Empower Review: Top Free Tools, Solid Wealth Management
Trying to make the most of empower review free tools? You are in the right place. Below we break it down in plain English, with practical tips you can actually use.
Key Takeaways
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- In this review of Empower (which used to be called Personal Capital), we’ll explore the platform’s offering on the consumer side, including...
In this review of Empower (which used to be called Personal Capital), we’ll explore the platform’s offering on the consumer side, including its comprehensive financial dashboard and wealth management service.
Whether you’re a novice investor looking for a way to track your investments or an experienced investor considering moving your assets to Empower, this review provides an in-depth analysis.
Table of Contents
ToggleWhat Is Empower?
Before acquiring Personal Capital in 2020, Empower was most well-known for offering retirement services to corporations. While a large company, it was not a household name for most individual investors.
By acquiring Personal Capital, Empower expanded its service offerings to include individual wealth management and financial planning tools.
Plus, integrating these tools into its existing services has allowed Empower to offer a more comprehensive suite of financial management services to its existing clients.
In 2023, Empower officially dropped the Personal Capital brand name.
Empower’s three main consumer offerings include the following.
Product #1: Free Financial Dashboard
The first of these products is a free financial dashboard that lets you link your accounts so you can manage your money and track your investment portfolio in one online location.
You gain access to this dashboard immediately upon signing up for an Empower account. Its tools cover budgeting, cash flows, education planning, investments, retirement savings and more. We’ll dive into these tools in detail later in the article.
Here’s an example (from the company’s press kit) of what the dashboard looks like:
Empower hasn’t fully-updated its press kit yet, so this screenshot still shows the Personal Capital branding. The dashboard itself is the same.Product #2: Cash Management Account
Empower’s other free product is a high-yield “cash management” account (aptly named Empower Personal Cash) that offers up to $2 million in FDIC insurance coverage (more than what a single bank can offer).
There’s currently no debit card with the account; it’s simply for holding cash. Empower has stated that a debit card is in the works, which will make this a combination of a checking and high-yield savings account.
Product #3: Wealth Management Services
Lastly, Empower offers a tiered wealth management service that you can access with a minimum account balance of $100,000. Wealth management is the only Empower service that requires you to deposit funds on the platform , the financial dashboard and Empower Personal Cash are free and available to anyone.
Empower’s Free Financial Tools
Empower’s free financial tools are designed to help you make better decisions with your money. You can still use and benefit from Empower’s free financial dashboard even if you don’t have $100,000 in investments to move to the platform.
These tools cover nearly every aspect of your finances, but they emphasize your investments , with a particular focus on helping you make sure you have enough money for retirement.
All of these tools are contained within a single dashboard. You can link your checking, savings, investment, loan, credit card and mortgage accounts (among others), allowing you to view your entire financial life in one place.
Empower supports over 12,000 financial institutions. If you can’t find yours, you can link it manually or request that Empower add it to their database.
You can even link other assets, including
- Your home. Empower uses Zillow’s Zestimate valuation model to calculate your home’s value. This is an estimate, not an appraisal, but it can still help you understand what your home might be worth.
- Vehicles. Empower asks for your car’s current make, model, year and value. Cars are an asset, so you’ll want to link them to your account.
- Jewelry. You can link your jewelry by manually inputting a description and its value. By doing so, Empower can see a more accurate picture of your net worth, which in turn aids it in providing you insight and recommendations.
- Art. Any art that you own is also part of your net worth. As with jewelry, you must know its value to link it.
What’s in the Dashboard
These are the free tools you’ll find in the Empower dashboard.
BillsThe “Bills” section displays information on all upcoming credit card, loan, and mortgage bills for your linked accounts. It tells you each bill’s due date, as well as the date of your most recent payment. For each credit card, you can see your statement balance, total balance, and minimum payment.
This is an excellent tool for managing multiple debts at once. Instead of checking due dates or statement balances by logging into each loan or credit card’s website, you can view this information in one location. As someone who carries their fair share of travel rewards credit cards (typically around six to 10 at any given time), this feature is extremely helpful.
Plus, Empower links each bill to its respective website for added convenience.
BudgetingFinal ThoughtsBefore you check out, double-check empower review free tools against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.
Originally published at thewaystowealth.com.
R.J. Weiss
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