DRAFT App Review - a New Wave of Money Management Tools

This post is part of the #IwantDRAFT campaign with support from DRAFT, the app that uses crowdsourced data to help you understand and compare your portfolio, in partnership with Kasai Media

The future of investing is changing drastically.

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve just started your first job or are nearing retirement: You want to know what’s going on with your money, and finally, companies are catching on.

DRAFT is an amazing example of the shift towards money education, rather than selling money products like stocks, products, or specific investments. Rather than telling you what you should do with your money, companies like DRAFT are putting your money back where it belongs: in your control, and in honor of their presentation at Finovate today, and want to tell you about the new and awesome things they’re doing!

What is DRAFT?

DRAFT is an investment analysis tool built for regular people, like you an me! It takes into account several important things:

Investing can be overwhelming
Returns are important
But so is diversification
Fees can be killer

Most people (myself included) have more than one investment account, which you then have monitor. That’s where DRAFT comes in. It allows you to link all of your investment accounts, quickly view simple data on returns and fees, and then compare your data with that of your peers. DRAFT then categorizes your current investment strategy as conservative, moderate, or aggressive – across all of your accounts.

Even better, DRAFT gives investment solutions and suggestions to help you make better decisions for your self-directed investments like lowering fees, more diversification, or to increase performance, or to hold your investment adviser accountable.

A little competition, anyone??

How Does DRAFT Work?

First, DRAFT connects directly with your individual investment accounts, allowing the app to create a holistic view of your investments categorized as Conservative, Moderate, or Aggressive.

The Home Screen (as shown above) displays Returns, Fees, and Diversification, in percentages, for quick reference. The “$” button at the bottom screen converts every percentage on the home screen to dollar values when you press and hold it. This gives you more privacy and control over what information is displayed, and who you’re showing it to.

Then, their unique interface allows you to toggle accounts on and off (they still stay linked) and DRAFT will recalculate results for aggressiveness, fees, as well as peer-to-peer comparison for as few or as many accounts as you want.

Based on which accounts you have toggled on, DRAFT will show you your historical returns, asset allocation and fees in the form of a side-by-side comparison with the strategies of your peers and top investment performers.

Why It Matters

When it comes to your money, the more you know, the more it will grow.

In other words: Knowledge is power.

DRAFT’s main purpose is to provide you with insight into your current investment strategy, as well as other options available. The DRAFT app was built with education in mind – not sales – so as suggestions or ways to save are displayed, you can always hit the “into” button to learn more about exactly why DRAFT is making that suggestion.

DRAFT’s approach to investment education is simple:

Reduce Fees
Improve Diversification
Take Back Control Of Investments

DRAFT believe that providing users with the ability to compare their investment portfolio with others’ provides you with new levels of insight to help you accomplish all three of DRAFT’s goals.

They have partnered with TD Ameritrade to provide you with options for lowering fees, diversification, and to give you back control of your own investments.

DRAFT represents the new wave of companies who are geared towards helping (read: educating), not selling, so that you know exactly what’s going on with your money, and to help you make informed decisions. They’ve combined the power of mobile technology and investment education for an app that everyone with investments needs.

After all, it’s your money – shouldn’t you know what’s going on with it?