As a non-professional investor, it can be overwhelming and even a little scary to choose investments. You don’t have years of experience watching the market and it’s normal to worry that you’ll choose the wrong stocks, ETFs, bonds, and other investments.
This Echo Trade review can help. Echo Trade is a new-ish investment tool that allows subscribers to follow between one and five professional portfolios and echo the strategies of RIAs to take the guesswork out of investing.
Keep reading to learn how Echo Trade works, what features you’ll get if you subscribe, and how to set up an account to take advantage of echo trading as an investment strategy.
How Does Echo Trade Work?
Echo Trade is an easy-to-use investment tool with both a website and a mobile app. When you subscribe, you can copy one or more professional investment portfolios with just a few clicks.
At present, Echo Trade integrates with two online brokerages: Robinhood and Tradier. Both are registered with the SEC and regulated by FINRA. The professionals we work with are also registered and regulated, meaning that you don’t need to worry about getting so-called professional advice from people who don’t know what they’re doing.
After you’ve selected a plan and linked your brokerage account, you’ll get automatic notifications of new trades and insights into the portfolios you follow. From there, you can choose to echo trades in your own portfolio. We’ll walk you through the specific steps later in our Echo Trade review.
What is an RIA?
An RIA is a Registered Investment Advisor, a financial professional who advises their clients about investments. All RIAs must register with either the SEC or a state securities administrator.
Most importantly, an RIA is a fiduciary. That means they’re legally obligated to act in the best interest of their clients, even if they would do something different if they were investing their own money. It’s an important thing to look for in any financial advisor, and we appreciate that Echo Trade works only with registered professionals.
While RIAs are registered fiduciaries, Echo Trade is not registered with the SEC or FINRA and is not a fiduciary. If you sign up for Echo Trade, you’re not a client of the fiduciary.
Echo Trade Features
Here’s a run-down of Echo Trade features and how they work.
Echo Trading
Echo trading is the process of echoing (or copying) someone else’s portfolio and investments. With an Echo Trade subscription, you’ll be able to follow one or more professional portfolios and copy their trades.
It’s important to note that Echo Trade doesn’t make recommendations about which portfolios to follow. You’ll need to do your own research about each professional and their portfolio to make a decision about which ones to echo. There are no guarantees, so it’s essential not to skip this step.
Linking Portfolio
If you have a portfolio on Robinhood or Tradier, you can link your portfolio to your Echo Trade account to simplify the process of echo trading. As of January of 2025, Echo Trade has partnered with Robinhood and Tradier to allow for portfolio linking. They also say that they are working on additional partnerships, so check back if you have a portfolio on a different platform.
You can use Echo Trade without linking your portfolio. You’ll need to be prepared to manually echo the trades you want to follow, so the process is a bit more cumbersome than it would be with a linked portfolio.
Portfolio Management
Echo Trade offers users some portfolio management tools, including automated trade notifications. Once you follow a portfolio, you’ll get an automatic notification of any new trade in their portfolio.
Notifications are particularly helpful when you’re on the go, since you can get them on the mobile app as well as on your laptop.
Education and Insights
Like many financial websites, Echo Trade has a library of educational materials and insights to help subscribers learn about investing. These include informative short video tutorials to walk you through the process of setting up your account and choosing portfolios to follow.
In addition to the videos, there’s an expansive FAQ section with answers to the questions you’re most likely to ask; and an Insights section with blog posts and articles on a variety of investment topics. Some examples include investment psychology, portfolio strategies, and reviews of financial tools.
Pro Tip:
Echo Trade is currently offering a 14-Day Free Trial here for new subscribers!
How to Set Up an Echo Trade Account
The process of setting up an Echo Trade account is simple and requires just a few steps.
Step 1: Find a Portfolio
The first step is to review the available portfolios. It might seem a little out of order to do this step first, but we think it’s useful because you can get an idea of what’s available. Clicking on any portfolio will take you to a detailed page where you can see some of what you’ll get if you follow that portfolio.
On the detail page, you’ll see an Unlock Portfolio button on the right-hand side. When you click that, you’ll be taken automatically to the next step. Keep in mind that you’ll only need to pick one portfolio at this stage, but you won’t be locked in. You can finalize your choices after you follow the next two steps.
Step 2: Choose a Membership Plan
The second step is to select your membership plan from the three available: Basic, Plus, and Elite. We’ll reveal the pricing for each plan in the next section.
Each plan comes with a 14-day free trial, but you will need to enter credit card information at this stage. If you decide you don’t want to proceed with a paid membership, you’ll need to make sure to cancel before the free trial ends. You’ll see the billing date at the bottom of the page when you enter your payment information.
Step 3: Connect Your Trading Account
The third and final step is to connect your trading account. Remember, as of January 2025, only Robinhood and Tradier are integrated with Echo Trade. If you have a portfolio with one of these trading platforms, you can use one-click echo trading to copy trades.
If your portfolio is elsewhere, you’ll need to duplicate trades manually, which definitely takes more time and is not as convenient.
Pro Tip:
Echo Trade is currently offering a 14-Day Free Trial here for new subscribers!
How Much Does Echo Trade Cost?
Echo Trade has three plan tiers. They have a lot in common with one another. The primary difference is in the cost and the number of portfolios you can follow and echo with your monthly subscription. Here’s a chart to help you quickly compare the three plans and choose the one that’s best for you.
| Basic Plan | Plus Plan | Elite Plan |
| $39.95 per month | $99.95 per month | $139.95 per month |
| Least expensive | Most popular | Biggest value |
| Follow 1 portfolio | Follow 3 portfolios | Follow 5 portfolios |
All three plans include the following features:
- Portfolio positions
- Real-time performance
- Portfolio commentary
- Instant trade alerts
- Access to both web and mobile portals
There’s a 14-day free trial available for all plans. After that, you’ll pay the monthly subscription cost. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time.
Can You Link a Brokerage Account to Echo Trade?
The good news is that it’s simple to connect an online brokerage account to Echo Trade. It’s part of the set-up process, which takes only a few minutes to complete.
Which Brokerages Integrate with Echo Trade?
At present, Echo Trade integrates with only two brokerages, Robinhood and Tradier. Both are registered brokers, which is something that’s in line with Echo Trade’s decision to partner only with registered financial professionals.
As we stated earlier, Echo Trade has said they plan to add additional brokerages to their integrations soon. That should make it a more appealing option for investors who aren’t using Robinhood or Tradier.
Pros and Cons of Echo Trade
Before we give you our overall recommendation, here are some pros and cons of Echo Trade to consider.
Pros
- You’ll get access to managed portfolios from fiduciary financial advisors and RIAs without having to meet their minimum portfolio requirements.
- You can follow up to five portfolios.
- With a linked portfolio, echo trading can be completed with just one click.
- You’ll get access to Echo Trade’s library of tutorials, FAQs, and insights.
- You can upgrade or downgrade your account at any time.
Cons
- Echo Trade is not a registered broker/dealer.
- You won’t be a client of the RIAs whose portfolios you follow.
- At present, there are only two brokerages that integrate with Echo Trade.
- You’ll need to research portfolios, since Echo Trade doesn’t provide guidance.
Pro Tip:
Echo Trade is currently offering a 14-Day Free Trial here for new subscribers!
Conclusion
Echo Trade is a platform that can help take the guesswork out of investing. If you don’t have a large portfolio and can’t meet an RIA’s minimum requirements, you can still benefit from their advice by using Echo Trade.
Our take is that Echo Trade is a good option for people who want expert advice but don’t have a large enough portfolio to work directly with an RIA or wealth advisor. The most important thing to know before subscribing is that you’ll still need to do your own research to decide which portfolio(s) are right for you.
FAQ
Echo Trade doesn’t have a minimum or maximum investment amount for subscribers. You can invest as much or as little as you like. This is something that sets Echo Trade apart from the RIAs and wealth managers who partner with them, many of whom may have minimum investment limits of $500,000 or more. Beginning investors or those with small portfolios can take advantage of professional investment advice even if they can’t meet the minimum thresholds for portfolio size.
Choosing which portfolio to subscribe to is up to you. There’s a decent amount of information about each of Echo Trade’s partners, but Echo Trade doesn’t provide advice or tell you which portfolio to choose. For that, you’ll need to do some independent research, which may include the information provided by Echo Trade and whatever you can find on Google or the firm’s website. We strongly recommend putting some time into research before you decide to echo trade any portfolio.
No, you won’t be a client of the RIA. You’re not receiving direct advice from an investment professional. The concept of echo trading is designed for independent investors who may not be able to qualify to work directly with an RIA or professional wealth advisor. You’ll be a subscriber of Echo Trade, but you won’t have contact with the RIA.
All portfolios are real accounts, managed by RIAs and other fiduciaries on behalf of their clients. You’ll be able to view actual results and returns, which can help you make the right decision about which portfolios to follow and echo.
You may be able to invest through your 401(k) if you choose. You’ll need to contact your broker to ask them about the details. Most likely, you’ll need to create a self-directed rollover IRA to echo the trades in your portfolio. Keep in mind that you’ll still need to adhere to regulations related to retirement accounts, including limits on how much you can contribute per year.
Echo Trade forms partnerships with RIAs who are licensed and registered, and who have proven track records. They believe that RIA firms have performed better over time than non-licensed or non-registered traders and offer subscribers the best chance to accumulate wealth. RIA firms choose to work with Echo Trade because it provides them with the opportunity to grow their brands and offer micro investing services to a new audience.
Yes. The Echo Trade platform uses SSL and 256-bit encryption. Since your portfolio isn’t hosted on Echo Trade, you should also make sure that your brokerage has a secure website to protect you and your assets.
