So in this video today,
we are going to be doing a review
of the Acorns investing app,
maybe you downloaded the app already,
maybe you're seeing the abundance
of ads all over social media
talking about this spare change roundup investing app.
And honestly of all
the different brokerage accounts out there
personally I'm seeing more ads for Acorns
than any other one out there.
I'm not sure why that is,
maybe they are just investing a ton
of money into marketing at this point in time.
But I constantly am getting questions about this platform.
So we are gonna answer all of those in this video today.
And even if you already have an Acorns account
there are a few things that you should probably know
as an Acorns investor,
so I would recommend sticking around
until the end of the video.
Now at the end of this video
I've included a link in the description below,
the very top link,
is an affiliate link
you guys don't have to use it if you don't want to,
but I certainly would appreciate it,
because at no additional cost to you
it's a way for you to give back to me
for putting this video together,
so I will supply that link if you decide to use it,
and I certainly would appreciate your use of that link,
but again it is not required.
But first of all as the ad suggests,
and I'm sure as you guys know,
the purpose of Acorns
is a spare change roundup investing app.
So to explain this simply,
if you buy a pack of gum and your total is a $1.75,
there are gonna take the remaining $0.25
and there are gonna put it into
an investing account for you.
Now there is a limit that you have to meet
before they do that draw from your checking account.
But in a nutshell that's what they are doing,
is they are taking the spare change from your purchases,
rounding it up to the whole dollar amount
and sticking that into your Acorns investment account.
Now on top of that Acorns also offers
a cashback rewards program
where they partner with selected retailers.
But instead of giving you that cash to spend
they actually put that money into your Acorns account,
which is a really interesting idea.
So let's say just for example sake
Nike wanted to partner with Acorns
and they give you 5% extra kickback
for your Acorns account
if you made a purchase from Nike.com.
That's an example of
how this cashback rewards program works.
And there is an ever-growing list
of retailers who are participating
with these different reward offerings.
And then on top of that Acorns
also offers a debit and checking account
that integrates directly with your Acorns investing account,
if that does interest you.
And then through Acorns later
they do offer retirement accounts.
Now at the end of the day
this is not a free investing platforms,
and there are countless platforms out there
that are completely free.
But I will say this,
Acorns has definitely found a niche here
of lazy or forgetful investors who have a hard time saving,
and this app is definitely very convenient
for that type of person.
So as far as the pricing goes
Acorns charges one to three dollars per month
based on what plan you choose.
The most basic plan is a dollar per month,
then they have a two dollar plan
and then they have a three dollar plan per month.
The good news is once you have
over $5000 invested with Acorns,
they switch you over to a different fee structure,
which is .25% asset management fee,
which is pretty much the industry standard
across these different robo-advisers.
The only difference is
when you have less than $5000 per month
you are on the one to three dollar per month fee structure.
Now one huge benefit here for college students
is that any Acorns plan is 100% free
as long as you are in college.
So that is a really cool benefit
and a good way to get young people started thinking
about investing and saving for their retirement.
Now when you invest with Acorns,
you're not putting your money in individual stocks.
You essentially have to choose from one
of five pre-built portfolios that essentially sit
on a risk tolerance profile like this.
You have a conservative portfolio
which is going to be the lowest risk
but lowest potential return.
Ranging all the way out to this aggressive portfolio
that's gonna be the highest potential risk
and the highest potential return.
And then you have some options in the middle.
You have a moderate portfolio that sits dead center.
You have moderately conservative.
And then you have moderately aggressive.
As far as those portfolios go
they actually look pretty decent,
and they hold ETFs offered by BlackRock and Vanguard,
and Vanguard and BlackRock are two
of the most well-known and respected
financial institutions out there offering ETFs,
index mutual funds and different products like that.
So I'm totally on board with the portfolio based investing,
and I think that's a great pick
as far as what ETFs they are using.
So moving on now,
what are some of the pros and cons of investing with Acorns?
Well first of all the biggest pro out there
is it's an ideal platform for people who are bad at saving.
Maybe you forget to transfer money
to your brokerage account,
or maybe you spend every single dollar that you earn
and you're just paycheck to paycheck.
Well this is a great automated solution
for those who are bad at saving.
Another feature that's really cool
is that it's 100% automated.
Every single week you have money moving
from your checking account into your investing account,
and by doing that you are also following
a strategy of dollar cost averaging,
which is a great way to enter the market.
That way you're not putting all
of your money into the market at once,
you are easing in over time.
Another pro is that it is portfolio based investing.
Yes, it's a lot more boring,
but this is how most people are successful
when it comes to investing.
It's not by trading stocks, it's not by picking stocks,
it's by investing in well diversified portfolios
that somebody else has put together
so it takes out all the guesswork.
Another pro is that they do offer retirement accounts
which can allow you to grow your money
in a tax-sheltered way.
It's free for college students,
and for people who like to maximize rewards.
They do have that Acorns cashback program
which is gonna put more money in your investing account
and just accelerate your investments
and allow your money to grow even faster.
But that being said,
there are a couple of cons I want to share here.
First of all the big one is
that it's actually high fee for smaller accounts.
So let's say for example you have
$100 in your Acorns account,
and you are on the cheapest plan,
well you're paying a dollar per month
for management of those funds.
So at the end of the year you've paid $12
or 12% of your total account balance in fees.
So if you have a very small amount of money to invest,
or if you don't plan on continuing
to contribute to your Acorns account,
I actually would not recommend it.
Because of the high fees on small accounts.
But if you see yourself in the near future
having $5000 or more invested,
or if you are a college student,
it's definitely a very solid option.
And that .25% annual asset management fee
is in line with other different options out there.
Another con that I have
is that the portfolio selection is honestly pretty limited.
You have five options here,
and it may not be a good fit for everybody
this one size fits all approach.
If you are looking for something
more tailored to your specific needs,
I would definitely look at Betterment.
I'll link them up in the description too,
as they will build custom portfolios
based on your specific needs and objectives.
Another con here is
that you can't invest in individual stocks,
and a lot of young people they just
like investing in individual stocks,
it's more interesting and its more exciting
than putting money into portfolios,
but data tells us that this is the best way to invest,
and this is how most people are successful
when it comes to investing.
And then finally the biggest con that I have with Acorns
is that simply rounding up isn't going to cut it
when it comes to having enough money for retirement
or whatever it is that you are saving for.
Most people suggest putting away anywhere
from five to 20% of your income into a retirement account
to reasonably have enough money
for a comfortable retirement.
And simply rounding up a couple of pennies
and quarters here and there isn't going to cut it.
Now Acorns does let you accelerate this
by putting a multiplier on your roundup,
but not everybody is going to do this.
So I know that's a little bit nitpicky here,
but I want people to have realistic expectations
and understanding that simply rounding up your change
is probably not going to give you
the retirement that you're looking for
or allow you to meet your savings goals.
But you can add additional funds to your Acorns account
at any time, or accelerate that roundup with the multiplier.
So anyways guys, that wraps up this review,
those are my thoughts on the Acorns investing platform.
Like I said, if you do decide to sign up
I have a link in the description below
if you decide to use it.
I certainly do appreciate your use of that link,
because it helps support me at no additional cost to you.
But thanks so much for watching this video,
I hope you enjoyed it
and I will see you in the next one.
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