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Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

No advisory fee and a $5,000 minimum, in exchange for holding 6% to 30% of your portfolio in cash.

Rates verified October 14, 2026
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The Bottom Line

Best for
Investors with $5,000 or more who want no advisory fee and are comfortable with a large cash allocation.
Advisory fee
$0 (verified Oct 14, 2026). All rates and fees

Key facts

  • Account minimum: $5,000
  • Tax-loss harvesting: Yes
  • Human advisor: No

Pros

  • No advisory fee at any balance
  • 24/7 phone and live chat support from Schwab
  • Six IRA types, including SEP and SIMPLE
  • Daily tax-loss harvesting is available from $50,000 at no extra fee

Cons

  • The required cash allocation (6% to 30%) earns income for Schwab Bank and can drag on returns
  • Highest minimum of the robo-advisors we cover: $5,000
  • SEC settlement of $187 million in 2022 over how the cash allocation was disclosed

At a glance

Rates verified October 14, 2026
Advisory fee
No advisory fee. No advisory fee, no commissions and no account service fees. The costs are indirect: fund expenses and the cash allocation Schwab requires.
Account minimum
$5,000
Fund costs on top
Weighted average ETF expense ratios run from 0.02% to 0.15% depending on the portfolio. Schwab ETFs are used, and a Schwab affiliate earns management fees on them.
Cash in the portfolio
6% to 30% of the portfolio, depending on your strategy. Required, and held in FDIC-insured deposit accounts at Charles Schwab Bank. The rate is reset monthly (3.47% APY from 1 October 2026). Schwab Bank earns more the larger the cash allocation, and the cash can lower returns when markets rise.
Tax-loss harvesting
Yes, from $50,000. Optional, on taxable accounts in a single account of $50,000 or more (Schwab says the minimum is subject to change). No extra fee.
Direct indexing
No
Human advisor
No paid advisor tier. 24/7 phone and live chat with service staff is included. You cannot trade in the account; Schwab's advisory arm makes the investment decisions.
IRAs
Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Inherited IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA
Account types
Individual, Joint Tenant, Tenants in Common, Community Property, Custodial, Revocable Living Trust, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Inherited IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA
Mobile app
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios mobile app and website
SIPC
Member, Brokerage assets are protected by SIPC. The cash allocation sits at Charles Schwab Bank, FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor per ownership category.
Other fees
No advisory fee, trading commissions or account service fees. Fund expense ratios apply. Account transfer-out fees are not stated on the program pages.

Sources: schwab.com/automated-investing/faqs, disclosures.schwab.com/SchwabDashboard/63969/RE…, read October 14, 2026

What it costs in practice

$0 a year in advisory fees on $25,000

On a $25,000 balance the advisory fee is about $0 a year, and about $0 at $100,000. The funds inside the portfolio charge their own small expense ratios on top (see Fund costs above). Fee schedule as listed by the provider on the verification date shown.

What to know before you open an account

Every provider has trade-offs. These are the ones we found on its own pages and in regulator records.

  • 'No advisory fee' is not 'free': the required 6% to 30% cash allocation earns income for Schwab Bank and can lower your returns when markets rise.
  • In 2022 Schwab agreed to pay $187 million (a $135 million penalty plus disgorgement and interest) to settle an SEC order over how it disclosed the cash allocation in this program from 2015 to 2018.
  • The $5,000 minimum is the highest among the robo-advisors we cover, and tax-loss harvesting needs $50,000.
  • You cannot place your own trades in the account.

Regulator record

  • Jun 13, 2022, SEC. SEC order: Schwab did not disclose that it allocated Schwab Intelligent Portfolios client money to cash in a way its own analyses showed would be less profitable for clients under most market conditions, while advertising the service as having no advisory or hidden fees (March 2015 to November 2018). Schwab agreed to pay $187 million: a $135 million civil penalty plus about $52 million in disgorgement and interest. Read the source

Where these numbers come from

Each figure above was read on the provider's own page. Fees and rates change, so check the page before you act.

What is Schwab Intelligent Portfolios?

Sources read on the date shown
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is Schwab's automated service. It builds a diversified portfolio of ETFs, rebalances it and, on larger accounts, can harvest tax losses. It is aimed at people with at least $5,000 who want to avoid an advisory fee and who do not mind that a slice of their money sits in cash. There is no advisory fee, no commission and no account service fee. The cost is hidden in two places. First, the ETFs inside carry expense ratios, between 0.02% and 0.15% on average depending on the portfolio, and Schwab ETFs are used, which pay management fees to a Schwab affiliate. Second, Schwab requires a cash allocation of 6% to 30% of your portfolio, depending on your strategy. That cash is held at Charles Schwab Bank, where it earns 3.47% APY from 1 October 2026 (variable, reset monthly), and Schwab Bank earns more the larger the cash allocation. The program is open as individual, joint and trust accounts and as Traditional, Roth, Rollover, Inherited, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs. Tax-loss harvesting is optional and needs $50,000 in a single account. Figures were read on Schwab's own pages and disclosure brochure on 14 October 2026. Read this one carefully. In June 2022 the SEC found Schwab had not properly disclosed how this cash allocation worked while advertising the service as having no advisory or hidden fees, and Schwab agreed to pay $187 million, a $135 million penalty plus disgorgement and interest. Schwab's current brochure says the program is not free of charge. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium, which used to add a human planner for a fee, no longer appears in Schwab's current official documents.
Sourceschwab.com ↗

Key details

No advisory fee, no commissions, no account service fees$5,000 minimumRequired cash allocation of 6% to 30%, held at Charles Schwab BankOptional tax-loss harvesting from $50,000 in a single accountIndividual, joint, trust and six IRA types24/7 phone and live chat support

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Schwab Intelligent Portfolios FAQ

Is Schwab Intelligent Portfolios really free?

There is no advisory fee, commission or account service fee. But Schwab says the program is not free of charge: you pay the expense ratios of the ETFs, and Schwab Bank earns income on the cash allocation, which is 6% to 30% of your portfolio depending on your strategy. Read in Schwab's brochure on 14 October 2026.

What is the minimum for Schwab Intelligent Portfolios?

$5,000 to fund each account. Accounts under $5,000 may drift further from their target allocation.

What happened with the SEC?

In June 2022 the SEC announced a $187 million settlement with Schwab over how it disclosed the cash allocation in this program between March 2015 and November 2018, while the service was advertised as having no advisory or hidden fees. See the regulator record on this page.

What is the cash allocation rate?

The cash is swept to FDIC-insured deposit accounts at Charles Schwab Bank. The rate is reset monthly and was 3.47% APY from 1 October 2026. It is variable.

What about Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium?

The old Premium plan, with a human planner for a plan fee and a monthly fee, no longer appears in Schwab's June 2026 disclosure brochure or its current advisory Form CRS, and its web address now redirects to the main program page. We do not list it.

Source: schwab.com