Titan Review: A Unique Robo-Advisor for Risk-Tolerant Investors

Titan is a robo-advisor that does things a little differently. Instead of offering a selection of ETF-based portfolios, Titan specializes in actively managed stock-based investment options that aim to give investors of all asset levels access to strategies typically reserved for the wealthy. Read our full review below to see if Titan could be a good fit for you.

This robo-advisor is a good fit for: Investors with a relatively high risk tolerance whose goal is to beat the stock market's returns over time.

Top perks

There's a lot to like about Titan, so here's a quick rundown of the top perks investors should know about.

Unique investment choices

Titan offers actively managed investment choices. The company's goal is to give access to the types of strategies that are typically only available to hedge fund investors. As of February 2024, Titan's investment offerings include:

• Flagship: Titan's large-cap fund that owns 15-20 stocks its managers think will outperform the market.
• Opportunities: Focuses on smaller companies that have high upside potential.
• Offshore: Titan's investment fund that consists of international companies.

The platform also offers several third-party choices, such as:

• Carlyle Tactical Private Credit Fund (CTAC): Invests in income-producing credit assets.
• Apollo Diversified Credit Fund: Aims to produce both income and capital appreciation.
• ARK Venture Fund: Invests in high-potential public and private businesses.
• Apollo Diversified Real Estate Fund: Invests in both private and public real estate funds.

As of February 2024, Titan offers a few additional passively-managed funds. These funds charge zero advisory fees and use algorithms to automatically rebalance the following portfolio options:

• Automated Stocks: An ETF basket mostly tracking the S&P 500.
• Automated Bonds: A diversified basket of bond ETFs.
• Crypto: Passively tracks the iShares Bitcoin ETF.

Potential to beat the stock market

Most robo-advisors aren't trying to deliver homerun investment returns to their customers -- instead, the usual goal is to slowly and steadily grow wealth over time. Titan's portfolio exists to give customers the opportunity (but not a guarantee) for market-beating returns.

Retirement accounts

In addition to standard (taxable) accounts, Titan allows investors to open a traditional or Roth IRA. Investors may also roll over an existing retirement account, including 401(k) and 403(b) accounts, into a rollover IRA. The company plans to support SEP IRAs soon.

Cash management account (Smart Cash)

The Titan Smart Cash account is an FDIC- and SIPC-insured cash management account designed to provide a high-yield savings option for customers. The account moves money between Titan Cash Reserve and money market funds to earn depositors the best tax-adjusted returns. These interest rates are tiered, so the more you deposit, the better your rates. Rates are subject to change at any time, but they are competitive with APYs of high-yield savings accounts. Note that unlike most savings accounts, Titan charges an annual 0.25% fee to cover the cost of managing assets, eating slightly into returns.

Customer support and human advisors

Titan app users can schedule 15-minute calls with registered wealth advisors. It's free. Topics of conversation can range from "Is this a good investment for me?" to "Am I holding too much cash?"Just know you may have to schedule appointments a few days in advance.

What could be improved

High fee structure

Titan's fees are very high compared to most other robo-advisors. For Titan's own investment funds, the company charges tiered fees: the more you invest, the less you pay. But the minimum fee investors will pay for a managed investment account is 0.70% per year. Most robo-advisors have annual investment fees of 0.30% or less.

For the third-party investment funds, the fees can be much more. As an example, the ARK Venture Fund has a total annual management fee of 2.90%. To be fair, this is significantly less than the "2 and 20" fee model most comparable hedge funds that offer similar strategies charge, but it's very high for robo-advisors.

(Some) high minimums

Titan's investment minimums depend on the specific strategy. You'll need $500 just to open an individual taxable or retirement brokerage account. Flagship, Opportunities, Offshore, and Crypto have $100 minimums. The ARK Venture Fund has a $500 minimum investment, and the CTAC fund has a $2,000 minimum.

Riskier investments than other robo-advisors

One of the biggest potential drawbacks that investors need to understand is that Titan's funds can be riskier and more volatile than investments at other robo-advisors. As a general rule, the higher the return potential of an investment (or strategy), the higher the risk. And Titan's actively managed options are no exception.

Minimum investment

For Titan's investment strategies, the minimum investment is $100. This is comparable to what many other robo-advisors require, but there are some with no minimums at all. For the third-party investment strategies offered on the platform, minimums range from $500 to $2,000, which are clearly on the high end for a robo-advisor.

Services offered

Titan's main objective is to provide investors access to strategies normally available to clients of hedge funds and other wealthy investors. Recently, it's begun offering more services to investors, including tax-advantaged strategies with Smart Cash. Investors can also schedule 15-minute calls with registered financial advisors.

Pricing and fees

There are two different pricing structures: Pricing for Titan's own investment strategies, and pricing for strategies offered by third parties on its platform. For Titan's six actively managed offerings, including third-party platforms, Titan charges the following fees:

• 0.90%/year for account with $500 - $24,999 in deposits
• 0.80%/year for accounts with $25,000 - $99,999 in deposits
• 0.70%/year for accounts with $100,000-plus in deposits.

Third-party managers (like Apollo Credit) set their own fees for their investment products, and they can be significantly higher than 1%. These fees are layered on top of Titan's advisory fees. So in essence, you're paying both Titan and the third-party provider.

ARK Invest is the exception -- Titan does not charge advisory fees for this product. However, ARK Invest charges its own fees, currently around 2.90%.

Titan charges a separate 0.25% annual advisory fee for Smart Cash accounts. Titan doesn't charge fees for Automated Stock and Automated Investing portfolios.

Titan's primary way of providing support is via email, and the company also is set up to accept messages through its mobile app. Titan offers automated chat support on its website 24/7. As of recently, you can now schedule 1:1 calls with financial advisors through the app. Appointments are 15 minutes long, and you may need to schedule a few days in advance. Titan doesn't offer on-demand phone calls.

There's no robo-advisor that is perfect for everybody, and Titan is no exception. Actively managed investment strategies that aim to beat the market aren't right for everyone, and investors with relatively low tolerance for volatility and risk are likely better off with a more traditional robo-advisor. However, Titan could be right for you if:

• You have a high risk tolerance, don't mind short-term investment volatility, and you want the possibility of achieving market-beating investment returns over time.
• You want to invest in alternative investment strategies, such as cryptocurrencies and private equity, but don't want to navigate those markets yourself.
• You're fine with paying a higher-than-average fee, in exchange for the possibility of above-average returns.
• You want to earn the highest-possible returns on money market funds, but you don't want to frequently swap accounts.

At The Motley Fool Ascent, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and account types; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and highly rated mobile apps. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.

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