Which AI Investing Apps Are SEC-Registered Investment Advisers? (2026)

What does it mean to be an SEC-registered investment adviser?

Investor.gov describes an investment adviser as a person or firm paid to advise others about investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs, or to issue reports or analyses about securities as a regular business. Advisers typically give ongoing advice about buying, selling or holding investments, and often monitor your account.

The duty is the point. Investor.gov says investment advisers are required to act in your best interest and not put their interest ahead of yours, while noting that how advisers are paid creates some conflicts you should ask about.

Advisers generally must register with the SEC or with state securities regulators. Investor.gov says large advisers, with more than $100 million of regulatory assets under management, register with the SEC, while small and mid-sized advisers generally register with states. There are exceptions, including certain internet advisers that give advice only through an interactive website, which may register with the SEC.

What doesn't registration mean?

• • It isn't an endorsement. The SEC says it does not "approve" or "endorse" any particular securities, products, services, firms or individuals, and that any claim, stated or implied, that it has endorsed an investment is false.
• • It isn't a test of the AI. Registration covers who is accountable for the advice. Nothing in it checks whether a model's output is right.
• • It doesn't make every feature advice. A company can own a registered adviser while its AI chat is offered as information. Robinhood's portfolio management runs through Robinhood Asset Management, an SEC-registered adviser, but its disclosure says Cortex Assistant, offered through its broker-dealer, isn't an investment adviser and doesn't give recommendations.
• • It isn't the same as a broker. Investor.gov explains that a broker's services are generally more transactional, such as carrying out your orders, while an adviser focuses on your portfolio over time with ongoing advice and monitoring. Many firms are both.

Which AI investing apps are SEC-registered?

What are Form ADV and Form CRS?

Form ADV is the form advisers use to register with the SEC and the states, and both parts are public on the SEC's adviser database. Part 1 covers the firm's business, ownership, clients, employees, affiliations and any disciplinary events. Part 2, the brochure, explains in plain English the firm's business practices, fees, conflicts of interest and disciplinary information, and must be delivered to advisory clients.

Form CRS, the relationship summary, is the short version. Registered brokers and advisers must give it to retail investors. It covers the services offered, the fees and costs you pay, the standard of conduct that applies, any legal or disciplinary history, and questions to ask. Every firm's summary uses similar headings in the same order, so you can compare two firms side by side.

The database also shows each firm's latest Form ADV filing date. When we checked, Astor's was October 16, 2026, Betterment's October 27, 2026 and Wealthfront's October 15, 2026.

How do you look up an AI investing app's registration?

• • Find the legal name. Look in the app's footer, disclosures or terms for the firm that provides advisory services. Brand and legal names often differ.
• • Search the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site (adviserinfo.sec.gov) or Investor.gov's Check Out Your Investment Professional tool by name or CRD number.
• • Check the registration status. An SEC-registered firm shows SEC with a status such as Approved and an effective date.
• • Open the Part 2 brochure and the relationship summary, and read the fees, conflicts and disciplinary sections.
• • Look for disciplinary history. Investor.gov says the words "Disclosure Reported" next to a name mean the firm or person has disciplinary history.
• • If the firm is a broker, check FINRA's BrokerCheck too, and if it offers both brokerage and advice, find out which role applies to the feature you use.
• • Ask the firm the questions Investor.gov suggests: are you registered, how are you paid, and have you or your firm ever been disciplined?

What did the SEC do about misleading AI claims?

On March 18, 2024, the SEC announced settled charges against two investment advisers, Delphia (USA) Inc. and Global Predictions Inc., for false and misleading statements about their use of artificial intelligence. The SEC called the practice "AI washing".

According to the SEC, Delphia, based in Toronto, claimed from 2019 to 2023 in SEC filings, a press release and on its website that it used AI and machine learning on client data in its investment process, when it didn't have those capabilities. Global Predictions, based in San Francisco, falsely claimed in 2023 to be the "first regulated AI financial advisor" and misrepresented that its platform offered expert AI-driven forecasts. The SEC also found that both violated the Marketing Rule. Without admitting or denying the findings, Delphia agreed to a $225,000 penalty and Global Predictions to $175,000.

Both firms were investment advisers, so the lesson is that registration doesn't vouch for a firm's marketing. In a joint alert, the SEC, NASAA and FINRA say a lack of registration should prompt more investigation, and that investors should be wary of claims, even from registered firms and professionals, that AI can guarantee investment returns.

When is a registered adviser the better choice?

• • You want personalized recommendations about your own portfolio from a firm that owes you a duty to act in your best interest: Astor, or Origin's advisory service.
• • You want a portfolio built and managed for you: Betterment, Wealthfront, or Empower's Personal Strategy above $250,000.
• • You want a financial plan built around your circumstances: many registered advisers offer financial planning, while research software doesn't give personalized advice.
• • You pick your own stocks and want the research done: a research tool such as Ecomerate covers that without advice, and you make every decision.

Where does Ecomerate fit?

Ecomerate is research software. It isn't a broker or an investment adviser, it isn't registered with the SEC, and it doesn't give personalized advice or tell you to buy, sell or hold anything.

What it does: you text it in iMessage about the US-listed stocks and ETFs you follow, and it answers from filings, earnings calls and market data, naming the filing, section and date so you can check the passage. Tell it what you own and why, and it texts you when something in a filing touches your reasons. If you want someone to tell you what to do with your money, use a registered adviser and check it on the SEC's database first.