Still trying to find a reliable way to saving for retirement? Nowadays, with variations of financial advisers, your task is getting a little bit easier.

One of such automated investment services called Wealthfront provides potential investors with an opportunity to place as little as $500. On July 7, it was announced at the company’s blog. At first glimpse, it seems like a great deal and convenient way to create a portfolio of stocks and bonds. Moreover, for an account up to $10K, the service is totally free. So, in some case, it’s really great place to invest.

On the other hand, we all realize that Wealthfront doesn’t do all this things just to be kind and generous. First of all, their primary goal is to transform you into paying client down the road. Of course, it’s wisely to get started on saving for retirement as early as possible, but if you have only $500 to put up right now, you have to think twice before investing in the stock market.

Wealthfront was found in 2008 and today has more than $2.5 billion in client assets. This web-based financial adviser is also called robo-adviser because of its aspiration to automated work earlier performed by flesh-and-blood planners and stock brokers. The service aims to help stock investors acquire a portfolio of exchange-traded index funds that are extremely low-cost.

This investment service was already free for clients with less than $10K. At the same time, investors who have more money need to pay an annual fee which is based on 0.25 percent of the amount investment above the specified threshold.

As mentioned previously, the service lowered its account minimum from $5K to $500. And Wealthfront is not alone in this. Compared with Wealthfront, analogous service Betterment has no minimum threshold, but still their investors with less than $10K have to pay $3 a month.

Both companies fiercely fight for capturing young clients, even if these investors don’t give much at first. The answer to this tendency we can find in following explanation. In the modern world, millennials are the biggest group in the workforce. One of the studies prophesied that approximately $30 trillion will trickle out from boomers to millennials during the next decades. That’s why, interactive financial advisers aim to collect fresh customer’s base with the perspective to earn real money afterward when clients assets grow. 

This index fund based and diversified approach is quite efficient. But for the investors that are just beginning to save their money, most planners recommend creating an emergency saving fund. Ideally, it has to be large enough to cover living expenses during six months (in case, you face health problems or lose the job). It’s better to place that money in something safe (for example, simple bank account). Your cash in a saving account will always be there whenever you need it.

Wealthfront is worth to be taken into consideration concerning the investing if you’re financially secure. But, if $500 is all what you’ve already got, don’t hassle to invest. Start with something simple and then keep going forward.

About the Author: Christopher Neal is an associated educator at The University of Alaska Southeast. Also, he works as a freelance blogger and writer in several services like valwriting.net. His specializations are technology and investment.