The decision was made in response to requests from an increasing amount of young investors, even though there are other so-called robo advisors, or algorithmic-based asset allocation and rebalancing platforms, on the market that offer lower or no account minimums. The request from younger investors is, in part, a result of the firm's strategy to target that demographic even while competitors in the space try to move upstream toward more affluent investors. “As we evaluated these services, we noticed that they have fallen prey to the excessive monthly fees that plague the traditional investment industry,” Shmukler said. “At Wealthfront, we believe everyone deserves sophisticated financial advice – regardless of your account size or your net worth. So we were disappointed that other services were taking advantage of younger investors — many of whom were just starting out...

http://wealthmanagement.com/technology/wealthfront-reduces-account-minimum-500-takes-shot-betterments-fees