Schwab Ruled the Robo Roost in Q3

(Related: Who Were the Best Robo-Advisors in Q1?)

The Schwab portfolio captured 105% of the market's upside but just 77% of its downside.

Despite those readings, The Robo Report is reserving judgment on the Schwab portfolio until it sees how it performs in a down market, according to the report. It notes that Schwab's fixed income allocation, which outperformed in the third quarter, year to date and over a  year, is "heavily invested in historically riskier assets," in international and high-yield bond funds.

Schwab's bond allocation in the model portfolio gained 1.53% in the third quarter and its equity allocation returned 3.97% — both beating comparable allocations by any other robo-advisor tracked by the report.

The Schwab robo model portfolio also outperformed that of Betterment, the only other robo that had two-year performance numbers, according to The Robo Report. The Schwab portfolio gained almost 26% while Betterment's returned almost 22%.

Performance, however, is just one measure for investors to use when choosing a robo-advisor. Financial planning, online tools, account updates and guidance on how to meet investors' goals are also crucial, according to The Robo Report.

Schwab also outshines in those areas, according to a new report from MyPrivateBanking Research, which measures robos based on client services, including financial planning, as well as portfolio management. It ranked Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Schwab Intelligent Advisory, its robo for financial advisors, the number one robo-advisor in the U.S. 

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