This Justwealth review covers everything you need to know about one of the top managed or robo-advisor investment platforms in Canada.
Robo-advisors have proven to be low-cost investing options for Canadians looking to start investing in a diversified portfolio, no matter their experience level.
While we don’t have a shortage of robo-advisors in Canada, the challenge lies in how to choose the best one for your needs. But irrespective of your investment needs, there’s a perfect robo-advisor for you in Canada.
Could it be Justwealth? In this Justwealth review, I discuss everything you need to know about one of the best robo-advisors in Canada including its portfolio options, investment accounts, fees, pros, cons and more.
At the end, you should be able to determine whether it’s the perfect robo-advisor for you or not.
Overview of Justwealth
For a quick understanding of what Justwealth entails, the following table highlights the key features of the robo-advisor.
| Founded in | 2015 |
| Operational status | Portfolio Manager |
| Headquarters | Toronto |
| Portfolio types | Tax-Efficient, US Dollar and RESP Target Date Portfolios |
| Supported accounts | RESP, RRSP (plus spousal RRSP), RRIF, TFSA, LIRA, LIF & taxable accounts |
| Minimum investment | $5,000 (no minimum requirements for RESP accounts) |
| Management fee | 0.40% – 0.50% |
| MER | 0.20% average |
| Sign-up bonus | Up to $500 cash back |
| Coverage | Up to $1 million by CIPF |
What is Justwealth?
Justwealth, officially known as Justwealth Financial Inc. is a robo-advisor that operates as a Portfolio Manager across the ten provinces of Canada.
Based in Toronto, the robo-advisor was established in 2015 to offer “justice” to Canadian investors in the form of affordable and customized investment solutions.
As an awarding-winning robo-advisor, Justwealth sets itself apart in the industry with comprehensive collections of ETF portfolios, multiple investment accounts, and competitive promotions.
However, Justwealth’s RESP special features including no minimum balance, lower monthly fees and target date portfolios make it one of the best RESP Robo-advisors in Canada.
With dedicated licensed Personal Portfolio Managers and personalized financial and counselling services, Justwealth is designed for both beginners and seasoned investors.
How Does Justwealth Work?
Justwealth operates like the other robo-advisors in Canada. That, it invests on your behalf based on your investment objective, risk tolerance and budget.
After understanding your personal situation, the robo-advisor will assign you a Personal Portfolio Manager who will match you with one of Justwealth’s 70+ portfolios – one of the largest in the country.
When the Portfolio Manager sets up your portfolio and you make the minimum investment of $5,000 (assuming you’re not investing through RESP which has no minimum balance), the Portfolio Manager will take it from there to invest your funds and rebalance it regularly.
Is Justwealth Safe?
As a registered Portfolio Manager across all the provinces it operates in Canada, Justwealth is safe. Being a registered Portfolio Manager means Justwealth operates according to the industry’s best practices and laws of each jurisdiction.
The CI Investment Services Inc, (Justwealth custodian), is a Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) member. This means that your assets on Justwealth are automatically covered up to $1 million by the CIPF.
What about your personal information? It is protected with Extended Validation SSL technology that gives you maximum protection against fraudsters.
The bottom line is that Justwealth is safe just like other top financial institutions in Canada.
Justwealth Portfolios
Justwealth supports more than 70 ETF portfolios aimed to generate income, grow wealth or preserve wealth.
The portfolios are scattered across Tax-Efficient, US Dollar and RESP Target Date Portfolios which have varying sub-portfolios ranging from:
- Growth portfolio
- Income portfolio
- ESG portfolio
- Conservative portfolio
- Moderate portfolio
- Balanced portfolio
- Advanced portfolio
- High Portfolio
- Maximum portfolio
With the great selection of portfolio across different themes and investment strategies, Justwealth is able to meet the needs of most Canadians. You can check the performance of each of the portfolios on Justwealth’s website.
Justwealth Investing Accounts
Justwealth has a comprehensive collection of registered and non-registered accounts to meet your investing needs.
Below are the current investing accounts on Justwealth:
- Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
- Registered Retirement Savings Plan (plus spousal RRSP)
- Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF)
- Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)
- Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA)
- Life Income Fund (LIF)
- Non-registered accounts
With this collection, Justwealth can be your one-stop-shop for your present and future investment needs.
Justwealth Fees
Like other robo-advisors in Canada, Justwealth also charges an annual management fee and MER. The management fee ranges from 0.50% (for your first $500k balance) to 0.40% (for a balance above $500k).
However, a minimum monthly management fee applies. Justwealth charges a minimum $4.99 management fee per month for non-RESP accounts and $2.50 for RESP accounts.
The management expense ratio (MER), the average MER of the ETFs Justwealth invests in is 0.20%. So overall, Justwealth fees compares well with the average robo-advisors fees in Canada. But it may be slightly more expensive depending on how much you’re investing.
For example, the 0.50% management fees at Wealthsimple Invest drops to 0.40% once your assets reach $100,000. But Justwealth’s fees won’t drop until you have over $500,000 in assets.
Besides the management fee and MER, below are other fees associated with Justwealth accounts.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| RESP, TFSA, RRIF, and taxable account withdrawal fees | None |
| Full account deregistration of RRSP and Spousal RRSP accounts | $50 (plus HST) |
| Partial account de-registration | $25 (plus HST) |
| Full account transfer | $150 |
| Partial account transfer | $50 |
Justwealth Promotions
Justwealth offers a sign-up bonus, referral bonus and transfer rebate to help reduce your investment costs.
For the sign-up bonus, all you need is to join Justwealth through this link or use our referral code “WALLET-BLISS”. Depending on your initial deposit amount, you will get $50 – $500 cash back as a sign-up bonus.
The following are the cash back rewards on Justwealth across different investment balances.
- $5,000 to $24,999 balance = $50 cash back
- $25,000 to $49,999 balance = $100 cash back
- $50,000 to $99,999 balance = $225 cash back
- $100,000 above balance = $500
When you refer someone to Justwealth with your referral code/link, you and the referral will get a one-month management fee waiver. The more people you refer to Justwealth, the more management waiver you enjoy.
Finally, if you transfer your existing investment account that’s worth $25,000 in value to Justwealth, you will get the $150 transfer fee back.
Learn more: Justwealth Promo Code & Promotion Review
Pros and Cons of Justwealth
Next in this Justwealth review, we’ll look at some of its benefits and drawbacks:
Pros
- Competitive RESP accounts: Justwealth has positioned itself as arguably the best robo-advisor for RESP investing. With target date funds, low management fees and no minimum balance, Justwealth RESP is worth checking out.
- Multiple portfolios: Currently, Justwealth has some of the most robust collections of portfolios in Canada. With over 70 ETF portfolios, the robo-advisor positioned itself as a one-stop shop for automated investing.
- Multiple investment accounts: Whether you’re looking for registered or unregistered accounts, Justwealth got you covered with several options.
- Competitive promos: From sign-up bonus, referral bonus, to transfer fee rebate, Justwealth has some of the competitive promotions out there.
- Tax-loss harvesting: If you want to save cost on your non-registered account’s capital gain taxes, you can count on Justwealth.
- Customized solutions: The robo-advisor assigns a licensed Personal Portfolio Manager to each investor for personalized support and counselling.
Cons
- High minimum balance: With the exception of RESP accounts that have no minimum balance, all Justwealth accounts require a minimum balance of $5,000. This may be a barrier to investors looking to start with smaller amounts.
- Limited coverage: Justwealth is only available to the residents of Canadian provinces excluding the residents of Nunavut, Yukon and Northwest Territories.
- No self-directed option: If you ever decide to managed a portfolio for yourself, you’ll need another investment platform.
Is Justwealth Perfect For You?
By now you should be able to determine whether Justwealth is perfect for you or not. But if you’re still not sure, I recommend you consider Justwealth ideal if you’re looking for a:
- Robo-advisor to save for your children’s post-secondary education through RESP.
- Registered Portfolio Manager with multiple portfolios and investment accounts without regard to fees.
- Robo-advisor with competitive promotions and tax-loss harvesting.
- Professional investment suggestions and supports
Did Justwealth tick all your boxes? Then proceed to learn about the sign-up process.
But if the reverse is the case due to the high minimum balance, slightly higher fees, or limited coverage of the robo-advisor, you should consider the Justwealth alternatives discussed at the end part of this review.
How to Open a Justwealth Account
You can open a Justwealth account within 15 minutes as everything is done online. However, you must meet the requirements below to open a Justwealth account:
- Live in any Canadian province (excluding territories)
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Have a Social Insurance Number (plus your spousal SIN if applicable)
- Have a valid government-issued photo ID.
If you meet all the requirements, Great. You can now follow the steps below to open a Justwealth account.
- Visit the sign-up page here
- Click the “Get Started” button
- Provide your personal details (including your employment and financial information)
With this information, Justwealth will recommend a portfolio that matches your profile. If you’re comfortable with it, you will be required to provide additional information to be assigned a Personal Portfolio Manager.
Finally, the Personal Portfolio Manager will contact you to set up your portfolio and start investing.
Justwealth vs Wealthsimple Invest
| Key Feature | Justwealth | Wealthsimple Invest |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio types | Tax-Efficient, US Dollar and RESP Target Date Portfolios | Standard ETF, Halal and SRI portfolios |
| Management fee | 0.4% – 0.5% | 0.4% – 0.5% |
| MER | 0.20% average | 0.12% – 0.5% |
| Investment accounts | RESP, RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, LIRA, LIF & taxable accounts | RESP, RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, LIF, taxable (plus joint, business accounts) |
| Minimum investment requirement | $5,000 (no minimum requirement for RESP accounts) | None |
Wealthsimple Invest is one of the most popular robo-advisors in Canada. It allows you to invest in classic ETF, Halal or SRI portfolios with any amount as there are no minimum investment amount required.
Like Justwealth, you can also invest through registered and unregistered accounts on Wealthsimple Invest.
As a Wallet Bliss reader, you will get a $25 cash bonus upon joining Wealthsimple Invest through this link and deposit a minimum of $500. Your account transfer fee is reimbursed up to $150 when you switch your investment account to Wealthsimple Invest.
While Wealthsimple Invest also has a 0.4%/0.5% management fee like Justwealth, it has a lower MER as shown in the table above.
The bottom line is that Wealthsimple Invest slightly edges out Justwealth when you look at all the key features you need in a robo-advisor. But if you’re interested in an RESP, then Justwealth is the clear winner.
Learn more: Wealthsimple Invest Review
Justwealth vs Questwealth Portfolios
| Key Feature | Justwealth | Questwealth Portfolios |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio types | Tax-Efficient, US Dollar and RESP Target Date Portfolios | Standard ETF and SRI portfolios |
| Management fee | 0.4% – 0.5% | 0.20% – 0.25% |
| MER | 0.20% average | 0.17% to 0.22% |
| Investment accounts | RESP, RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, LIRA, LIF & taxable accounts | RESP, RRSP, RIF, TFSA, LIRA, LIF, taxable accounts (plus joint and corporate accounts), |
| Minimum investment requirement | $5,000 (no minimum requirement for RESP accounts) | $1,000 |
Questwealth Portfolios from Questrade is another Justwealth alternative and the low-cost leader among the Canadian robo-advisors.
As shown in the above table, Questwealth Portfolios’ management fees is just half of the ones at Justwealth. Like Justwealth, Questwealth also has a minimum investment requirement but it’s significantly lower than Justwealth’s requirement.
As a WalletBliss reader, your initial $10,000 investment on Questwealth will be managed for free if you join the robo-advisor through our referral link or referral code “WALLETBLISS”.
In addition, Questrade will cover your transfer fee up to $150 when you switch your investment account from another financial institution to Questwealth. Learn more about Questwealth Promotions here.
Like Wealthsimple Invest, Questwealth Portfolios outshines Justwealth for non-RESP investment accounts. With lower management fees and minimum investment amount, Questwealth is more accessible to most Canadians.
Learn more: Questwealth Portfolios Review
Verdict on Justwealth Review
From low-cost RESPs, multiple portfolios and accounts, competitive promos to dedicated Personal Portfolio Managers, there are many reasons to like Justwealth.
Though there are a few negatives like the slightly higher fees, higher minimum investment amounts and limited coverage, Justwealth still has many things going well for it. So overall, this Justwealth review is positive.
Hopefully, you’re now able to decide whether Justwealth is the perfect robo-advisor for you and the next step to take. But if you need more clarification, kindly let me know in the comment section below.
If you liked this Justwealth review and found it helpful, you’ll probably find the related reviews below useful too:
Justwealth Review
Summary
Justwealth is a robo-advisor that offers affordable and customized investment solutions to Canadian investors.
