Folio Investing

Name: Folio Investing
Rating: 1.6

1.6

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60 User Reviews

1.6

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60 User Reviews

The Good

The Bad

Bottom Line

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Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: November 13th, 2021

Folio Investing helps its investors create diversified portfolios to help minimize the risks associated with investing. These folios are customizable and can manage costs and tax losses.

Investors can create folios of mutual funds, ETFs, and stocks. The company also provides Ready-to-Go-Folios, which are pre-built with a particular investment strategy in mind. These folios are designed to encourage investors to familiarize themselves and become comfortable with the folio method. Once comfortable, investors can begin building their own folios or customizing Ready-to-Go-Folios based on their own investment strategies and preferences.

Keep reading for pros and cons, and verified Folio Investing reviews.

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The Good

Investment and trading services
Diverse portfolios
Customized Investments
Costs

Investment and Trading Services

Folio Investing helps investors determine what kind of investor they are through a series of questions. The answers provided help the platform determine what asset allocations are right for the investors.

Another great perk that the company offers is email alerts to investors whenever Folio Investing revises or rebalances portfolios. This allows investors to closely monitor their investment performances.

Folio Investing also has great tools to facilitate the investing process. The company provides market research that's equipped with charts, company information, historical quotes, and the financials of the different companies to invest in. The firm's performance reporting tool enables investors to view the performance of their investments over time or against other securities and funds.

Another great tool is Folio Investing's virtual stock trading account. This account looks exactly like a funded account-but isn't-where investors can test strategies and use folios. Once comfortable, they can then convert the account into a funded one. This adds yet another edge to the company's competitive arsenal.

Diverse Portfolios

Folios can include up to 100 or as little as 1 stock, ETF, or mutual fund.

Folio Investing is unique in that it allows its investors to include fractional shares in their folios. This service is not included with every investment platform.

This means that traders can own less than a share of a stock with the brokerage firm, which garners them access to securities that they might not have otherwise experienced.

Customized Investments

Not all investors are the same. With Folio Investing, an investor can tailor and customize their investing folio to their specific needs.

Even if you are using a ready-to-go folio, the investor can tailor their investments, use filters to exclude specific sectors and securities - the investor is in control.

Costs

Folio Investing's pricing structure offers a flat-fee pricing option of $29 a month. For investors who have a portfolio that's large, who enjoy continuously tinkering with their folios, and who place many trades at a time, this fee can save them a lot of money compared to what they would be paying at other brokerage firms.

Casual traders need not worry since Folio Investing offers a flat-fee of $5.95 per transaction, another competitively priced deal.

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The Bad

Mobile App
Returns
Day trades
High Prices for Infrequent Traders
Designed for Experienced Investors

Mobile App

One major downside to Folio Investing is it doesn't offer users a mobile app as an alternative to its site. For the 21st century investor who trades on the go, this can be a significant drawback to this brokerage firm's services.

Returns

Another major complaint investors have with Folio Investing is the over-stated returns that are shared in the folios. Users say their returns are usually not as strong as the suggestions made in the folios' performance levels.

This can be a major problem for investors who've been won over by the folio method, only to learn their return on investment isn't as high as initially promised.

Day Trades

Folio Investing doesn't cater to day traders.

While its unlimited plan could be lucrative for active, day traders, Folio Investing's patented window trades confine day trading to two times a day.

Thus, day traders looking for a cheap alternative to placing as many trades as possible should look into other online brokerage firm options.

High Prices for Infrequent Traders

While Folio Investing used to dominate the industry with its exclusive services, today, the competition in its sector is fierce. Motif and Betterment, for example, are two companies that offer portfolio rebalancing and fractional investing. They also offer their investors a variety of securities and funds to choose from. Their pricing structures are pretty competitive too. Motif charges $9.95 per portfolio with no additional fees, while Betterment charges quarterly fees of 0.15% and 0.35%, depending on an investor's balance.

These two competitors might be better alternatives for small investors since Folio Investing fees can be pricey for infrequent traders.

Designed for Experienced Investors

Investors on Folio Investing can buy, sell, or rebalance their folios all at once, or trade stocks in the folio individually.

While this is appealing for investors who yearn for more control over their investments, investors who need more direction and assistance should probably look elsewhere to make investments.

Folio Investing's folios are too advanced in nature. While the firm provides several opportunities for investors to learn the folio method, the process can still be confusing, especially for novice investors looking for a way to dip their feet into the industry.

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The Bottom Line

Folio Investing can be ideal for investors who want more control over their investments and the ability to create and customize their own portfolios.

Ready-to-Go-Folios present an alternative for traders who still crave control but also want access to broker prepared packages. Thus, generally self-directed investors will find this brokerage firm's plan quite appealing.

Additionally, investors who trade frequently (at least three times a month) and who are looking to create portfolios larger than $25,000 will find Folio Investing's unlimited plan ideal one.

Folio Investing's online brokerage services have also been around longer than its major competitors, which means it also has the advantage of many years of experience.

However, without a mobile app, your investments can be difficult to access on-the-go. This can be challenging for all investors, but Folio Investing also has some stipulations for other potential investors. Infrequent traders with a small mutual fund (under $10,000) may find Folio Investing's unlimited plan too costly for the firm's services.

Additionally, traders and investors who are just starting out in the industry could have a difficult time navigating and using Folio Investing's services. Folio Investing gives the investor a lot of control, which may not be ideal for those who may need to be more thoroughly guided through the online investing and folio process. Therefore, other mutual fund services like Betterment or Motif could be more appropriate and less costly alternatives.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

1.6

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60 Reviews

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Steven East Northport, NY

I was with Loyal3 but after they shut down, my $21,000 worth of stocks was transferred to FolioFirst. After using them for a few months I have nothing outright bad to say. Though I will agree with others on here that their website doesn't function that good. There's more of a selection than Loyal3. This service is meant for people who like to use Direct Stock Purchase Plans. You can buy an individual stock with as little as $25. (If you purchase a batch of 10 stocks at one time the minimum is reduced to $5 a stock). The fee is $5 a month for up to 2,000 trades a month. To sum up: If you're a long term investor that wants to buy a little each month and just forget about it, this isn't that bad of a service. I have ETrade and use that for my larger stock purchases and shorter term trades. FolioFirst is for my buy a little each month and forget about it stocks.

7 years ago

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KIIRKES Salt Lake City, UT

I think other reviewers are being a little rough on this company. I've been with Folio for years, I love their window trades! For $300/year you can trade hundreds of stocks in multiple portfolios. Paper trade is available also. I have never had any problem with customer service. They don't bug me with telephone calls like my other broker, always trying to sell me something.

5 years ago

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Martin Orlando, FL

I have had an account with Folio for several years. It is relatively easy to do trades, etc. They also have a large selection of ready to go portfolios. I find that their price structure fits my needs quite well. When my kids were little, I opened custodial accounts for them. Again, easy to do.

5 years ago

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Guillermo Miami, FL

While I am creating my own folio I minimize my risk and at the same time I had been beating the market consistently year over year. For ex: one of my folios is over 30% year today.

5 years ago

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Stanislaw Stawicki Allentown, PA

Outstanding service. For an experienced investor, they provide huge value and risk reduction by allowing inexpensive diversification of portfolio option(s). I agree that novice investors need more guidance than provided on the website.

7 years ago

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James Kramper Saint Charles, MO

I have been with Folio Investments since 2002. The draw then was the low fees; $4 per trade, and at most a $60 a year fee (could be $0 if you conduct at least 4 trades per quarter). They also had a commission free plan for $299 a year. But now, those fees are high as there are many brokerages that offer $0 trades and no yearly fees. While I have never had any problems with Folio, I will likely move to another company simply because of the fees.

5 years ago

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Dissatisfied Customer Allen, TX

I accepted a TMobile Tuesday offer of one share of TMobile in 2017. In 2018, the holding brokerage company went out of business and the share was transferred to Folio First. I do not trade, etc. so the share just sits in there. There is a $15 annual fee. On Nov 1, there was a "sale" for $30, so I enquired about it. The reply detailed the whole history, stated several times that they have sent every required email since 2017, and then said that last month they sent (in the monthly email - not as a separate notice) a message that the two years of $15 fees that are charged for them to provide the required tax statements, notices, etc, had to be settled, and with no payment from me, it would be taken out of my share. So the $30 fee was taken out of my share. Nice CYA, Folio First. Sneaky. I originally left my share with them because I wanted to keep it, and not sell. Now the fees have reduced it by half, and I will be looking for somewhere else to hold it. Very unhappy with the fee, and the response.

5 years ago

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Chris Exton, PA

The most pathetic, scam artist, thiefs in brokerage. My ONE share of free Tmobile stock transferred here. I was keeping hold of it long term as that was part of the deal. Unfortunately as of January 2018 they stated we have to start paying $15 a year to keep access. On ONE SHARE OF STOCK. The only way to avoid it is to cancel the account. HOWEVER to cancel the account and not pay the $15... I have to transfer everything out. Problem there is they want ot charge $100!!! to go to another broker or $30!!! just to give me money from sales. This company needs put out of business. THE WORST SCAM I HAVE EVER SEEN. I am actually really really upset with TMOBILE now after this situation.

6 years ago

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Sara Crusade WA

I was forced into Folio when Buy & Hold closed Freedom Investments. I've received no paper notification, fee structure, or plan info. Apparently they sent one email to my yahoo which I never saw. Contacted Folio today when I realized I've lost $200 of my $300 investment due to fees I didn't know I was paying because I wasn't making trades. I was told only "old people" can get paper documents, but they have to pay a fee; the expectation is anyone under 90 is tech savvy. Tech savvy or not, I'm a Boomer; I expect proper notification of changes in hard copy. Very unhappy that 2/3 of my investment has disappeared to fees I didn't know about. Wasn't a fortune, but it was my only stock investment to date.

7 years ago

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Tia Houston, TX

FolioFirst ended up with my reward share of T-Mobile after the original company went out of business. FolioFirst is predatory; I've been trying to get my stock from them for 3 years, and now they are absorbing it all by ridiculous fees. They refuse to let me update my bank account information, instead ignoring my queries and charging more fees. Stay away from the lying thieves of FolioFirst!

4 years ago

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James Moore Goodyear, AZ

FolioFirst's account management practices set it up to drain small investors' accounts and nibble away at larger investors' profits. Outrageous monthly account fees, regardless of whether or not there has been any account activity, are the mechanism they use to do it. If one does not constantly monitor account status online, you would not notice that they are deducting unearned fees. Their fees are higher than most major brokers. I don't understand how they stay in business. Move your assets before they get caught at some nefarious activity and closed down!

4 years ago

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Robert Kennedy Springfield, OH

I gave them 100,000.00 to invest on trial basis to see how they did. I was planning on giving them a million dollars. Thank goodness I didn't. It sat in there account for 2 months and they did nothing. I tried to with draw my money and invest elsewhere and that has taken 2 weeks and still no check. Time is money maybe someone from this company has never heard of that. As the stock market is creating record highs they just let my money set there.

5 years ago

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Hai Ling Chu Las Vegas, NV

I've been pretty annoyed with Folio First. If you are a regular investor that doesn't like high volume trade STAY FAR AWAY. Their hold times are insane and the cost to transfer out stocks is disproportionately expensive compared to any other stock company I've dealt with. Moreover, the customer service is absolutely terrible. The front line operators are very nice but they have no discretion and anything close to closing an account is made as painful and protracted as possible. I'll stick with Charles Schwab.

5 years ago

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KJS - New York

If you like to pay a fee and have your investments slowly dwindle while Folio misses the boat that is halfway to a return, you've come to the right place. Basically no matter how you try to work out a decent strategy, Folio will not make it work. If you know nothing about investing, and strictly put your money in a conservative Vanguard Wellington Fund, you'll do well....at least better than FolioClient.

5 years ago

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CJ Bellevue, WA

Folio First is a niche investment company that steals your personal information and proceeds to liqudate your cash balance each month. I was forced into using their services from a small amount of TMobile stock that I was granted. A FolioFirst supervisor told me I was an idiot for not reading the fine print (great customer service). I guess my dealings with Vanguard, Schwab, Dodge and Cox didn't help me realize I would have my cash stolen when zero services were received from this company. Don't hand over any money to these online con-artists!

5 years ago

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Matt Meldrum Denver, CO

Absolute worst customer service! Would recommend any other investment company before this one. I was being charge $5 management fees for over 8 months with no emails (any form of communication) for my account that was valued at $125. This account was transferred from Loyal3. I called their customer service to see what they could do for me and was told there is nothing that could be done and that ample communication was provided.

6 years ago

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Firs Lars Leesburg, VA

I had my only T-Mobile stock transferred to them. They charge $5 per month, transfers can only be scheduled on working days, bank account information cannot be deleted or changed. Closing the account is a major effort. Stay away from them. Use brokerage services that has no monthly fees. In times of potential falling stock prices it is particular important that you are not paying monthly fees for trades you do not make.

6 years ago

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JIN Hagerstown, MD

A SCAM OF INVESTMENT COMPANY, ANYWAY YOU DO IT YOU WILL BE CHARGED A FEE. FIRST THEY SAY IF YOU CASH OUT BEFORE 2/1/18 YOU WON'T BE CHARGED MONTHLY FEE $5, HOWEVER, IF YOU DO BUY OR SELL THEN YOU WILL BE CHARGED $5 THEN IF YOU CHOOSE TO TRANSFER TO YOUR OWN BROKER THAT WOULD BE $100 FEE, FUCKING RIDICULOUS THAT T-MOBILE LET THEM HAVE LOYAL3 CUSTOMERS. BASICALLY ANYWAY YOU DEAL WITH THEM YOU WILL GET CHARGED $5 FOR BUYING OR SELLING OR NOT DOING ANYTHING.

6 years ago

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Cris Trautner Lincoln, NE

The good: interface and dashboard. The bad: customer service (by email) is slow, $5 fee per month just to hold the account, $100 fee to move account to another brokerage (will not waive it). For a micro investor, it's a poor choice. Am moving to a different brokerage with no fees—long term, it's worth the $100 to do so.

6 years ago

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joy delong Minneapolis, MN

This company is pathetic. I started with an investment company through my bank and got sold to this company. Have tried to close my account for over 11 months, always faxing documentation to them always on hold for 20-40 minutes and keep getting case numbers which means more crap to send. Meanwhile of course the monthly fees are still deducted.

7 years ago

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kevin Tampa, FL

Complete rip-off. Got transferred here from Loyal3, like others did. They charge $5 per month and won't credit a damn thing to you. They also charged $25 for partial transfers out of the account. Good luck calling in around 9 am. Their wait times exceeded 30 minutes in some cases. If you are the buy-and-hold type, this is NOT the company for you. In fact, withdraw your money and put it under a mattress.

7 years ago

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Anshul TX

Terrible customer service. Front line CS folks are not empowered. They seem to be intake people who take down your concern and create a case. There is no clear ETA. I am usually going back and forth several times to get a simple answer, which in other places would need a quick phone call. All this, with pricing similar to or higher than the big brokers. I am pulling my money out.

7 years ago

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Paul Zimmerman

Terrible brokerage firm, stay far away. I ended up with a Foliofirst account only because Loyal3 shut down, absolutely did not want to be associated with this firm. Thanks to that, I got hit with a $100 transfer fee to move assets to a good broker that doesn't have a constantly breaking down website like these clowns do. This is pure robbery. Do not put your money with these clowns.

7 years ago

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Youcan Trustme Cypress, TX

Loyal3 closed their company and sold my account to Folio Investing (FolioFirst) despite my instructing them to send my stocks to my broker. After much complaining FolioFirst finally sent most of my stocks to my broker and sold the fractional shares without my permission (taking into no regard how this will affect my finances and accounting (i.e. taxes)). Shady companies. Do not do business with them!

7 years ago

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Jeremy Fort Walton Beach, FL

The platform is not user friendly. It provides no real time updates. Trades are not executed right away. The customer service is slow. The app doesn't work. The only good thing might have been the fractional shares, but that's highly over shadowed by the trash that they call an investment portfolio. Do not pay for this. Do not use.

4 years ago

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joshua Arlington, MA

Folio Investing / Folio First is horrible. I had some stock just sitting there over a couple of a years and their monthly fees a ridiculous as well as a $100 charge to move out of the fund is disgusting and horrible business.

4 years ago

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Stephen Pattison Niceville, FL

I ended up with Folio after BuyandHold.com closed and moved everything to Folio. Bad deal. Folio thinks your money is there's. There is delated customer service at best. Expensive to get out of. I liked BuyandHold.com but sticking us with Folio is crap. Go somewhere else.

4 years ago

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Brian Spokane, WA

They will not provide tax documents without a fee. The website does not allow me to download the tax documents, and they want to charge me $12.50 to send me my tax documents. I'm reporting them to the IRS. What a shameful company...even if they weren't obligated to provide tax documents, this kind of treatment of customers is 100% unacceptable!

4 years ago

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Mike Los Angeles, CA

Folio deserves "zero" stars. Folio indiscriminately partners with a slough of "Robo Advisors." As Custodian, Folio tacks on account fees. Do yourself a favor- stay away from Robo Advisors, and stay away from Folio Investing. Choose a large, reputable, full services firm like Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard for your investment needs.

5 years ago

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Nicholas Brighton, MI

This is a pretty sorry excuse for a brokerage account. Minimum monthly maintenance fee adding up to $60 minimum annually to simply hold any stock. No customer service online, only daytime trades... there are far better options out there.

5 years ago

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Mitch Orlando, FL

Expensive. They will gain more money than you investment unless you are some one who regularly trades you are forced to do something and invest monthly or you pay a fee which if you do bad a few months, it's like gambling the house always wins.

6 years ago

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Llewellyn Colton, CA

The best platform to be on if your a real Stockbroker. Anyone should be honored to be with FolioFirst.

6 years ago

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Andrew Dallas, OR

Don't give your money to this sham of a company. $5 a month "management" fee even if your stocks are just sitting there. $100 undisclosed fee to transfer out to a different brokerage. There aren't enough 4 letter words to cover how I feel about this company.

6 years ago

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John Beverly Hills, CA

Like other clients of Foliofirst, I joined after Loyal3 shut down. Customer service at Foliofirst is terrible. Their fees are ridiculous. They're effectively just liquidating the accounts by quasi-legal means. Definitely do not open an account here unless you are forced to like other customers.

6 years ago

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Matthew New York, NY

Agree with the majority of the reviews on here. Wish I went here first before signing up. This company is a scam. I've spent countless hours and phone calls just trying to get my money out of the account, and they continue to make things up and avoid doing so. It has gotten extremely repetitive and tiring.

6 years ago

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G Snyder Durham, NC

Was forced to Folio after they bought Buy and Hold. My main concern is the limited availability of stocks to invest in. Had to open an account at TD-Amer to find my target companies. Use at your own risk.

7 years ago

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Somesh Maheshwari San Diego, CA

Does not even allow basic investment features like limit orders. Got transferred from Loyal3 and now struck as no other order than buying at market works (window trading) and transferring to any other platform costs $100. What a ripoff !

7 years ago

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thesultan Castle Rock, CO

Avoid these guys. I got switched to them after they bought Buyandhold. They raised their fees and reduced their service. If you actually want to talk to a person, be prepared to wait very long periods. I just gave up after 10 minutes on hold.

7 years ago

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James Ellis Mobile, AL

Folio investing sold my stock without my knowledge. Do not use this company. I had four stocks in the account . I wanted to transfer the good stock and sell the three bad stocks. I emailed the broker and spoke with her personally. Told her to sell the three bad and keep the good one. She did the opposite!!!!

7 years ago

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Jesus IsLord Temple, TX

They sold my stock locked me out of my account and now have no record of my account. Had to go through old email and track down records what a pain the the ***. Hope these crooks get what they deserve soon.

4 years ago

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tgray7232 Portland, OR

Had an account elsewhere that transferred here. Was charged $15 for the Fees - Administrative. I sold the stock I had and was charged $5 a month for my money just sitting there. Glad someone made money; just was not me

6 years ago

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Angela Albuquerque, NM

I, too, had an account transferred over from Loyal3. $85 account value. Was charged $15 as an "annual fee" - surprise! Customer service was bad, and closing the account was an ORDEAL.

6 years ago

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Ryan Cottle Alexandria, IN

They are crooks! I didn't choose them they took over the company i was with.. Started charging Monthly fee's. Then charged $100 when i tried to move my stocks to another company. STAY AWAY FAR AWAY!

6 years ago

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Elona Brown Sterling Heights, MI

Misleading company with ridiculous fees. Bad customer service. They do not have the courtesy and professionalism to be transparent and honest with their clients.

6 years ago

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Brandon Sanderlin McDonough, GA

100$ transfer fee on a 500$ security??? Give me a break... I didn't even invest with Folio. My original firm got bought by Folio now my security is stuck there unless in take a big hit on it.

7 years ago

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Melissa J Cathcart Minneapolis, MN

Charged $100 fee to transfer stocks to another company, in kind. Nowhere on the reviews do I find this fee mentioned. Seems exorbitant and punitive, especially for a company marketing itself as a low-fee alternative--pah!

7 years ago

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John Feole Alachua, FL

Worst experience with any broker I have ever had. Transferred my account to another broker after several failed attempts to resolve my issues. Then they charge me 100 dollars to take my money. Rip off

7 years ago

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Mark Arlington, TX

Customer service is atrocious. Fees are atrocious. Website is atrocious. Do Not Use these guys under any circumstances!!! worst experience I have ever had with a broker.

6 years ago

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Hilton Hercules, CA

If you want to make any return on investment, go somewhere else. Folio will take all your profit anyway they can. They Annual fee on top of a monthly fee.

6 years ago

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Michael Highwood, IL

This company is a scam artist. They trasfered ownership from another company and started charging me a $5 fee to keep my account active and wanted $100 to transfer my stocks.

7 years ago