Love Empower? It doesn’t work internationally. Alternatives for 2026

Personal Capital – the popular US financial advisory and portfolio tracking platform – was acquired by Empower Retirement in June 2020 for approximately $1 billion, and rebranded as Empower in February 2023. The personal wealth division is now known as Empower Personal Wealth, sitting within Empower’s broader $1.3+ trillion retirement and wealth management business. The free dashboard tools (now called the Empower Personal Dashboard) remain available, alongside paid wealth management services.

Whether you knew it as Personal Capital or Empower, the underlying limitation is the same: this platform isn’t available outside the United States. If you live in Europe (including the UK), Canada, China, Russia, or any other country outside the US, you cannot open an account or use Empower’s wealth management or dashboard services.

The good news: there are excellent alternatives for international investors looking for similar functionality – whether you want free portfolio tracking, robo-advisory services, or full-service wealth management. In this article, we cover the best Personal Capital / Empower alternatives for international investors. Keep reading for our top picks.

What is Empower (formerly Personal Capital)?

Founded in 2009 as Personal Capital and rebranded to Empower in 2023, Empower Personal Wealth is a US digital wealth management platform offering both free portfolio tracking tools and paid wealth management services. Here’s an overview of Empower’s main service offerings:

• Empower Personal Dashboard (free): the popular portfolio aggregation and tracking tool that links your bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, and credit cards into a single net-worth view. Includes investment fee analysers, budgeting tools, retirement planners, and savings calculators – all free.
• Wealth management (paid): for clients with $100,000+ in investable assets, Empower offers personalised wealth management with AUM fees ranging from 0.49% to 0.89% depending on portfolio size and tier (Personal Strategy at the entry level, Private Client Services for higher net worth clients).
• Portfolio construction and asset allocation: a personalised asset allocation strategy is built based on your profile, goals, and risk tolerance.
• Tax-efficient investing: tax-loss harvesting, asset location optimisation across taxable and tax-advantaged accounts, and strategies to minimise the tax drag on returns.
• Automatic rebalancing: portfolios are automatically rebalanced when allocations drift beyond preset thresholds, with Empower’s Smart Weighting approach also adjusting for excessive sector concentration.
• Socially responsible investing (SRI): ESG-aligned portfolio options for clients who want to invest in companies aligned with their values.
• Empower Personal Cash: a high-yield FDIC-insured cash management account (currently around 3.5%+ APY, varying with rates) – the former “Personal Capital Cash” rebranded under Empower.
• Retirement planning: dedicated retirement planning calculators that let you analyse 401(k) holdings, project future expenses, run different scenarios, and factor in income events. Particularly strong given Empower’s roots as a major US retirement plan administrator (~$1.3 trillion in defined contribution assets under administration).

Best alternatives for international investors

US investors have plenty of Empower alternatives (Betterment, Wealthfront, Vanguard Personal Advisor, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, M1 Finance, etc.), but the rest of the world isn’t as well served by an equivalent all-in-one platform combining free portfolio aggregation with optional wealth management.

That said, several strong international alternatives offer different combinations of robo-advisory, portfolio tracking, and wealth management features. Here’s our roundup by region:

1. Sarwa (UAE & MENA): the leading regional robo-advisor and personal finance platform for residents of the UAE and broader MENA region. Sarwa offers managed ETF portfolios (Sarwa Invest), commission-free stock trading (Sarwa Trade), and crypto exposure – making it the most comprehensive Empower equivalent available in the region. Regulated by the ADGM FSRA (Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority) and DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority). AUM fees range from 0.85% to 0.50% depending on portfolio size, with diversified ETF portfolios across multiple risk profiles. Read our Sarwa review.
2. Moneyfarm (UK & Italy): one of Europe’s leading digital wealth management platforms. Offers Stocks & Shares ISAs, Junior ISAs, General Investment Accounts, Personal Pensions (SIPPs), and a Cash ISA partnership. Available to UK and Italian residents. Fee structure tiered by portfolio size, from approximately 0.75% to 0.35% per year for management fees. Read our Moneyfarm review.
3. InbestMe (Spain & EU): a leading European robo-advisor with multiple portfolio options including standard ETF portfolios, value/growth tilts, dividend-focused, and ISR (socially responsible) variants. Features automatic rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting for tax efficiency. Management fees scale from approximately 0.41% to 0.13% depending on portfolio size. Access to human financial advisors available for portfolios above €100,000. Read our InbestMe review.
4. Indexa Capital (Spain): Spain’s largest independent robo-advisor (over 100,000 clients and €3+ billion AUM), offering diversified ETF portfolios with focus on transparency and low costs. Management fees average around 0.44% per year (declining with portfolio size). Available primarily to Spanish residents. Read our Indexa Capital review.
5. Hargreaves Lansdown (UK): one of the UK’s largest investment platforms with over 1.8 million clients and £155+ billion in assets under administration. Strong fit for UK investors using ISAs, SIPPs, and Junior ISAs. Hargreaves Lansdown was taken private by a CVC-led consortium in 2025 at a ~£5.4 billion valuation, exiting the LSE. Platform fee of 0.45% (capped at £45/year for ETFs held in an ISA) plus dealing commissions. Offers managed portfolio options through partnerships with Morningstar, BlackRock, and others.
6. Scalable Capital (Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France): one of Europe’s largest digital wealth managers and brokers, with over 1 million clients and €15+ billion in assets. Offers both a brokerage service (Scalable Broker) with €1 trades and €0 ETF savings plans, plus a separate wealth management arm with managed ETF portfolios. BaFin-regulated.
7. Stockspot (Australia): Australia’s leading independent robo-advisor, offering diversified ETF portfolios with automatic rebalancing. Management fees from 0.66% to 0.396% depending on portfolio size.
8. Wealthsimple (Canada): the Canadian equivalent of Empower, offering Wealthsimple Invest (managed portfolios with ETF-based investing), Wealthsimple Trade (commission-free DIY brokerage), tax software, cash accounts, and crypto access – genuinely one of the most comprehensive personal finance platforms available to Canadian residents. AUM fees of 0.50% for Basic and 0.40% for Premium tiers.
9. Trade Republic (Europe – 18 countries): while not a traditional wealth manager, Trade Republic offers a low-cost DIY brokerage with ETF savings plans, fractional shares, real cryptocurrencies, and interest on uninvested cash – a strong choice for European investors who want self-directed control rather than managed portfolios. Available across most EU markets.
10. Trading 212 (UK, EU, EEA, Switzerland): commission-free stock and ETF trading platform with Pies & AutoInvest features that automate diversified portfolio construction – similar in concept to robo-advisory but with full DIY control. Offers Stocks & Shares ISA in the UK and Cash ISA. Free fractional share worth up to €100 with the promo code IITW.

Why has Empower (formerly Personal Capital) become so famous in the US?

One of the biggest drivers of Empower’s popularity is its free Empower Personal Dashboard – the no-fee portfolio tracking, budgeting, and net-worth aggregation tool used by millions of US households. The dashboard punches well above its weight in terms of features: it pulls together your bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement plans, mortgages, and credit cards into a single view, with strong tools for investment fee analysis, retirement planning, savings goal tracking, and budget management – all without requiring you to sign up for paid wealth management.

Even setting the free features aside, Empower is a polished investment management platform. It combines the efficiency of automated portfolio construction and rebalancing with the engagement of dedicated human financial advisors (for clients with $100,000+ portfolios), aggregating multiple tools and account products under a clean, intuitive interface. Compared to the clunky, jargon-heavy dashboards used by many traditional US wealth management firms, Empower’s design has been a meaningful differentiator since the Personal Capital days.

The acquisition by Empower Retirement in 2020 (now simply Empower) significantly amplified the platform’s resources and credibility – Empower is one of the largest retirement plan administrators in the US, with approximately $1.3 trillion in defined contribution assets under administration and over 17 million plan participants. That institutional backing has expanded what the platform can offer while preserving the Personal Capital-era user experience that built the brand’s popularity in the first place.

Will Empower (formerly Personal Capital) become available internationally?

Despite explosive growth in the investment community overseas, Empower has not indicated any plans to expand outside the United States. The platform remains focused on its core US market – particularly through its dominant position in the US retirement plan administration space, where it serves over 17 million plan participants.

That said, if Empower announces an international expansion, we’ll update this article with the details. For now, international investors are best served by the regional alternatives covered above – each typically offering better local tax integration and regulatory protection than a hypothetical US-based service could provide.

Is it safe to invest your money in these companies?

All the investment platforms covered in this article are regulated by their respective national or regional financial authorities – meaning client funds are subject to standardised consumer protection rules, regular audits, and investor compensation schemes in the event of platform failure. Here’s the regulatory framework by region:

• UK platforms (Moneyfarm UK, Hargreaves Lansdown, Trading 212 UK): regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), with client assets and cash protected up to £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
• EU/EEA platforms (Moneyfarm Italy, InbestMe, Indexa Capital, Scalable Capital, Trade Republic, Trading 212 EU): regulated by national EU regulators (CONSOB Italy, CNMV Spain, BaFin Germany, etc.) under the harmonised MiFID II framework. Investor compensation typically up to €20,000-€100,000 depending on the specific scheme and asset type (cash vs securities), with national variations.
• UAE platforms (Sarwa): regulated by ADGM FSRA (Abu Dhabi) and DFSA (Dubai). Coverage depends on the specific entity and product configuration.
• Canadian platforms (Wealthsimple): regulated by CIRO (Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization), with client assets protected up to CAD$1 million under the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
• Australian platforms (Stockspot): regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission).
• US platforms (Empower, Betterment, Wealthfront, Vanguard): regulated by the SEC and FINRA, with securities accounts protected up to $500,000 (with $250,000 cash limit) under SIPC.

Always verify the specific entity serving you (different regional subsidiaries may have different licensure and protection coverage) and check current scheme limits before opening an account.

The bottom line

Your final platform decision should be informed by self-directed research and in-person due diligence – particularly around tax treatment, regulatory protection, and product fit for your specific financial goals.

The Empower (formerly Personal Capital) story is a good reminder that platforms evolve significantly over time – through acquisitions, rebrands, and strategic pivots. The dashboard tools that made Personal Capital famous remain available under the Empower brand, but the platform is now firmly part of a $1.3+ trillion retirement and wealth management institution rather than an independent fintech challenger.

For international investors who can’t access Empower, the alternatives covered above each excel in different dimensions:

• For UAE/MENA residents: Sarwa offers the most comprehensive Empower-equivalent platform with managed portfolios, brokerage, and crypto access.
• For UK investors: Moneyfarm and Hargreaves Lansdown are the strongest options for tax-efficient ISA/SIPP investing.
• For European investors: InbestMe, Indexa Capital, Scalable Capital, and Trade Republic offer different combinations of managed portfolios and self-directed trading.
• For Canadian residents: Wealthsimple is the closest functional equivalent to Empower available outside the US.
• For Australian residents: Stockspot is Australia’s leading independent robo-advisor.

We hope this breakdown of Empower and its international alternatives has been useful. Always remember to verify current fees, regulatory protection, and product availability directly with each platform before committing funds.

Happy investing.

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