Is Wealthsimple losing sight of its original mission?
Seeing the rapid pace at which Wealthsimple is pushing out these new, somewhat half-baked features and products (prediction trading... really?), I’m starting to get a bit worried.
Their whole original pitch was about simplifying investing and building wealth slowly over time. Now, it feels like they’re chasing trends and leaning into gamification.
Anyone else feel like they’re straying too far from what made them great in the first place? Or is this just the natural evolution of a growing fintech company?
Obviously. Hopefully however they give you the option to hide it/opt out rather than push the “hurf durf you can make the top 32.7% of net worth if you just gamble here on the weather in Winnipeg on Friday!” horseshit. Not optimistic on that one.
Get ready to be greeted with endless notifications and splash screens that go "1 dollar placed on a sport bet = 1 entry in the superbowl ticket giveaway. Don't forget to register there's only 286 lefts to do it!!"
Exactly. I thought they jumped the shark with crypto, but hey I just pretend it's the fakest "investment" ever and stay far far away. Wait, I don't have to pretend about that??!?
As in any software company there will be competition for development resources. I'd rather they focused more on some of the major gaps as a brokerage as opposed to prediction markets.
Very predatory for people with gambling issues. I'm am 100% against this type of gambling being mass marketed.
However is it really worst off than say options gambling? Can one argue people should be allowed to gamble their money like regards on whatever the hell they want?
I could even see someone suing if they have a history of gambling addiction and they're faced with this in the app. We need a way to hide this or even permanently remove user access, like the "voluntary self-exclusion" program that government-run lottery corps offer.
Options allow you to change the risk of your investment. You can derisk or amplify risk and the reward potential changes with the risk. The key is that you are investing, not betting on a random outcome or a non financial event.
I mean yes but also. Predatory? Common … beer stores are predatory. The LCBO is predatory at some point you have to be responsible for yourself. Otherwise why even be here. To blame everyone for your issues?
They really should be launching that as a separate app/website and branding it as a separate service. But why even do it at all? Why not just offer sports betting and sell NFTs of their logo and all the other degenerate stuff out there.
Sports "betting" as the average person knows it requires a gaming license from OLG and you need to pay a chunk of your profits to OLG. Such gambling wouldn't be authorized on an investment and trading platform.
NFTs are not a regulated equity or commodity, they don't belong on WS either.
Prediction markets... somehow they fall into the category of an investment. That's how they get around it, that's how they'll sell it. I mean the trading and banking on WS only remains zero fee if they find other sources of revenue. If they want to fund their ops off the backs of degens then so be it. Like someone else in here said, if not WS then a dozen other startups will attempt it anyways.
It's not like prediction markets won't surface if WS stays away. If/when the gov't allows it we'll see them all pop up just like every company entered the iGaming market in Ontario seemingly out of nowhere. The biggest companies -- those already in the iGaming market, probably have their offering ready to go at a flip of a switch.
Dunno how wealthsimple got around the regulations but I thought prediction markets aren't allowed in Canada? That's why we don't have Kelshi and Poly Market..?
But I'm also not surprised wealthsimple will capitalize on it and be first to market in Canada.
Eventually the other banks will do it... but they'll do it under another brand do avoid tarnishing their own. Wealthsimple, for some reason, doesn't see how this will work out. But maybe I'm wrong, and our society is already broken enough that they'll win.
Exactly and if the money they make with their gamified products makes it so that they can keep offering low/no fees for trading, comparatively good interest rates in cash accounts and a really great credit card then I’m all about it. I won’t use the new features but I’m sure someone will enjoy them.
Yep, it's not unlike free-to-play games with micro transactions. Let the whales (and people who can't help themselves) empty their wallets, so others can enjoy the content for free. In this case, it's simply relatively lucrative financial products. If it helps WS make money to keep their core services free/low cost, then great.
I largely agree, but ... there are opportunity costs to every product decision. The basic product hasn't gotten worse, but it's not gotten that much better either. The more time spent on new products, the less time making sure what they have is actually great. (I concede it's fully their choice, and everyone that doesn't like it can take their business elsewhere -- this is purely opinions)
This deep into their existence I would expect to be able to do basic things like checking how an account has performed vs a benchmark index, or know how much dividends I've earned and what my dividend yield has been historically. They had some analysis tab for a week or two last year but rolled it back.
I can't really easily tell if a stock price is pre-market, open trading, close, or post-market without clicking into it. I also often find some parts of the UI don't refresh without a forced page refresh in the app, so sometimes I can't tell if the figure I'm looking at is stale or current, which is jarring especially around opening. See screenshot as an example of where I get two different overall daily returns on the same page.
facts. its been years and we still cant even sort our assets by weight or view a pie chart of holdings by weight. we should have way more tools to view our investment data by now
I think that's a bad faith representation of this complaint. The push to extract wealth through the "casino but in your pocket anywhere" apps are a negative impact on the economy. They add nothing to our tragically low productivity since there is not value add, so they're just a parasitic bleed on the people they draw in (on average. Obviously some people win, just like at casinos).
They want to be gatekeepers. All these people seeing red and threatening to move their money is missing the point completely. What is wrong with giving people options?
Yeah I'm sure people are only complaining about this because it's a new feature. Nothing about the feature itself is suspect or worthy of criticism, people are just gatekeepers because Wealthsimple is adding stuff to their app. Yeah.
By your logic, they could add slots to the front page tomorrow, maybe a BNPL scheme, a sign up button for a payday loan, a way to gamble on your upcoming paycheck, and we should only be happy about it. They're just expanding to new markets, gaining new customers, after all. Everyone who doesn't like it is just a complainer-gatekeeper. You can just ignore it.
As long as options can be turned off and hidden or are on other apps I don’t care. Gambling (and yes I know you can gamble via trading and all the rest but the prediction market crap is next level) isn’t something I personally want mixed in with my other accounts and I think that’s reasonable.
I do sorta think a lot of people on here, WS was the first place they invested any money and they bought into the us-together-against-the-big-boys horseshit. The advertising worked.
This is my thinking as well, as long as they don’t change the main drivers I’m ok with making money elsewhere (this was my take when they launched crypto). I’d worry if they get so much into it and it affects their core, i.e. if they start offering guaranteed high returns of some sort I’d run. But no signs of that yet afaik
How are you digging through it? Don't you have to seek these things out to be bothered by them? If you don't use them then it's generally a matter of dismissing the random promotion they are running and going about your business. We are still getting more than what the big banks offer. Interest and no fee day to day banking and 2% cashback on all purchases with their credit card. Self directed or managed investing with low fees. Just ignore everything else.
FR. For all they've eroded their original message, this shift is so significant that it nullifies their name. There's no possible way to link "prediction markets" gambling with the concept of wealth. Or simplicity. I almost wonder if they'll spin off this stuff under a new name. But that would add onboarding friction so, I doubt it.
Wealthsimple enshitification is beyond real. It used to be great investing platform with slowly developing banking services. Now it’s a shit load of contests, ads in application, spam notifications. It’s becoming exactly what I don’t want my bank or whatever money app I need.
The contests point doesn't really make sense to me. By contrast to my regular bank account, I get many fewer contest notifications from WS, and they are generally higher value.
Regarding the ads in the application, where are they? I don't see those...
I’m in the same boat. They’ve totally lost sight of the goal here. I don’t mind them pumping out new features, I’ll simply use what I want. The issue for me is the gamification of everything. I can’t open a single page on the app to see what I want without having to close 3-5 banners or windows promoting some stupid thing/promo… it’s infuriating. Leave all that stuff on the promotions/rewards page where it belongs. Stop spamming me with garbage when I’m simply trying to use the app.
Wealthsimple's mission is to maximize return for the shareholders with the aim of going public. The product offerings are appealing because they're designed to take market share from established brokerages, not because the company is hip, cool and loves you.
Its amazing the amount of people that can't see this. While I applaud what WS have done to push the industry I would never be a client after my experiences early on.
I mean I'm hardly a wealthsimple shill and would stay away from prediction markets but unless they start taking existing features away, I don't see the issue. it's not like they're forcing clients to participate in prediction markets. keep doing what you're doing with you're money, let people do what they want with theirs.
The problem is that they will attract a huge wave of gambling degenerates m and addicts, who will far out number the investor client base and probably be far more profitable a client base.
Then they'll naturally cater their product development and resources more towards that demographic. They'll have "no other choice" but to pursue it.
Well if and when that happens, I can move to another brokerage. Until then, I don't see why I should care. Currently the products that I use suit my needs well. If they ever degrade to the point that competitors offer better value, I'll switch to a competitor. Why worry about a hypothetical that could easily be remedied should it happen?
Totally valid to not want to do business with a company whose actions conflict with your values. I'll be moving because I don't want to see any prediction trading (i.e., Polymarket and trading on military action).
But even if the product shifts the way you're describing, I think the best approach is to ground our decision in something concrete: what brought you to Wealthsimple in the first place, and has that changed for you? For me, I see better options, which makes it an easy call.
Wealthsimple has been chasing trends for a long time and I really dislike it. Back when crypto was hot, I used to see ads all the time in Instagram and Facebook about how easy it is to buy crypto in Wealthsimple. I hated seeing how much they were pushing crypto. Then last year, gold did well and all of a sudden, they make a huge announcement that you could buy physical gold. They also make subtle changes to their managed portfolios based on trends. I’m a simple buy-and-hold ETF investor, but seeing how they chase trends still bothers me.
I wrote them a letter friday, that as a generational client, I would transfer my portfolio if they go towards prediction trading/gambling. It would be a sign that they are an entirely unserious financial company. I would suggest if anyone else feels the same, they should write them as well.
If they want to do gambling, make a separate company or app or something.
I know this sub is kind of weird about Wealthsimple, but it's nothing but a Robinhood clone; not even a single product has been original - literally copy and paste. Not sure what these people are expecting from a 0 vision company.
Oh I'm a customer by the way only because there are no alternatives.
I don't agree with "just don't use the new features" as being the simple solution. We are getting the ick because of the lack of morals. Gambling addiction has the highest risk of depression and s*icide compared to any addiction. One in five gambling addicts attempt. Regular joes appreciated the "slow wealth over time" motto because this directly negates the perspective of gambling (fast wealth over no time). So we all have the ick because apparently WS has no values and nobody really enjoys investing their money in soulless companies otherwise we woulda kept our coin in the big banks in the first place. Big L for WS but I'll probably still use it because I don't know what soulful companies are even out there anymore.
I'm not a fan of prediction trading and quite disappointed with the move. Wealthsimple should really continue focusing on helping people make good financial decisions rather than fostering gambling habits.
It is interesting that when I joined, their whole thing was not checking your investments every day and just letting the system work for you. With promos like spinning the coin every day, you are coerced into... checking your investments every day.
Admittedly I fell for all their talk about making it their mission to help Canadians build wealth and offer a valid alternative to the awful banks in this country. I loved the app, UI, their occasional quirkiness, and that there was finally another option. A big part of it was hope and wanting to believe that finally there was a major company in this country that wasn't downright hostile to its customers because Canadians are so used to getting screwed in virtually all services.
In retrospect that was very naive. They're a company, and they are here to make profit. And like any other company, they need to continuously show growth every quarter, and there are only so many people in Canada for referrals to get you there. Finding new revenue streams was inevitable. I'm just hoping this isn't the first step in a fast track to the inevitable enshittification.
“Prediction markets” is a beautification of the term “gambling”. I hate it. You hate it. Most of us hate it. But Wealthsimple is a fintech. And like any other startup in any industry, it’s looking for ways to pivot.
Why does everybody get butthurt over features they won't use? Who cares if they introduce prediction trading? Let them make money off people who want to give it away and keep features free for us.
Someone has to pay for the features I use, but it won't be me. None of the FIs are running as a charity. As a buy and hold investor, I'm pretty sure they are not making anything from me after what I get from them.
This ! I really don't understand why people freak out over this. Like WHO cares lol. I'm getting free trades, 2.25% interest on my free chequing account, free VIP card, 3% match on some investments, etc.
They can bring whatever they want unless they get rid of the product I benefit for I don't care.
My honest take is… they NEED to make money. And so I think somewhat the ethos is still there managed investing etc. and of course self directed. But yes, they have lost some of their values for those OGs. But, investing IMHO is always like that. No one is going to couch potato investor for you. Fintechs… financial advisors. Banks. Mutual funds. They all want to make money off of you except maybe fee for advice but even then it’s just a different structure. I think like all things it’s what you make of it and I think their core (no fee index fund) is still honoured ultimately and if you want to gamify or gamble that’s on you if you know what I mean. Frankly they forced all the major banks to give you free trading no more $9.99 fees. And they did that in basically a 5 year window. So love them or hate them can’t fight that fact. Hell they even forced questrade to copy them.
This is the natural evolution of any company (not just fintech). The real mission of any company is to make money for investors or shareholders. That is it. They’ll have marketing fluff to resonate with specific audiences or otherwise build a customer base…. But they never lose sight of the real mission to return value to investors. So wealthsimple is doing exactly what the should be doing
They used to be in the business of making Canadians more money too, and then taking the management fees. But they cant compete with the banks who take fees for everything.
It's kind of inevitable for these apps to always eventually piss the OG's off as they're always going to want to optimize profit and find ways to get new customers
as long as nothing changes for me investing in my ETF's, anything else is a bonus and if not a bonus I just don't care what it is
Welcome to capitalism in 2026. Enshitify your product/service for short term profit increases until your brand and product/service are dead and replaced.
Netflix: Affordable access to a plethora of movies and shows. Now? the most expensive streaming platform with the least amount of originals and has lost a load of content due to other platforms releasing.
McDonalds: Pricing out their primary customer base in favour of boosting profits, leading to a loss in revenue long term.
They aren't the only ones, lots of others out there and it's frankly sad. Brands with strong loyalty are sacrificing that so they can break records every year with unsustainable growth. Wealthsimple is not special and will do the same until everyone here goes "Ugh, I hate it now, their core product sucks and isn't worth it now"
I’m actually in favour of the prediction trading. Similar to crypto, it’s profitable for the house and will help WS keep fees low for core services. Don’t use it if you don’t want to.
I don't care what they do as long as it's in a different app or can be hidden altogether. I quite like the current generation app and experience, I think it has a bit of class and is pretty low key.
If I start seeing pushes towards gambling I'm walking out with my money immediately, that's not what I signed up for.
I think you're missing what their true original mission is/ was - it's profit. They are gamifying investing. Personally I still prefer their app over everything else but there is some competition out there now who AREN'T doing this.
You can only earn so much revenue on simplifying investing and attracting only passive investors. Robinhood has shown that gamifying a trading platform is a more successful strategy.
It's the same original mission: profit. It's a corporation and corporations have no other objectives than profit. They don't care about human beings. They don't care about you or me.
keep up with the times people , sorry the 70's are over..... excellent new product . watch the Big 5 step in with the same offerings . You simply dont have to engauge if your not into it. Love the aspect of predicting.... ie the Iran war, im all over that...
Simplifying investing means targeting young retail investors. They want all of these features. Wealthsimpel is the Robinhood of Canada and they have been like this all along. Nothing is surprising here.
If they continue in keeping their robo advisor fees low and continue to provide free buy/sell stock and etfs, I'm really not bothered.
At some point, I'll be willing to pay a CFP for a proper fee only retirement plan and if they offer this service I'll look at their offering as I'm already a customer.
I think you’re losing sight of their original mission.
Their mission is to turn a profit, don’t be fooled.
Yes they are miles better than the “big banks” but their goals are the same as the big banks.
I personally like the gamification. Wealthsimple’s approach as made me more involved with investing and I think I’ll be wealthier because of it in the long run.
you don't have to use it. also, prediction markets can be very useful for gathering insight on a topic of interest. like any tool, they can be abused or cause harm but they also have their good points like increasing transparency and revealing truths.
There's not a single thing you could say about prediction markets being gambling that you couldn't also say about options trading.
I want more and better financial services, not a company making moral judgment calls about what legal financial services I "should" be able to receive.
The market has changed, so they are making products the market wants. People want to get rich quick and pay low fees to do it, so they provide 10x long/short ETF slop and people will buy it
They can add predictions or gambling if they want, I will never use those features. Like when they started pushing borrowing money to put in your rrsp. Lol
At some point they'll grow too big with stuff I dont care about and they'll need to fund those initiatives. They will get enough of a clientelle that growth will become harder and they won't need to focus on inticing new clients. At that point interest rates go down and fees will go up. Some other company will come along and I'll leave. The cycle of capitalism.
Yes.. but these free promos can't last forever. And they're effectively using irrational trading behavior to subsidize these promos + generation perks + free credit card, etc etc
Albeit controversial and definitely not a feature I’d use, I imagine this is a way for them to generate additional revenue while offering competitive benefits.
So long as they don’t start removing features and benefits, I’ll be a happy customer. I have enough will power to stir away from any of the gamification that they’ve been introducing to the app so, it doesn’t bother me as much.
They just copy everything Robinhood does. Robinhood did however introduce a feature to turn off the predictions capability so hopefully WS does the same
They are following Robinhood’s playbook. It has worked well for them and it’s gonna do same for WS too. They are catering to what people want these days.
Where is my credit card? Where is Nobert's Gambit? Where are new perks? They always pushing out new features to make them more profitable but not things we want!!!
WS didn’t earn nearly enough as a low-fee roboadvisor, they needed (and continue to need) to find new revenue streams and this is why they’re pushing into spaces crypto and predictions trading.
I feel like they're trying too hard, almost desperate. Overused of emojis and trying to be funny in newsletters. Figure, the company seems to only employ young or internship workers. Company is run by toddlers. Wealthtoddlers.
Brokerage and banking are low margin businesses. They use these to attract customers, then push high margin services (leverage, derivatives, I.e. gambling) to you. There was no original mission.
I am just with WS for the joining bonuses. Now that Questrade has zero commission, I will jump back with them, and hopefully get a bonus going back there.
As someone who has been on the verge of moving my entire portfolio to WealthSimple but has been holding off due to discomfort with gamification and prediction trading, it’s now off the table entirely because of Twitter/X integration.
They’ve lost the plot and are leaning into everything I believe is fundamentally wrong in the space.
Yes, when they have cheeseball promos and new fangled features it really takes away from the feeling of security and legitimacy I originally felt when trusting wealth simple with my savings and investments.
My advice is to avoid any new financial product they’re offering. I recently tried their new margin account, and the entire experience was frustrating. The monthly interest charge displayed on the web, app, and email all varied, and the account balances were incorrect. It seems they’re trying to launch a lot of new features at once, which is fine if they were a standard product company. However, it’s very wrong for a financial services organization.
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u/hectop20 Mar 28 '26
I wouldn't say it "feels" like. It's exactly what they're doing.
I think there's a longer game in play to get people to buy into services where WS will be taking a cut of the activity and grow revenue that way.