The San Francisco, CA-headquartered firm has introduced a new tool for end-clients to quickly evaluate the effectiveness of their portfolio composition - free of charge.

SigFig has launched a free investment tool which it claims can analyze any portfolio in less than five minutes and then offer actionable suggestions to optimize returns and reduce fees.

The portfolio optimization platform said that, based on data from the $350 billion it tracks, a staggering 90 per cent of investors have “costly and easily correctable problems” - from cash drag to poor diversification, to high fees and excessive volatility.

While investors can use SigFig to manage their accounts, the new tool, called SigFig Guidance, provides portfolio accounting “check ups” free of charge.

Its launch reinforces just how intense competition in the wealth management technology sector has become, adding pressure on industry players to provide exceptional levels of service at attractive rates.

“Traditional advisors often charge thousands of dollars to get these kinds of detailed insights, and sometimes aren’t truly impartial in their recommendations,” said SigFig’s chief executive, Mike Sha. “With SigFig, anyone, regardless of wealth level, can get a high quality investment portfolio for a fraction of the cost. We have decided to offer free analysis to arm investors with as much information as possible to improve their performance and reduce fees.”

And in a similar move also yesterday, Stonghold Financial and Jemstep unveiled a lead generation and referral service for independent RIAs.

Portfolio Checkup provides investors with free portfolio analysis, comparing current allocations to other advisor portfolios in terms of fees.

Based on an investor's asset level, location and other parameters, it then directs them to a fiduciary advisor from a network of independent advisors.

“Portfolio Checkup promotes the concept of a fiduciary,” said Ajay Gupta, founder of Stronghold Financial and CEO of Gupta Wealth Management.

In the three months leading up to the launch of Portfolio Checkup, over 500 new managed accounts were opened through Stronghold, with an average account size of $70,000, the firm said.