EXCLUSIVE—Users of roboadvisor investment service Betterment who hoped to minimize the damage of the DOW’s crash—1,500 points as of last count—are finding themselves unable to access their portfolios or even make it to the website.
The DOW’s present tumble led many to check on their investments and stocks, but Betterment customers trying to do so are currently unable to access the app, or log into the website. Those that can log into the site are reporting that the robo is lagging to the point of nonresponsiveness.
Users are receiving error messages when attempting to log into the app like the one below:
I’m not trying to move anything but lolol @Betterment is…not well pic.twitter.com/fktHtwCi59
— infernal dinosaur king dodongo (@genunpleasant) February 5, 2018
Website users are receiving messages like this one:
@Betterment You’re costing your customers money right now. pic.twitter.com/8rf0oLPe8p
— Joel Craig (@joel_craig) February 5, 2018
Users of rival roboadvisor service, Wealthfront aren’t having better luck, although the company’s Twitter account is assuring users that they can now log in to their accounts:
Hi Joseph, we’re looking into this now – I’ll update you as we learn more.
— Wealthfront (@Wealthfront) February 5, 2018
Meanwhile, others are flocking to Twitter to express frustration and outrage:
@Betterment Still can’t login. This is the second time I’ve wanted to buy at a discount and you’ve prevented that. I’m taking my business elsewhere.
— Stillman Brown (@stillman_brown) February 5, 2018
I can’t even login to the @Betterment website to check my portfolio pic.twitter.com/p75uUsR9iF
— Reclaiming My Time (@JesseRikart) February 5, 2018
“Safe and secure” as in I lost hundreds of dollars while unable to access my own money?
— Emma Sandler (@EmmaSandler) February 5, 2018
As a roboadvisor, the Betterment brand turns much of its day-to-day services over to automation, which is meant to be both quicker and more secure than dealing with a human broker or financial professional at the other end. However, no one seems particularly pleased with the site’s responsiveness, if those on Twitter are any indication:
@Betterment I would assume that an entirely web-based investing platform would know that when the market tanks, your traffic will go up pic.twitter.com/1y9bzdkVXC
— Eric Biggart (@EricBiggart) February 5, 2018
Bank Innovation has reached out to Betterment for comment, and will update this story with further developments.
To learn more about roboadvisors, join us on March 5-6, 2018 at the Parc 55 in San Francisco for Bank Innovation 2018. Click here to request an invitation.