When I was still working as a financial planner, organizing my clients’ accounts was one of my most significant challenges. With portfolios, checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and loan balances, along with paper and digital statements, it was a mess. Even clients with online access to their accounts struggled to view their financial picture on a single screen.
After becoming desperate for a solution, I was willing to shell out thousands of dollars every month to buy software that could consolidate everything into a single, clear view. This is how valuable it was. My search for a free tool ended when I discovered one that does precisely that, as well as many other things.
This post will help you understand one of the greatest free financial apps ever created: Empower Personal Dashboard (formerly Personal Capital). This app will help you manage your finances, track your investments, and plan for retirement. Yes, it’s free, for the most part. (We’ll get to the tiny catch later.)
What Exactly Is the Empower Personal Dashboard?
Essentially, Empower (which acquired and integrated the highly regarded Personal Capital platform) is a cutting-edge financial technology application designed to provide you with a holistic view of your entire financial life. With sophisticated investment analysis and comprehensive retirement planning features, it seamlessly integrates powerful personal finance tools.
Through the acquisition of Personal Capital by Empower, the platform’s capabilities were substantially expanded. With over $1.3 trillion in assets under management as a custodian for 401(k) and other retirement accounts, Empower is one of the most prominent players in the financial industry. In a traditionally fee-heavy sector, such scale, trust, and a free offering are virtually unheard of. As a result, they are committed to empowering individuals with financial knowledge.
A Deeper Dive into the Empower Dashboard Experience
When you successfully create an account and log in to Empower, you are presented with an immediate overview of your net worth – the sum of your assets minus your liabilities. The interface is amazingly clean, intuitive, and thoughtfully designed, making it incredibly easy to use. Upon logging in, you’ll be able to view all of your linked financial accounts, including checking and savings accounts, investment portfolios, credit cards, loans, and even real estate holdings. The fact that all this data is updated in real time sets it apart.
It’s no longer necessary to log into five different brokerage or bank websites. In an instant, you won’t have to spend hours updating spreadsheets or combining data from other sources. Empower provides a comprehensive view of your finances with a single login.
As an example, when I initially set up my account, I linked a variety of my holdings. Aside from my primary bank account, I also have brokerage accounts with companies such as TD Ameritrade and E-Trade, as well as an account with a real estate investment company called Fundrise. It took only seconds for every single account to be automatically synced and updated, showing my current balance and holdings.
This isn’t just a minor convenience; it’s a huge time-saver. My former self was able to streamline data collection and analysis to an unprecedented degree with it. However, for the average person who is just trying to keep a close eye on their finances, it makes the process easy, streamlined, and seamless.
Investment Tracking: Clarity and Precision
With Empower, you get much more than just account balances. Unlike many paid services, it offers a comprehensive analysis of your investment portfolio’s details.
On the dedicated “Investing” tab, you can explore your entire investment portfolio, consolidated from all your linked accounts. It is particularly useful if you hold mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), or individual stocks across various platforms and account types (e.g., 401(k), IRA, and taxable brokerage accounts).
As an example, you might own shares of Netflix or Apple directly in a separate brokerage account, as well as a Vanguard S&P 500 index fund in your company 401(k). Without a consolidated view, you may be unknowingly over-invested in specific sectors or companies or under-diversified in others. Empower helps you identify these overlaps and concentrations, so you can manage your risk intelligently and align your portfolio with your strategic objectives.
This section gives you immediate access to:
- All your holdings in one place. You can view a comprehensive list of all your stocks, funds, and assets across all your linked accounts.
- Detailed allocation breakdowns. Displays how your assets are distributed across different categories, such as stocks, bonds, cash, international versus domestic, or even unclassified assets (e.g., pie charts).
- Performance metrics. Easily track your investments’ returns over different time horizons with real, net-of-fees returns.
- Benchmark comparisons. You will be able to compare the performance of your portfolio with market averages or customized benchmarks, allowing you to determine whether you are on track or lagging behind.
You can think of it as a financial MRI for your investment portfolio — revealing hidden insights previously impossible to detect.
Unveiling Real Returns, Not Just Vague Guesses
Empower’s “Performance” tab is another handy feature. In this section, you can track how your combined portfolio has performed over time, be it the last 90 days, the previous year, or even longer historical periods.
Empower calculates and displays your net return — your actual return after applying all applicable fees. This is one of the most critical distinctions that most investors overlook entirely. Many people rely on vague sentiments like “I think I’ve made some money” or simply look at the raw growth without considering the fees. Using Empower, though, you get real, irrefutable numbers. The guessing game is over.
Additionally, you can compare the performance of your portfolio to a variety of benchmarks. It may include a general market average (such as the S&P 500), a blended portfolio tailored to a specific risk tolerance, an all-stock portfolio, or other customized asset allocation models. As a result, this functionality provides valuable context, enabling you to assess whether your investment strategy is meeting your long-term goals.
Effortless Account Linking and Asset Aggregation
Adding new financial accounts to Empower is surprisingly easy. My M1 Finance account was added seamlessly. I just clicked “Link Another Account,” searched for M1 Finance, and entered my login credentials. Within minutes, my holdings were synced and updated, including individual stocks such as Amazon, Tesla, Alphabet (Google), among others.
In addition to traditional financial accounts, Empower also allows you to manually add other valuable assets that contribute to your net worth. Among these are:
- Real estate holdings. Rental properties, vacation rentals, or your primary residence.
- Valuables. Collectibles, jewelry, and art collections.
- Vehicles. A car, boat, or other significant mode of transportation.
- Other significant assets. It’s possible to include anything of substantial value that contributes to your complete financial picture, using automated linking or manual input (if the provider supports it).
With this comprehensive asset aggregation, your net worth calculation is accurate and comprehensive, providing a clear picture of your financial situation.
Integrated Budgeting and Cash Flow Management
With Empower’s platform, those seeking granular control can leverage robust tools. You will find Empower’s “Banking” tab familiar if you have previously used Mint or similar budgeting apps; yet, it is arguably more potent due to its seamless integration with your investment information.
Using this section, you can manage:
- Income and expenses. Organize and track every dollar that comes in and goes out.
- Monthly budgets. Monitor your spending in various categories and set spending limits.
- Bills and due dates. Keep an eye on upcoming financial obligations.
- Cash flow trends. Analyze your spending patterns over time to identify areas for improvement.
With this integrated approach, individuals can benefit from comprehensive investment insights and detailed money management tools in a single, unified interface.
Intelligent Retirement Planning That Resonates
With its sophisticated “Retirement Planner,” Empower shines and takes its value proposition to the next level. This feature goes beyond a calculator; it’s an interactive tool that provides a detailed picture of your financial future.
As part of the retirement planning process, you input crucial data points such as your current age, income, savings rate, desired retirement age, projected retirement spending, and other relevant factors. Based on your current linked account data, not just rough estimates, the planner projects your retirement readiness. Additionally, you can simulate various future scenarios with it.
In an instant, you can see how a significant life change or financial decision might affect your long-term prospects:
- Is it possible to retire sooner than you planned?
- If there were a significant market correction, how would it affect your retirement planning?
- What would happen if you increased your monthly savings rate?
- In what way would a significant one-time expense (like a child’s college education) affect your decision?
I love the Retirement Planner because it’s interactive, visually engaging, and always eye-opening. With it, you get personalized advice and long-term perspective without paying for a financial planner.
The (Minor) Catch: A Fair Tradeoff
With all these powerful features, what’s the catch? Empower is indeed technically free, and all the features described above are fully accessible and usable without spending a cent.
The “catch” is that Empower does offer wealth management services at a cost. After connecting your accounts and utilizing their free tools, an Empower advisor may contact or email you to offer you a complimentary financial consultation. Their business model is based on this. You will, however, be under no obligation to use their advisory service, and there is no pressure to do so. If you don’t want the consultation, ignore it and continue using the free tools as long as you need.
I honestly think it’s a pretty fair trade-off. You receive a powerful set of financial tools, while they get a legitimate opportunity to showcase their paid services. That’s all there is to it. It is a fair and transparent exchange of value.
Final Thoughts: A Game-Changer for Financial Empowerment
Whether you are a seasoned investor with a complex portfolio or a beginner seeking to gain a better understanding of your personal finances, Empower Personal Dashboard can be a valuable resource. Having once spent countless hours organizing disparate financial data for clients and considering spending thousands of dollars a month on solutions, I can guarantee that this app is a game-changer.
When you use Empower, you’ll be able to:
- Keep track of your overall net worth in real-time, so you’ll have an accurate grasp of your finances.
- Easily track your investments across multiple platforms.
- Learn how to allocate assets and diversify your portfolio using deep analytical insights.
- Enhance your retirement planning with personalized projections for a more strategic and confident approach.
- Maintain a healthy cash flow by establishing realistic budgets.
- Integrate manual assets such as vehicles, homes, and valuable collectibles.
- Again, it’s entirely free for all the core features.
If you’re tired of juggling statements, figuring out your portfolio’s actual returns, and wondering whether you’re on track financially, give Empower a try. This could turn out to be your most empowering and smartest financial decision of the year.
Interested in gaining unprecedented clarity and control over your finances? Head over to Empower’s official website and see what your complete financial picture looks like today.
Image Credit: Photo by Artem Podrez; Pexels
