok, at about a 6.08% annualized return; answering as moderately aggressive gave returns not much better than their husband's more conservative setup, and self-picked accounts did better.

Summary of a Reddit comment

Calls Schwab's robo account fine: it keeps a large portion in cash but pays decent interest and is free, saving the Betterment fee.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They closed their Roth Schwab Intelligent Portfolio and rolled it into a self-directed Roth IRA because it underperformed their other accounts despite the most aggressive setting, and they disliked the large cash position.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They opened a Schwab Intelligent Portfolio in 2024 at the highest risk after leaving other robo-advisors, could not convert those accounts and started over, but see it holding up well in dips and plan to grow it.

Summary of a Reddit post

Six years on the highest risk setting still feels overly conservative and forces an 8% cash allocation, delivering underwhelming returns.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They tried Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Vanguard's robo on aggressive settings for two years, were not impressed with the returns versus an index fund, and plan to move the money.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They used Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for their Roth IRA for a year, found it too busy, and moved to a self-administered three fund portfolio; they would not use it again though others may like set-and-forget.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They have had Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for about 12 to 13 years; it has done okay with returns below an S&P ETF and about 6 percent cash at the most aggressive setting, but they like the set-and-forget rebalancing.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They used Schwab Intelligent Portfolios in their Roth for about four years; it rebalances on its own and is workable though clunky, but slightly trails the S&P 500 and holds a cash slice paying monthly interest.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They used Schwab Intelligent Portfolios in an all-stock aggressive growth setup and noticed some holdings carried higher expense ratios, though the cost gap versus index funds was small and the robo suits moderately hands-on investors.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They started using Schwab Intelligent Portfolios about 16 months ago with a tiny share of their portfolio, are up over 17 percent, and like the easy diversification into international and fixed income.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They have been with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios since it launched and say it beats anything they built themselves, with automatic rebalancing and tax loss harvesting.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They put roughly half of their non-IRA money in Schwab Intelligent Portfolios about five years ago as a test against their regular index account, and say it does quite well and handles taxes.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They used Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for years in taxable accounts and it performed wonderfully, but harvesting stopped working as gains grew, leaving a tax bomb that needed their Schwab advisor to turn it off.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They have used Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for about four years and like it, running several separate buckets each set to its own risk level.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They hold one of their wife's IRAs in Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and are satisfied with the performance, calling it set-and-forget and not world beating but not badly lagging the market.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They hold a global Schwab Intelligent Portfolios allocation in their IRA at roughly 82 percent stock and report it is up about 60 percent over the last three years.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They hold three Schwab Intelligent Portfolios (taxable with tax loss harvesting, IRA rollover and Roth), tested several robo brands against each other, and picked Schwab mainly for quick phone support.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They rolled a 401K into a Schwab Intelligent Portfolio in 2020, report strong growth since, and like that it handles rebalancing; the cash sweep suits them as they take distributions, and they are happy with it.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They are dissatisfied with how much cash their Schwab Intelligent Portfolio holds, and even after moving to a more risk-accepting strategy the cash share stayed high, leaving them unsure how they feel.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They put Roth money for themselves and a spouse into very aggressive Schwab Intelligent Portfolios last fall and are surprisingly happy, with gains that beat most of their other investments over the period.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They hold a Schwab Intelligent Portfolio alongside other ETFs and note that during the recent drop their Intelligent Portfolio is barely down while their other ETFs fell noticeably.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They are very happy with Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, accept the cash held, and like answering risk questions and making a monthly deposit while Schwab handles the investing, since they lack time to manage markets.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They tried Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for their Roth IRA but left because it always kept 5 to 7 percent in cash, which they felt was too much and limited the money working in ETFs.

Summary of a Reddit post

Valued the unlimited access to a certified planner on the Premium tier and is considering moving after Schwab dropped it, also finding the portfolio's cash allocation less than ideal.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They hold Schwab Intelligent Portfolios with about 11 percent of the account in cash, which currently earns around 3.7 percent interest, noting the cash share depends on portfolio settings.

Summary of a Reddit comment

They found there is no way to unenroll a Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Roth back to self-directed; support said the only route is to liquidate and transfer, and they dislike the high cash allocation that benefits Schwab.

Summary of a Reddit post

Started investing through the automated portfolio with small regular additions, and likes that it is automated while still learning about investing.

Summary of a Reddit comment

Tried Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for almost a year and switched out because even the most aggressive portfolio lagged a broad market ETF.

Summary of a Reddit comment

Holds Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for retirement; it underperforms the S&P slightly but is more diversified and loses less in bad markets.

Summary of a Reddit comment

Used Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for three years and wishes they had done it themselves earlier.