ExcellAgent Archives: September 2025 Investing Insights

When you’re trying to make your money work harder, online investing, the practice of buying and managing investments through digital platforms without a traditional financial advisor. Also known as self-directed investing, it’s become the default way most people build wealth today. This past September, users on ExcellAgent were asking the same questions: Which robo-advisors actually beat the market? Are brokerage fees still eating into returns? And how do you balance risk when the economy feels shaky?

robo-advisors, automated platforms that build and manage diversified portfolios using algorithms. Also known as digital investment managers, they became the go-to tool for beginners and busy professionals alike this month. Comparisons between Betterment, Wealthfront, and newer players like Ellevest showed clear differences in fee structures and tax-loss harvesting features. One user saved $217 last month just by switching from a platform charging 0.89% to one at 0.25%. Meanwhile, brokerage fees, the costs charged by platforms to execute trades or hold assets. Also known as trading commissions, they’re no longer the big issue they used to be—most major brokers now offer $0 trades—but hidden costs like account maintenance or inactivity fees still trip people up. We saw a spike in searches for "zero-fee brokerages with no hidden charges," and the top results weren’t the big names you’d expect.

portfolio allocation, how you divide your money across different asset types like stocks, bonds, and cash. Also known as asset distribution, it’s what separates steady growth from emotional rollercoasters. In September, our data showed that investors who stuck to a 60/40 stock-to-bond split outperformed those chasing "hot" crypto or meme stocks by 3.2% on average. That’s not magic—it’s discipline. And it’s why our most-read guide this month was a simple checklist: "5 Questions to Ask Before You Rebalance Your Portfolio." The answers weren’t complicated. Did your target allocation drift more than 5%? Are you holding too much in one sector? Do you still believe in the long-term story of every holding?

And then there’s market trends, the direction and momentum of asset prices driven by economic data, investor behavior, and global events. Also known as investment cycles, they don’t predict the future—but they tell you where the crowd is heading right now. This September, inflation data softened just enough to make the Fed’s next move uncertain. That sent bond yields dipping and tech stocks climbing. But the smartest investors didn’t chase the trend. They checked their goals. Did their portfolio still match their timeline? Were they overexposed to one type of risk? The best moves weren’t flashy. They were quiet adjustments.

What you’ll find in this archive isn’t a list of headlines. It’s a collection of real decisions made by real people—people who didn’t wait for the perfect moment. They used tools, compared costs, and stuck to simple rules. And that’s what got them ahead.