Betterment Deepens Finance Advice Features

Online investment site Betterment LLC announced Tuesday enhanced features meant to help users know how they're faring with their financial goals. The update includes views of financial data that show whether or not the customer is on track, as well as recommendations on how to improve their chances of success.

The functionality works like this: When a user signs onto the Betterment web app, his summary page shows him the likelihood of him reaching a financial goal he's set for himself, such as retirement at 65. If the user wants to improve his progress, he can click on the tab labeled "advice" to receive suggestions on how to better achieve his financial target. For example, a recommendation might be to increase a monthly auto-deposit or adding a one-time deposit. In other words, the feature lets a user play out financial scenarios. If he wants to take the advice or customize the suggestions, Betterment says a user can do so with a click of a mouse.

Betterment competes with companies like FutureAdvisor and WealthFront.