Citi Self Invest Rating: 
Overview of Citi Self Invest
If you thought Citi was only for banking, think again. Through its subsidiary Citi Self Invest, the company offers a range of trading and investing services. However, there are some limitations. Here’s what we found.
Investing Program
Citigroup offers an affordable online investing option with both self-directed and robo accounts. The robo service, called Citi Wealth Builder, trades a small selection of low-cost ETFs. The self-directed service, Citi Self Invest, offers a broader list that includes stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. Currently, no other assets like cryptocurrencies, bonds, futures, or options are available.
All accounts are protected by SIPC up to $500,000 per account type (not per account). At this time, Citi Self Invest and Wealth Builder offer only individual taxable accounts, with plans to add IRAs and joint accounts in the future.
Citi requires an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or a Social Security Number (SSN) to open an account.
Cash Management
Citi Self Invest and Wealth Builder accounts are not eligible for Citi’s banking services. For example, there is no debit card offered with investing accounts. However, you can link these accounts to Citi checking or savings accounts if they share the same tax ID number, and balances in investment accounts count toward minimum balance requirements for other Citi programs.
Fees and Minimums
Citi has minimal fees for its investing accounts. There are no commissions for brokerage or managed accounts, and self-directed accounts have no minimum deposit and no ongoing fees.
For managed accounts, however, there is a 0.25% annual management fee and a $5,000 minimum. Citi also offers Wealth Builder Plus, a hybrid of robo management with human financial planning support, which costs 0.60% per year and requires a $25,000 minimum.
Margin
Citi Self Invest uses a tiered system for margin accounts, with rates starting at 12.225% and dropping to 5.725% for loans over $5 million.
Website
Citi’s website for managing and trading in a self-directed account is quite basic, with no advanced trading tools.
The website’s charts are minimal, lacking technical indicators, drawing tools, and other standard features. Charts include up to 10 years of price history but cannot be expanded to full-screen width.
The order form offers three types of trades: market, limit, and stop, with day and GTC as duration choices. Shorting stocks is not allowed, so only a blue Buy button appears at the top of each profile.
An option to add securities to a watchlist is available at the top of each profile. Multiple watchlists can be created, but the website lacks alerts.
Mobile App
Citi Self Invest and Wealth Builder accounts are accessible through the regular Citi banking app. Tap on a securities account to access brokerage tools. Watchlists sync with the website, and tapping on a stock opens its profile. Charting and order entry are basic, with the same trade types as the website.
Customer Service
Citi Self Invest operates as an online brokerage with no branch locations, which helps keep costs low but limits support. There is a robo-chat feature on the Citi website, though it cannot answer investment-related questions. Live representatives are available by phone Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm EST. However, we found that live chat was not available for investment queries even during these hours.
Self-help options are limited, and without internal messaging, calling remains the most reliable support option.
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Education and Research
Citi Self Invest, while somewhat basic, does provide some educational resources. There is a library of articles that covers various financial topics. Some examples include:
- SoftBank in talks to buy Vision Fund's 25% stake in Arm
- Wealth Outlook 2025 - Roadmap to recovery: Portfolios to anticipate opportunities
- US Steel to explore strategic alternatives after unsolicited bids
The website and mobile app also include simple screeners for finding stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. The stock screener allows searches by industry, while the fund screener can filter by asset class and fund type. Results can be sorted by criteria like expense ratio and 1-year return.
Additional Services
Initial Public Offerings: Citi Self Invest does not offer IPO trading.
DRIP Service: Cash dividends can be automatically reinvested into shares.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Not offered.
Fractional-share Trading: Available with market and limit orders.
Individual Retirement Accounts: Currently, no tax-deferred accounts are available through Citi Self Invest or Wealth Builder.
Extended-hours Trading: Not available.
Recommendations
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Citi Self Invest doesn’t offer resources for retirement
planning. For more personalized service, Citigroup’s network of advisors offers advisory and brokerage
accounts, including IRAs, though available in limited locations.
Beginning Investors: Citi Wealth Builder Plus, which combines robo management with a financial
planner, could be a good start for beginners. The regular robo account is also an option.
Stock and ETF Trading: Citi Self Invest lacks the advanced tools needed for active trading.
Charles Schwab offers more advanced software and research options.
Mutual Funds: Firstrade provides better tools for mutual fund searches, including a list of “All-Star Funds” curated by their advisors.
Small Accounts: Citi’s $5,000 minimum for robo accounts may be high for some.
Charles Schwab offers options with lower entry requirements.
Citi Self Invest Review Judgment
Citi may be one of the largest banks globally, but this strength doesn’t fully extend to its investing services.
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Updated on 5/20/2025.
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