Kristal AI Review (Updated 2021)

Update 2021: There has been changes in the pricing starting from 2021. The main changes are as followed:

• Zero Management Fees for up to US $10,000 (down from the previous US $50,000)
• Brokerage Charges
  • US$1 + taxes per trade for US-listed ETFs
  • At Actuals for non US-listed stocks (Charges charged by Saxo Capital Markets)

The review will be based on Kristal AI Freedom account.

Basics

• Zero Management Fees for investments up to USD $50,000 $10,000 (ETFs and Strategies consisting of ETFs only), 0.30% for incremental value above $10,000 p.a.
• Zero Custody & Operating Fees (charged by broker: Saxo Capital Market) for investments up to USD $10,000 and if 25 or less buy/sell per calendar year
• Brokerage Charges
  • US$1 + taxes per trade for US-listed ETFs
  • At Actuals for non US-listed stocks (Charges charged by Saxo Capital Markets)
• Choose between Kristal Portfolios or individual ETFs

Why did I choose Kristal AI?

My reason for using Kristal AI is a little different. Instead of using it like a Robo Advisor, I am using it more to buy ETFs in a recurring manner. I am using Kristal AI to buy into ARKW (ARK Next Generation Internet) ETF every 2 weeks.

I was searching for other options to do a recurring monthly investment plan. I have looked into FSM, but the selection of ETFs available for RSP (Regular Savings Plan) is just too limited.

Then I came across Kristal AI. The ETF selection is huge. I will cover more of this later.

The zero fees for under $50k investment just seals the deal for me. (This has now been reduced to $10k since 2021).

Choose between Kristal Portfolios or individual ETFs

This is where it gets a little bit different from other Robo Advisor. For example, with AutoWealth (because I use AutoWealth), you can only invest into a selection of portfolio. You can’t choose individual ETFs to invest in.

But with Kristal AI, you have the option of choosing both.

Kristal Portfolio

These are the 8 different Kristal Portfolio that are available for me.
For the full list of Kristal Portfolio, you can refer here.

When you invest into a Kristal Portfolio, the Kristal’s algorithm will dynamically rebalance the portfolio with the changing market environment. You can read more about the GAIAA Genetic Algorithm-based Iterative Asset Allocation) here.

Just a little caveat, I didn’t research much on the algorithm that they are using on their portfolio, so I’m just pointing out what’s mentioned on their website.

ETFs

SIP (Systematic Investment Plan)

They have a wide selection of ETFs that you can subscribe with a recurring plan. Similar like a RSP, they call it SIP (Systematic Investment Plan). You can choose the frequency which you want to invest. You can choose between Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly and Quarterly.

Wide Selection of ETFs

Did I mentioned that they have all the ARK ETFs in the selection? Or if you aren’t interested in these actively managed ETFs, they have a wide selection of index fund too. They have both IVV (iShares Core S&P 500 ETF), and CSPX (iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF) if you want you want a Ireland domiciled ETF to save dividend tax for non US investors. And they also have the popular IWDA (iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF).

Minimum Investment Amount

Instead of using min. amount, Kristal.AI does it in min. units.

For non UCITS ETFs, I’ve noticed the min. investment amount is usually 1 unit of the ETF if the unit is less than $100, or x number of units until it hits $100 or above.

Example:
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) 
If the unit price is $343, then your min. investment amount is $343.

Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (VWO)
If the unit price is $44.60, then your min. investment amount is $44.60 x 3 = $133.80.

What this also means is that your investment amount e.g. per month, might varies, as it depends on the unit price.

Example:
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) 
Unit price in Oct is $343. Your min investment is $343 for Oct.
Unit price in Nov is $ 350. Your min investment is $350 for Oct.

For UCITS ETFs, the min investment unit is higher. For e.g. for IWDA, the min investment unit is 31 units, which is equivalent to USD$2,083 (as of today), which makes it expensive to do a monthly recurring investment. But it will be do-able with a quarterly recurring.

As you can see from the above, you can’t invest in fractional units.

Summary

Because I’m using Kristal AI for SIP on it’s selection of ETF, my pros and cons listed here will be based that rather than the Portfolios that they offer.

Pros

• Zero fees for less than USD$10,0000 investment
• Wide selection of ETFs that you can choose for investing using the SIP
• Flexible Frequency: you can choose between Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly and Quarterly for your SIP

Cons

• Min investment amount. It varies with the different ETFs
• The amount you invest e.g. monthly, changes with the unit price

I love the wide selection of ETFs that Kristal AI offers for their SIP. And also their zero fees for less than USD$50,000 investments (this has been reduced to USD$10,000). The only thing is to note is that I think if you are doing a recurring transfer, you will need to transfer a slight buffer in case the unit price goes up (I hope it always goes up 🙂 ). Other than that, I love it.

Lastly, I have a referral link if you are interested to sign up with. And I’ll be honest, I have no idea what’s in it for you or me if you sign up via my link 😀

Update 2021: Even after the pricing update, I will still continue to use it for recurring trades using SIP. Unless there are other platforms out there that allows you to place recurring trades on ARK ETFs, I am still sticking to Kristal AI for now.