Updated September 5, 2026. Quick answer: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges no advisory fee and requires a $5,000 minimum, confirmed directly on Schwab’s own site today. Schwab doesn’t charge a management fee here at all; instead it earns revenue from the cash allocation every portfolio holds in a Schwab Bank sweep, a mechanism the SEC previously found Schwab and an affiliate had misdescribed in Form ADV brochures covering 2015 through 2018. The hybrid “Premium” tier that once added a one-time planning fee and a monthly CFP subscription no longer appears as an active product on Schwab’s own site today; earlier 2026 press coverage reported Schwab had discontinued it.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios at a glance
| Fact | What the company’s own pages say |
|---|---|
| Advisory fee | $0 |
| Account minimum | $5,000 |
| How Schwab is compensated instead | Revenue from the cash allocation held in a Schwab Bank sweep inside each portfolio, an indirect cost disclosed in its own materials |
| Tax-loss harvesting | Available for clients with $50,000 or more invested |
| Premium hybrid tier | No longer appears as a live product on Schwab’s own site as of today; reported discontinued in press coverage earlier in 2026 |
How a $0-fee robo makes money
Schwab does not charge you directly for Intelligent Portfolios. Instead, every portfolio holds a slice of cash in a Schwab Bank deposit, and Schwab earns interest-rate-spread revenue on that cash rather than billing an advisory fee. A 2015 to 2018 SEC finding concluded Schwab and a former affiliate had made misleading statements in Form ADV brochures about exactly how much cash these portfolios held, so it’s worth understanding this mechanism rather than assuming free means costless.
What happened to Premium
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium once added a one-time planning fee and a monthly subscription for CFP access at a higher account minimum. As of today, we could not find Premium offered as a live, separate product on Schwab’s own site, and earlier 2026 press coverage reported the tier was discontinued. If a hybrid human-plus-robo option from Schwab specifically matters to you, confirm current availability directly with Schwab before assuming it.
You have read our assessment of Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Here is the one we are paid to refer you to.
Stated outright because it is the only honest framing next to a form: the service below is our partner, not Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, and we are paid when you submit it. Comparing both is reasonable. It is free to you, and it is not the only way to find an adviser.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here. You stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions, age, investable assets, location, then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Before you sign up, five minutes of your own verification
- Read the figures above against the company’s own current pricing page; prices in this category change without much notice.
- If it’s an investment adviser, look it up free on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site and read its Form ADV Part 2A fee section and any disclosure events.
- Ask directly how the person or advisor you’d actually work with is compensated, not just the headline company fee.
- Run any percentage fee through the Financial Advisor Fee Calculator and the Fee Drag Calculator to see the dollar cost over time, not just the rate.
- Bring our questions to ask a financial advisor to the first call.
Bottom line
A genuinely fee-free robo option with a modest $5,000 minimum, funded by cash-sweep revenue rather than a management fee; its hybrid human-advisor tier appears to no longer be sold.
Sources
- Schwab Intelligent Portfolios overview and FAQ: https://www.schwab.com/intelligent-portfolios
Methodology. This page was materially reviewed on September 5, 2026. Figures came directly from the company’s own current pricing pages, Form CRS, or Form ADV brochures where noted, with sources linked inline; any figure we could not independently confirm this session is named as such above rather than presented as verified.
Independent analysis based on the reviewed company’s own published pages, pricing, and SEC filings where applicable, cited inline with the date we read them. We have not used any of these services as a client. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Companies did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.