Which AI investing apps are SEC-registered investment advisers?

What does it mean to be an SEC-registered investment adviser?

An investment adviser is a firm or person paid to give advice about investing in securities like stocks, bonds and ETFs. Advisers generally have to register with the SEC or with state securities regulators. Once registered, a firm files public disclosures on Form ADV and gives retail clients a short relationship summary called Form CRS, which covers its services, fees, conflicts of interest and any disciplinary history.

The part that matters most to you is the fiduciary duty. The SEC says an adviser’s fiduciary duty applies to the entire relationship with a client and is made up of a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. In plain terms, an adviser has to act in your best interest and can’t put its own interests ahead of yours. That duty belongs to the firm, not the software. An AI can be how a registered adviser delivers its advice, but the adviser is the company.

What doesn’t SEC registration mean?

It doesn’t mean the SEC approved the firm. The Investment Advisers Act makes it unlawful for a registered adviser to imply that the government has sponsored, recommended or approved it. The SEC’s own adviser database opens with a warning that the SEC doesn’t approve or endorse any firm.

It doesn’t mean the AI is right. Registration is about who’s accountable, not about how good a model is. In March 2024, the SEC charged two registered advisers, Delphia and Global Predictions, with making false and misleading statements about their use of AI, and the two firms agreed to pay $400,000 in combined penalties.

And it doesn’t mean every feature is advice. A company can own a registered adviser while describing its AI chat as information only. That’s common, and it’s not a trick. It just means you should read how each firm labels the AI’s output before you lean on it.

How are brokers different from advisers?

A broker-dealer buys and sells securities for customers and may also make recommendations. Brokers register with the SEC and become FINRA members, and when they recommend something, they’re required to act in your best interest under a rule called Regulation Best Interest. Brokers are typically paid per transaction, while advisers are typically paid for ongoing advice.

Many investing apps have both. Public, Robinhood, Betterment and Wealthfront each run a broker-dealer alongside a registered adviser, and which entity is behind a given feature changes what rules apply to it.

Which AI investing apps are registered?

Registration status is from the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site and FINRA BrokerCheck, checked October 12, 2026. The last column is how each provider describes its AI, in its own disclosures.

A few things stand out. Astor and Origin are both built around an AI that gives personalized advice with an SEC-registered adviser behind it, and both leave the decision with you. Range is registered too, but it’s a full-service relationship with a human team that manages your portfolio. Betterment and Wealthfront are registered robo-advisors that manage portfolios for you. Public and Robinhood have affiliated registered advisers for some products, but the AI assistants in their apps, like Alpha, Public’s Agents and Cortex Assistant, are labeled as information. ChatGPT and Perplexity are general AI tools that can see your accounts if you connect them, and their providers say not to treat what they say as investment advice.

How do you check an AI investing app yourself?

It takes about five minutes.

1. Find the legal name. Look in the app’s footer, disclosures or App Store listing for the company that provides advisory or brokerage services. Brand names and legal names often differ, like Gaus, Inc. DBA Astor, or Open to the Public Investing, Inc. for Public.
2. Search the SEC’s adviser database. Go to adviserinfo.sec.gov and search the firm’s name or CRD number. Look for an SEC registration with the status “Approved.”
3. Search BrokerCheck if it’s a broker. FINRA’s BrokerCheck at brokercheck.finra.org lists broker-dealers and any disciplinary history.
4. Read the Form CRS. It’s a short summary of the firm’s services, fees, conflicts and disciplinary history, written for regular investors.
5. Read the AI’s disclosure. Check whether the firm calls the AI’s output advice or information, and whether the AI can trade without your approval.

If an app says it’s “regulated” but you can’t find the firm on either database, treat that as a reason to ask questions before connecting your accounts. Our guide on connecting your brokerage account safely covers what else to check.

Why Astor

Astor is a personal investing agent offered by an SEC-registered investment adviser. It connects to the brokerage, retirement and crypto accounts you already have, follows every position you own, and texts you what happened, why it matters to you and what you could do. Because Gaus, Inc. DBA Astor is a registered adviser, those recommendations are personalized investment advice and the firm owes you a fiduciary duty.

You make every decision. Astor can see your holdings but can’t move money, and with Text to Trade, launching in October 2026, you approve every trade and orders execute in your own Robinhood agentic account. The AI can be wrong, which is why every alert links to its reasoning and sources. It’s a flat subscription, free to start, never a percentage of your assets.

Registration isn’t the only thing to weigh. If you want budgeting in the same app, Origin may suit you better, and if you want your portfolio managed for you, a robo-advisor or Range is built for that. Our list of the best AI investing apps compares them on price and features.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Investor.gov: Investment Advisers, accessed Oct 12, 2026
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3. Investor.gov: Form CRS relationship summary, accessed Oct 12, 2026
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5. SEC: Press Release 2019-89, standards of conduct for investment professionals, accessed Oct 12, 2026
6. Legal Information Institute: 15 U.S.C. 80b-8, Prohibited representations, accessed Oct 12, 2026
7. SEC: Press Release 2024-36, SEC Charges Two Investment Advisers with Making False and Misleading Statements About Their Use of Artificial Intelligence, accessed Oct 12, 2026
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27. Robinhood Support: About Robinhood Strategies, accessed Oct 12, 2026
28. Perplexity: Terms of Service, accessed Oct 12, 2026
29. OpenAI Help Center: Finances in ChatGPT, accessed Oct 12, 2026