M1 Finance Review

While some people prefer to be active with their investing on a daily basis, for the majority of people, investing is done passively.


Whether they handle the investing themselves, or they rely on the help of a brokerage or investment house, when it comes to financial portfolios, most people abide by the “set it and forget it” mentality.

M1 Finance combines the complexities and the strategy of a more hands-on approach, with the ability to passively invest.

Keep reading this M1 Finance review to learn more about Mi finance and decide if they are right for you and your investing strategy.

What Is M1 Finance?

M1 Finance is part brokerage part robo-advisory firm. The company was founded in 2015 in Chicago by Brian Barnes and offers its clients a low-cost investing platform.

Clients can set their ideal portfolio or they can rely on one of M1’s prebuilt portfolios for the ultimate “set it and forget it” investment strategy.

M1 Finance also offers convenient banking services with M1 Spend as well as the ability to borrow against your investment with M1 Borrow.

How Does M1 Finance Work?

M1 Finance differs from other robo-investing companies in that while they manage your ongoing investment flow, they allow you to call the shots when it comes to the way your overall portfolio is managed and, more importantly, how your money is invested.

This makes M1 Finance ideal not only for the beginner investor who is looking for more guidance but also for the experienced investor who prefers to be a little more hands-off while still having the final say.

M1 provides investment portfolio templates that they call “Pies.” You can either invest your money in one of these prebuilt “Pies” or you can take one of the “Pies” and customize it to your liking.

Once the “Pie” is ready to go, M1 Finance will automatically manage your account by maintaining your allocations through rebalancing while also allocating your new contributions.

What Is M1 Finance’s Fee Structure?

M1 Finance does not charge any sort of monthly fee for its Invest, Spend, and Borrow accounts. Even better, they don’t take a commission when it comes to trading any of their supported investments.

M1 Plus, which is M1 Finance’s premium version of their Spend account will run you $125 a year. However, for all first-time members, M1 Plus is free for the first three months.

There are some miscellaneous and standard trade fees associated with M1 Finance as well. M1 Finance charges an inactivity fee of $20 for anyone who has not logged into their account for at least 90 days. They also charge a $25 fee for wire transfers.

By law, all trades come with SEC and TAF regulatory fees but those fees are not unique to M1 Finance.

What Types of Accounts Does M1 Finance Offer?

M1 Finance offers its clients a variety of different accounts to choose from including:
● Individual accounts
● Joint accounts
● Trust accounts
IRAs (Roth, Traditional, and SEP)
● Custodial accounts (available to M1 Plus users only)

For most accounts, the minimum amount required to open the account is $100. There is a $500 minimum requirement for all IRA accounts.

Does M1 Finance Offer Crypto Investing?

Earlier this year it was announced that M1 Finance will begin offering Crypto Investing. Their Crypto investing accounts will offer crypto-specific “Pies” as well as allow investors to include crypto investments in their non-crypto-specific “Pies”.

M1 Finance will be working with Apex Crypto who will be the custodian that securely holds all crypto investments.

Is M1 Finance Safe?

While there is risk involved in any kind of investing, you can feel confident knowing that M1 Financial is completely safe and your money is insured.

Given an A- rating by the Better Business Bureau, M1 Financial is a registered broker with FINRA and a member of the SIPC. What that means is your account comes with $500,000 in SIPC insurance for your investments. Additionally, all cash in your M1 Spend account up to $250,000 is 100% FDIC insured.

With M1 Finance, your money isn’t the only thing that is protected, you're identity and personal information is protected as well. M1 Finance uses a military-grade 4096-bit encryption program and offers two-factor authentication for account logins.

Want To Give M1 Finance A Try After Reading This M1 Finance Review?

Whether you are someone who just wants to put your money into an investment account without having to think about anything, or you are someone that likes to have a little more of a hands-on approach, M1 Finance has the investment portfolio for you.

For more information on M1 Finance, or to get started using their investment platform today, visit their website by clicking here.

Samedi 15 Octobre 2022


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