Robo-advisors like JP Morgan Investing, Wealthify, and Moneyfarm build and manage a portfolio for you based on your risk profile. They’re convenient if you don’t want to choose your own investments, but you’ll pay 0.25–0.75% on top of fund charges for the privilege.

If you’re happy picking a simple global index ETF yourself — which takes about five minutes — you can get the same diversification for free on a commission-free platform. That’s why we focus on DIY platforms here: the savings are significant over time.