SmartAsset is a fintech startup located in New York City that was founded in 2012 by Michael Carvin and Philip Camilleri.
SmartAsset aims to help you manage your money and make smart financial decisions by simplifying money management.
The company offers services in 3 core areas:
SmartAsset's initial product offering revolved around home buying. The company later expanded to include offerings such as tools, financial calculators, and articles about personal finance topics, including taxes, retirement, banking, and investing.
In 2015, they launched a platform called Captivate that enables financial publishers to host its tools on their own online content. In 2018, the company launched SmartAdvisor, a lead-generation platform that connects consumers with financial advisors.
SmartAsset works by pairing you with a financial advisor based on a number of choices and preferences such as location, income category, age, etc.
SmartAsset partners with both local and nationwide firms. Advisors on the platform are vetted fiduciaries, which suggests that they are legally bound to act in your best interest.
The platform uses patent-pending Automated Financial Modeling (AFM) technology to simulate how a decision might affect your finances. Its financial calculators allow you see the effects of your decisions.
As such, you would have better insight to make more financially sound decisions. For example, you can determine how much you should receive on your tax returns by using:
SmartAsset has a variety of tools that can you make confident financial choices.
Here's a rundown of some of them:
You can use on-site calculators to help you figure out how much house you can afford, your income taxes, and your 401(k). The results from calculators also come with explanations making it easy for you to understand the hard numbers
SmartAsset gives you free financial guides and calculators for your taxes, retirement, savings, and investments, thereby empowering you to make the right financial decisions.
If you’re approaching retirement, trying to navigate tax issues, or facing other financial decisions, you can use the resources on the website to obtain free and comprehensive financial advice.
There are tools that help you compare services, features or prices between advisors to help ensure you’re paired with the best mortgage company or financial advisor.
You can get access to reviews and advice from industry professionals on the best financial products and services, thereby helping you make sound decisions.
This service can be useful if you have enough money to meet the minimum balance requirement financial advisors may have, often ranging between $150,000 and $3 million. However, regardless of how much money you have, you can benefit from the services the platform has to offer.
The platform is suitable for consumers:
If you are curious and want to learn more about financial planning and investment, you can find resources on the platform useful. You can learn the basics of managing your finances. SmartAsset’s calculators can help you run different scenarios to get an idea of what would make the most financial sense for your situation.
There are also extensive guides and articles that can help you learn about mortgages, loans, retirement, taxes, and more. Users also have the privilege of going through product and service reviews that can help them make decisions about what to choose.
If you are unsure about how to go about managing your finances, you can use SmartAsset to find an advisor that shares your values and understands your priorities.
To start, you answer some questions about the type of financial advisor you are seeking.
You would be asked specific questions about your age, income status (working or retired), health status, financial plans, type of investment (long-term or short-term), etc. You can choose an advisor based on your locale or even work with one remotely. After answering these questions, you are then paired with an advisor.
After answering the question, SmartAsset then matches you with 3 potential advisors based on location, investable assets, and financial needs. This can be reviewed by you at your own leisure.
The next stage is where you vet the financial advisors. This affords you an opportunity to inquire deeply about them, their services, and if they suit your financial objectives. You can speak to the suggested advisors at no cost to you.
Advisors are vetted.
Remote working: You can choose to work with advisors remotely if you want to. This saves users time and money as they do not have to visit the advisor in person. However, it is always advisable that you set up an in-person meeting at the advisor's office or conduct your due diligence before you commit your funds.
No obligation or hidden fees: There are no hidden or obligatory fees when you sign up. Their service is free.
Financial resources: Smart Asset has a plethora of financial resources which can benefit users at every stage of their financial life.
There are resources on topics such as:
Users can use the educational resources to their advantage.
Poor reviews: The company has had a slew of bad reviews online. These range from poor customer service to bad product features. While online reviews may not present the real picture, you may want to try out the service yourself, but with caution.
Advice on financial topics only: You can only get advice on financial topics.
No mobile app: SmartAsset does not have a mobile app, which is a huge letdown considering that many people use their mobile phones to access financial services.
No advice on cryptocurrencies: There is little to no information on cryptocurrency, alternative investments or decentralized finance (DeFi).
SmartAsset is a resource for those seeking to gain financial independence.
This can be done by using resources available on the website for self-education or connecting with financial advisors. As such, it is a go-to site for those that want to manage their finances better.
While the site had numerous advantages, there are also some shortcomings users have experienced. Albeit, before committing your finances, it is advisable to conduct due diligence and do an independent vetting of financial advisors with whom the platform pairs you with.
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