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Acorns

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Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: December 9th, 2023

Founded in 2012, Acorns was created by a father-son duo to cater to individuals who wanted a simpler way to place trades. The brokerage firm takes the complicated and intimidating landscape of the market and makes it much simpler to handle. It allows users to invest in securities with their spare change and demystifies the process along the way.

Acorns is known as the first mobile investment application that allows its users to open an account and trade on their phones. The brokerage firm uses the modern portfolio theory to recommend different types of portfolios to their users, depending on their clients' needs and long-term investment plans. The brokerage firm's mission is to make investing easy by hiding all of the complex details and removing the anxiety that comes with investing. In doing so, it hopes to encourage young users to become regular investors.

Acorns distinguishes itself from other brokerage firms by allowing its users to invest their spare change into the market. Investors can do so by simply linking their bank accounts to the Acorns mobile app, which will allow them to invest any change they've accumulated from their daily purchases. This Round Up model is ideal for clients who want to invest small amounts of change, without needing to trade large amounts of funds. It's a great starting point for anyone interested in dipping their feet into the investing world without incurring major losses in the process. 

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The Good

  • Straightforward Process
  • Pricing
  • Helpful Information for New Investors

Straightforward Process

After creating an account with Acorns' mobile app and connecting their checking accounts, users will need to create an investment account. This will require answering some standard questions and then providing employment information, income, and reasons for investing. The app will then use the answers provided to offer a customized, recommended portfolio. 

This portfolio will have ideas on how to invest and advice to manage trades. Users can see changes in projected value over time by dragging the portfolio graph's icon right or left to change the amount of money being invested each month. If users want to change their portfolio, they can do so by simply browsing the different types of portfolios and selecting one. This portfolio feature is a great tool, especially for novice investors who need extra assistance before placing trades. Another nice feature is that when your portfolio moves with the market, Acorns will rebalance it to stay on track.

The app also allows users to select which of their daily purchases should be included by the app when it implements its Round Up program. For users who don't want to put much effort into the app, they can opt for automated scheduling so the app automatically calculates, collects, and invests change accordingly.

Pricing 

Acorns' pricing structure is also remarkable in that it's very affordable and simple. Many traders are familiar with the steep fees and commission rates charged by many brokerage firms. Acorns’ does away with this model and offers customers three simple subscription plans to choose from. It does not have a minimum dollar amount to sign up or hidden trade fees. 

While it does not have a minimum to sign up, Acorns does have minimums to invest, save for retirement, or use its spend smarter savings program. You can do this through Round-Ups, where it automatically invests your spare change, or with an easy One-Time Investment of just $5, or by setting an automatic Recurring Investment, starting at just $5 a day, week or month.

The company offers the following three plans:

  • Lite — $1 per month
  • Personal — $3 per month
  • Family — $5 per month

Helpful Information for New Investors

Acorns was developed to help novice investors grow their investment portfolios, savings, and wealth. The company has put together a lot of helpful information including key term definitions such as what an ETF is, how an IRA works, and which one to choose. It also publishes Grow, an online personal finance site geared towards millennials that is packed with financial advice. Grow content can be accessed in the Acorns app and also publishes a newsletter. 

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The Bad

  • No Advanced Trading Features
  • Tool Limitations
  • Management Fee Could Be Steep

No Advanced Trading Features

Since advanced trading tools like charting mechanisms and volatility indicators are usually found on desktop trading platforms, this means the brokerage firm doesn't offer advanced trading features. Without these tools, the firm lacks critical features to help educate and better inform their investors so they turn out to be skilled and experienced traders.

Tool Limitations

One of the app's tools, its projected value graphing tool that shows how much its users will make in x-amount of years, has been known to exaggerate its numbers. Many users argue that their savings end up being much lower or are non-existent when compared to their projected earned savings. This can be incredibly frustrating for novice investors who feel they've been promised one thing and yet receive fewer funds than expected, or worse, end up with a negative account balance.

Other users have also complained about the app needing improvements. While the app is easy to use and makes the investing process a painless one, users still want to see a more detailed, transparent history of their transactions instead of the graph they receive of their past 30 days.

Management Fee Could Be Steep

Acorns’ subscription fees appear low, and for many users they will be; however, if you have a very small account balance then these monthly fees will actually comprise a large percent of your assets. If you decide to only make round up contributions to your account then you could hover at a small balance and therefore a high management fee ratio for quite some time. 

It will be important for you to consider your account balance and then calculate how Acorns’ fees factor as an annual percentage of those assets. For example, if you have a $100 account balance and you enroll in the mid-range Personal plan for $3 per month, or $36 a year, the annual fees would take up 36 percent of your assets. Obviously with a higher account balance, the percent would fall drastically. But if you have a smaller balance, you should be aware that the annual subscription fee could wipe out most or all of your investment returns. 

Many of Acorns competitors do not charge with this subscription fee model and instead charge a percentage, some as low as 0.25 percent. This set percentage fee model could prove to be more affordable. 

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The Bottom Line

Acorns is a great brokerage firm for investors with little money to invest within the market or who need a little more assistance when starting the investment process. The brokerage firm's app makes for a simple and seamless investing process, that doesn't drastically affect the lives of its clients. 

However, having said this, the app lacks several features that can drastically affect a young, novice investor. For instance, the app makes the investing process painless by doing all of the work for its users. This means that its clients may not learn much about how to manage their own account and how to be in charge of their own finances. The app also tends to exaggerate how much its users will make over the next few years, which could frustrate clients when they don't see the projected values come to life. 

You will also want to make sure that your account balance and annual investment returns aren’t being eaten away by the annual fees you’re paying to Acorns. If your balance is high enough, Acorns can provide users with a simple, easy solution to investing and saving at a great price.

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4.1

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30 Reviews

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Erica Reynolds

Acorns is a great way to start saving. We've used the round up feature for a while now and have saved up over $1,000! You can also open accounts for your children. We opened an account for each of our daughters and have an automatic deposit put in weekly. It's basically an allowance for them that they will benefit from in the future when they are old enough to get withdraw the money. Even a little deposit adds up after a while. Totally worth it!

2 years ago

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Cam Hall Palmyra, VA

I started using Acorns when I finally had a decent salary job (nothing special), and was in the phase of just buying things since I finally had the money to do so. I had a real issue saving money, and realized I needed to save for a rainy day fund, car down payments/maintenance, and (eventually) money for a wedding and house (I was ambitious). By using Acorns, I was not only able to constantly save, but I also cut back on my spending with their round ups program - I realized that I was saving a significant amount through Acorns round ups (I rounded up to the next dollar + added a dollar) by each purchase adding essentially this "tax". Acorns took me from no savings to ~$10k saved in a few years through round ups and reliable investments, and I couldn't be more thankful.

2 years ago Edited January 3, 2022

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Landon Badoni Montgomery, TX

I invest with Acorns and have for several months now. I really like how streamlined it is for the consumer. They make it easy to understand and don't dive too deep into the nitty gritty. You can set it up to automatically pull from your bank account so you don't have to think about investing from week to week. And after a while you check back in and it's so motivating to see small investments blossom into a nice little tree.

3 years ago

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Tony's Babygirl Staton MO

Don't know much about this since it's be some new to me but I am giving it a try and all seems easy and good. ...love the service both online and on phone are quickly answered

1 year ago Edited February 7, 2023

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Jason Atlanta, GA

I used Acorns for awhile to round up my change and save it but I find that intentionally putting aside a certain amount of money each month for savings/investing is a much better practice. It can be a great starting point though.

1 year ago

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David Stickles West Jordan, UT

Very unique idea and a cool idea for people who are not consciously saving at every opportunity. Some of the fees once accounts reach a certain dollar value make it not ideal for large investing in my opinion. But it’s a great resource and always great to get people started investing in their future!

3 years ago

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Santow Shamon Gurnee, IL

Simple sign up process. Easy to start investing in minutes. The app is very easy to navigate and is straightforward. You're in total control of how much or how little you want to invest. The best part is you don't have to alter your spending or financial habit

3 years ago

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Joe Leahy Marshfield, MA

I started with Acorns on a whim just to start investing using harmless round ups of spare change on credit/debit card transactions... Now I have an Acorns checking account with Visa Debit card . I also have two investment accounts for my grand children as well as my own investment account.. start small grow big ..great concept

2 years ago

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Gaju Shrestha Herriman, UT

I have Acorns invest and Acorns early accounts. It is very easy to choose what type of investment portfolio you want and don't worry about looking for every single stock. However, Acorns charge $5.00 as a subscription fee which I think is little bit high.

2 years ago

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James Hare Drexel Hill, PA

Their startup bonus of not charging fees for 4 years of college is incredibly helpful for a broke college kid. Also a great way to trick yourself into investing if you need that to do it

2 years ago

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Karen Torino Tallahassee, FL

My favorite part about Acorns is how it lets you link your card so that purchases are rounded up and added towards stocks. It is easy to trade on the app and easy to look over your stocks. Greatly recommend

3 years ago

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Eban Beltran Arlington, TX

I used the service for awhile but found I was getting mediocre returns at the time. It’s possible that this is a better option now and it definitely seems like a great option for anyone who just wants to start saving money without thinking about it.

3 years ago

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Kyle Johnson Portland, OR

I started Acorns with their free college account. I then was able to invite 10 friends during their promo and actually received the $1000 reward. Been using the product for 4 years now.

3 years ago

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Rachel Logan, UT

We love acorns! It has made investing easy as young students. We love how we can easily monitor the progress of our investments right from the app. The graphs make it so easy to see where we are, how far we’ve come, and where we’d like to be!

4 years ago

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Danny Reeder Ogden, UT

Acorns makes it easy to save/invest your money without you having to be knowledgeable of the market. Rounding your spending up doesn't faze you or shock your bank account. super easy to use!

4 years ago

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Amanda George IL

I have used acorns for a few months now and I like it. My only issue is that you can't invest in everything on there and it takes a while to gain any profit. But it's a nice app to use if you have the time to wait.

1 year ago

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Steve Ashby Portland, OR

I really like the concept and signed up through my son-in-law for one of their promotional "friend" incentives. It has been OK and it has been fun to see the rounding add up. My issue is with the growth/investment of my money. I feel like it should be growing faster.

3 years ago

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J Salt Lake City, UT

I love Acorns! Acorns is investment mage easy. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a user-friendly way to manage personal investments.

4 years ago

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Rocio Diaz Tallahassee, FL

Really amazing service for stock trading. I like the way it invests change for you and gives you a timeline of expected earnings through time.

3 years ago

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Abbey Alpine, UT

I’ve had a horrible experience so far with acorns. Every time I try to login it blocks me and I have to re sign up. I feel as if they’re stealing from me at this point. NOT A SAFE PLACE FOR YOUR MONEY!!!

5 years ago

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Cole Haight South Jordan, UT

It asked for $100 up front but it ended up paying quite a bit. About 30 dollars so far. It is easily accessible and overall a great app.

2 years ago

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Krista Griffith Tulsa, OK

I know nothing about investing. I let Acorns do it for me. My very capital lite funds are slowly growing. Three stars because the app can be a bit confusing to navigate.

2 years ago

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Trent Provo, UT

I have only lost money since I started using them, and it's hard to tell what they aer really investing in. It is also not a personalized type of investing

6 years ago

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Matt Clark Provo, UT

Acorns makes investing super easy! I don’t love how hard they push for you to refer others, but they do a good job.

3 years ago

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Mason Allen Provo, UT

Specializes in micro-investing, so you're not going to make much money investing short term. A respectable option for long-term investing.

3 years ago

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Nicole Johnson Portland, OR

It's nice to have a place to get involved in the stock market at a smaller level.

3 years ago

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Beth Rodgers Ethridge, TN

Website could be made simpler to understand.

11 months ago

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Devin McClellan Eagle Mountain, UT

This has been a great resource for new investors.

2 years ago

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Hannah Barth Tallahassee, FL

Acorns is low-cost and easy to use for new investors.

3 years ago

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Brandon Farrow Gilbert, AZ

I really like the idea but I wish there was far more flexibility in what the funds are invested in.

3 years ago