What are /r/acorns' favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

The ATM must be part of the Allpoint network. They do not reimburse fees from outside that network. https://www.acorns.com/support/spend/where-can-i-find-an-allpoint-atm--how-can-i-make-sure-i-m-using-an-allpoint-atm-/

Roth IRA is better if you think you will be in a higher tax bracket by the time you withdraw. I’d look at this if you plan on changing.

https://www.acorns.com/esg-investing/

Aggressive is: ESGU, SUSA, ESML, ESGD, and ESGE.

And just by looking at their top holdings, you can tell they’re not really all that environmentally friendly

Yes you can withdraw the money from your account (which sells your shares). To learn more about how long it takes to withdraw money, check out our FAQ.

Tangentially related, but also personal finance type advice: don't get a diamond.

They're excessively expensive but have very little intrinsic value.

If diamond is the look you're going for, highly recommend moissanite. In fact, they're usually more brilliant than diamonds. Much cheaper.

If you're looking for something colored, like sapphire -- definitely go with lab grown. You'll save money and wont be contributing to third-world mining atrocities (regardless of what the jeweler claims about the source of their stones)

Its a checking acct. linked to an actual bank so it's FDIC insured. You get an account and routing number, can use any ATM as you get reimbursed any fees but there are no physical locations you can go to. It's not free and is $3 a month.

I don't know what that is, so I can't answer that question. The Android app requires a pin though if that helps.

Yes, Acorns is like a savings account; however, it has much better interest rates over the long term.

Acorns uses bank level encryption, so it's as likely to get hacked as your bank. See also: https://www.acorns.com/security

I doubt Acorns will ever accept bitcoin. They deal with cash investments. I could be wrong, but I see it as highly unlikely.

Just FYI, because this immediately came to mind from reading your post.

> We do not recommend frequent changing of portfolios, or attempting to time the market, as this can potentially result in reduced performance and/or adverse tax consequences.

https://www.acorns.com/support/

With that being said, I am of the opinion that I cannot predict market downswings, so I'm not going to bother protecting against them. However, when the market is down, I take it upon myself to invest extra amounts into my account to capitalize on the inevitable turnaround.

https://www.acorns.com/money-basics/retirement/early-withdrawal-from-ira/

“you can access your contributions anytime without penalty. However, if you tap any investment earnings (aka the market returns your invested money has generated) before you’re 59 ½—or before you’ve had your account open for at least five years—you’ll owe income tax, plus the 10-percent penalty.”

It usually takes about three to four weeks. This is an excerpt from their terms and conditions.

"While it is intended that contributions to your Acorns account be completed within 60 business days from the applicable completed Stay, delays may occur and neither Acorns nor Airbnb will be liable in connection with any such delay. To the extent an Acorns customer believes that he or she is entitled to a reward that has not been contributed to such customer’s Acorns account, such customer must notify Acorns within 60 days from the applicable transaction date by either sending an e-mail to or completing and submitting a support request at https://www.acorns.com/support/contact. "

Hope this helps.

Wait, you think your own personal performance is proof of the stock market being "worse" despite average closing price being nearly 8,000 points higher than at any point during the Trump administration? Wow, I knew this subreddit was for newbies but I didn't realize just how uneducated the average poster is.... Pick up a copy of "the intelligent investor" and read it cover to cover. It will give you a good basic understanding of the the stock market and economy and how they interact. You seem to not even be aware that they're basically unrelated at this point, as you seem to be using them interchangeably. You really need to understand the basics before you try to have an intelligent conversation or make claims based on political speculation. For example you said I said "Biden’s economy is better than Trumps" which I never did. I said the stock market is better, which is unarguably true if you look at average closing prices, P/E ratios, RSIs, OBVs, etc.

>As to your accusations of me being another person,frankly, have no idea what you’re talking about

Glad to hear it. There was this guy /u/allgreentome that was such a loser and just constantly made a fool of himself because he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He used to be all condescending despite being like, a 40-50 restaurant manager at an airport lol. He used to try to lecture people on finances and the market but didn't even know the difference between a 401k and IRA. He was the worst kind of idiot: one that was so completely devoid of self-awareness he didn't realize what a loser he was. He used to make these "humblebrag" posts about having 10-20K in a taxable account in his 40's, if you can believe it. Like... congrats on being hundreds of thousands of dollars behind where you should be... we're all so impressed lol.

I hope this isn't considered spam but I always plug "the little book of common sense investing" on this sub. It's a great reminder to stay the course during times like this.

Remember, you all lived through the largest drop in stock market history in March 16, 2020. You witnessed the biggest drop in human history and saw the market recover. It'll drop again, and it'll recover again. And if it doesn't... well, you'll have much bigger things to worry about than your investment accounts lol.

To put it in perspective for you... two years and two months ago you lived through the largest loss in the U.S. stock market in American History. Yet you decided to continue(or start) to invest. If you continue to make regular investments and don't let yourself be swayed by speculators for the next few decades you will come out on top. You've lived through the worst, and you will live through the next "worst loss in history" at some point.

The current market is probably very scary to young/inexperienced investors. Obama started a bull market that we've been riding for over a decade, the longest in American History. It's a matter of when not if it will turn bearish.

​

To prepare yourself for the, seemingly now permanent, volatility that was established in the market over the past 5 years do yourself a favor and read "the five pillars of wisdom" and get a copy of "The little book of common sense investing" from your local library. It'll put your mind at ease. I promise.

I hate to see speculating, especially political speculating, encouraged on a subreddit like this.

Message to all the newbies out there. Speculating is a loser's game and anyone trying to influence you, or convince you to alter your investing plan, based on politics is a certified dummy. I encourage you to learn the difference between investing and speculating. John Bogle's "Clash of the Cultures: Investing vs. speculating" is a great place to start your education. It'll save you heaps of cash and heartbreak over the long term.

I mean if you're really that curious.... you could just read the sweepstake rules which say:

>14. WINNER LIST: For a winner list, interested individuals should mail a self-addressed stamped business envelope to: Winner List, - Acorns Path to $1,000,000 Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 251328, West Bloomfield, MI 48325. Winner List requests must be received no later than March 13, 2022.

I'm not sure if you're implying Acorns lied about the contest? Because most states have pretty strong rules around sweepstakes to prevent that from happening, which is thy they've got lengthy official rules and typically have an external, independent company running the contest.

> Dividends are typically less than 0.5% a year.

I have the Aggressive portfolio and it yields about 2%.

With this allocation, I could expect to need around $1.5M to collect $30k in dividends, assuming zero market fluctuation.

0.5% is pretty damned low to be honest. Which of their portfolios is yielding that little?

Edit -- Here's the math on portfolio size for $x/year income:

$x ÷ expected annual yield = Portfolio size

$30,000 ÷ 2.00% = $1,500,000.00

..

Obviously if you can work out a higher yield by choosing higher yielding assets, the required portfolio size decreases.

$30,000 ÷ 4% = $750,000
$30,000 ÷ 6% = $500,000

Although, I suspect that if you truly needed to live off your dividends, you might not trust the consistency or legitimacy of some of the higher yielding assets. Some of them are simply too good to be true.

I don't see why not. That's totally up to you and your situation.

Roth IRA means you are depositing the money now(taxed on it now come tax time), and when you retire you'll be able to use that money tax free. Then any gains you have in that account when you withdraw them down the road, are tax free as well. Compare that to the regular invest account, you would be taxed on the capital gains you make.

Note that there are caps on what you can deposit to an IRA, and penalties for withdrawing early before retirement(depending on what you withdraw versus what you have contributed).

See this page for a breakdown of what a Roth IRA means and the different aspects of it, and see if it works for you.

https://www.acorns.com/money-basics/investing/what-is-a-roth-ira-/

I don't know if the IRA account you can link your credit cards, and your bank accounts, to have roundups like the invest account, someone else would have to answer that question. My theory is having just a regular invest account, is a step in the right direction compared to having nothing at all. Perhaps you can noodle on this and it might be a good decision to do so, but for now keep putting extra money into your invest account. Hope this helps a little, I'm sure others will chime in and be of more help(I'm still fairly new to the investing world).

I believe same rules apply to regular IRA. These two links might explain it a bit better as there may be some exceptions to veteran income (I don't think regular disability income is allowed.

https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/content/can-you-contribute-to-an-ira-if-you-don-t-have-a-job

https://finance.zacks.com/collect-disability-contribute-ira-10876.html

You can send it back to them in a secure envelope--but make sure you deactivate your card first to:

Acorns
Attn: Card Department
5300 California Ave.
Irvine, CA 92617

(Source)

Acorns is also a member SIPC, which insures your investment accounts up to $500,000. This is in addition to the $250,000 of FDIC insurance for the checking account if you have Acorns Spend.

https://www.acorns.com/support/investments-and-withdrawals/is-my-money-protected-/

I just looked it up because I was also curious. You can multiply your Round-Ups 2x, 3x, or 9x. Here's more info.

Oh, and Round-Ups are the "spare change" from the purchases you make using your linked card. So if I bought something for $10.40, it would round up to the dollar and invest the $.60. With a 2x multiplier, Acorns would invest $.60 x 2, so $1.80.

I just set mine to a 3x multiplier. To the moon! (Do we say that on this forum?)

There’s a ratio breakdown on the actual website https://www.acorns.com/esg-investing/ of all the portfolios for both core and ESG. Kind of annoying it’s not readily available within the app to compare.

Depending on which state you live in . Different states have different tax implications. Highest tax for long term gains is 20% I believe. acorns

I would reach out to Acorns for help on this, but - without knowing the full details of your situation - if you did not withdraw and did not change your portfolio selection, you may have been subject to an automatic rebalance: >We also periodically review, typically on a quarterly basis, and rebalance your portfolio whenever the percentage holding of one or more ETFs fluctuates 5% above or below its target allocation. We sell overrepresented ETFs and use the proceeds to buy underrepresented ETFs to bring your portfolio towards its target allocation.

https://www.acorns.com/how-does-acorns-rebalance-my-portfolio/

I can assure you the promos are not rigged. I have been able to receive over 2k just from referrals in the past few months. Have you checked out the terms and conditions for the offer? If you feel like you have absolutely met these conditions then I would suggest reaching back out to Acorns and escalating.

https://www.acorns.com/ref-terms/

As far as I can tell when they are able to sell it. Typically if you request withdrawal before 2PM Eastern Acorns should be able to sell off your requested amount that day at the market price. If later than 2PM Eastern, than Acorns should sell off your requested amount at the market opening the next day at the market price.

https://www.acorns.com/support/investments-and-withdrawals/how-do-i-withdraw-funds-from-my-acorns-account-/

$100 a month at $1,000,000; $200 a month at $2,000,000; etc. if you have don't have a spend account.

$105, $205.. etc if you do.

" if your Combined Monthly Balance on the Fee Date is $1,000,000 or more and you do not have an Acorns Spending Account, $100 per $1,000,000 of Combined Monthly Balance on the Fee Date (for the avoidance of doubt, the Subscription Fee in that scenario will be one hundredth of one percent (.01%) of the number obtained by rounding your Combined Monthly Balance down to the nearest whole multiple of $1,000,000); and

if your Combined Monthly Balance on the Fee Date is $1,000,000 or more and you have an Acorns Early Account, Acorns Spending Account, $100 per $1,000,000 of Combined Monthly Balance on the Fee Date (for the avoidance of doubt, the Subscription Fee in that scenario will be one hundredth of one percent (.01%) of the number obtained by rounding your Combined Monthly Balance down to the nearest whole multiple of $1,000,000) plus $5."

Program Agreement | Acorns

Why do you say that switching to .edu will remove the monthly fee? That hasn't been true for like two years now. I'm generally curious where this old information gets dug up from.

The fee is $1 per month until $1M ($12 per year). So obviously the more you have saved, the lower the fee is as a percentage. At ~$5000 the fee is now 0.25% ($4800/$12). Above that is where Acorns becomes cheaper than many other robo-advisors because many of them are charging 0.25%.

The fees/pricing is very clearly laid out at https://www.acorns.com/pricing/

If you want to match what acorns does here's what the invest in https://www.acorns.com/support/investments-and-withdrawals/where-is-my-money-invested-/

Personally the mixes they use are not that impressive to me. If your unsure pick the major index one, two or three fund portfolio.

You can backrest a portfolio mix with portfoliovisulizer.com.

My main mix for my Roth now is VUG, MTUM, QQQ and VTI all equally invested never rebalanced. Do your own work you have to be comfortable with your choices and outcomes.

Hi there,

We apologize for any confusion or worry. Acorns and Say are partners! As stated, Say ("Say Technologies") is just notifying Acorns investors that they have investor documents available. When you invest with Acorns, you own a group of different ETFs from companies like BlackRock and Vanguard. Say makes sure that you have access to documents about those investments when they are available.

If we cannot reach you over email, we try to reach you by postal mail. If you have any questions or suggestions on how we can improve, you can always reach out to [email protected]. If you have any questions about your Acorns account, you can search https://www.acorns.com/support/.

Say is aiming to make the investor experience better, clearer, and safer. We will keep improving this for all investors. Hope this helps!

​

Say

You can see the list of ETFs that Acorns uses here: ETFs

And you can see the portfolios here: Portfolios

If you google those etfs and div yield, and then multiply by the portfolio % of each, then add them together, you can calculate the approximate total % dive yield of the overall portfolio.

It’s more math than I want to do on a Friday but that’s how you get the scientific answer :)

Read more about the portfolios here. You only choose how risky to be. And Acorns doesn’t really choose the actual stocks either, they just choose the ratios. Like 40% Large Company Stocks means they will invest 40% of your deposits into an ETF called VOO, which contains little pieces of the 500 largest companies.

It’s based on a theory called Passive Investing which buys cheap, low risk index funds.

https://www.acorns.com/invest/

I’m a big fan of the recurring investments, roundups, and found money. Full disclosure though - the main reason I use Acorns is because I work for a large investment firm that requires my trades to be precleared, but since Acorns puts the money in broad ETFs and the user cannot select specific stocks, no filings are needed for this type of account (i only need to disclose that it exists).

Good place to start if you want more general info:

https://www.acorns.com/support/how-does-acorns-work/

Since you are a new dude in the investment world, you need to read and understand what you are getting yourself into. Below is a link that will help you start your journey. Google acorns later, and you will be surprised how much you can learn by clicking on all those links.

Good luck to you out there.

https://www.acorns.com/support/acorns-later/

Looks like this changed for 2019 but is still quoted incorrectly in various places.

As of 2020 page:

“What about Acorns accounts of at least $5,000?

Prior to our April 2018 pricing change, Acorns customers with a balance of at least $5,000 paid .25% per year. With the new pricing, all Acorns Invest customers will pay $1 per month, and all Acorns Later customers will pay $2 per month for Acorns Invest and Acorns Later, until they have $1 million invested with us. For more information, visit our pricing page or our detailed Program Agreement.”acorns over 5k

Looks like this changed for 2019 but is still quoted incorrectly in various places.

As of 2019:

“What about Acorns accounts of at least $5,000?

Prior to our April 2018 pricing change, Acorns customers with a balance of at least $5,000 paid .25% per year. With the new pricing, all Acorns Invest customers will pay $1 per month, and all Acorns Later customers will pay $2 per month for Acorns Invest and Acorns Later, until they have $1 million invested with us. For more information, visit our pricing page or our detailed Program Agreement.”acorns over 5k

https://www.acorns.com/support/pricing/what-is-the-acorns-pricing-structure-/

Just incase someone else reads this and is mislead by your information. It is never 0.25% now.

When your portfolio is valued at $1,000,000, it is then $100 per month per million.

Acorns actually changed that amount a few months ago. It is now $1/month until you have $1 million invested. And then $100/month for every $1 million you invest.

https://www.acorns.com/support/pricing/what-is-the-acorns-pricing-structure-/

The least amount you can invest is $0 weekly, but if you start an account, it will begin to grow for you. I opened an IRA when I started college, added my life savings at that point, which wasn't much, and when I left college, having added very little to it, it had doubled.

That of course depends on which funds you pick and the state of the stock market and lots of factors beyond your control, but if you open the account, and add a little whenever you can, and don't freak out and pull the money when there is a dip in the market, but see it through long term, you're very likely to make something at least. And that's more than what you would have had.

Here's my acorns link, I'd really appreciate the love if you decide to open an account: https://www.acorns.com/invite/RHJLVU

Good luck to you!

Here's my link, I'd really appreciate the love:

https://www.acorns.com/invite/RHJLVU

My account just hit $400! (It's a slow growing thing, but I'm working on it!)

I stand corrected! Sorry. You are indeed correct and I was wrong. One of the links I read awhile back misinformed me. Finally found the right info on the Acorns site. https://www.acorns.com/invest/ .. I have no idea why https://www.moneyunder30.com/acorns-review says differently.

This is good news because I had been toying with the idea of moving away from Acorns because of this. Now I don't have to! Sorry again. :)

Acorns basically just invests your portfolio in a couple of Vanguard ETFs. The allocation percentages (bonds, reits, domestic, international) is what varies between each. I don't think it's actively managed.

Portfolio breakdowns here: https://www.acorns.com/invest/

Acorns basically just invests your portfolio in a couple of Vanguard ETFs. The allocation percentages (bonds, reits, domestic, international) is what varies between each. I don't think it's actively managed.

Portfolio breakdowns here: https://www.acorns.com/invest/

Should I shift to conservative for now?

It depends. If you are still in for the long run, keep it aggressive. If you are happy with what you have accumulated so far, you could change to conservative.

Will that affect me in term of tax filing?

Most likely, yes

https://www.acorns.com/how-does-acorns-rebalance-my-portfolio/

I believe that when you change portfolio, Acorns sells all your shares and buys new ones. So at that time if you have realized any gain, you will pay taxes on it.

I have a good portion of my savings in Acorns, and essentially I treat it like a high-yield savings. I'm more conservative of a portfolio though. You always have to consider the possibility of losing a percentage, but I've only gained and over time, and it's always enough to beat inflation.

​

One thing to consider is how you put the money into your account. There are several strategies for adding money to Acorns (or the stock market in general). What you're considering is lump-sum investing. That can be a little risky, because you might happen to drop it in at a high point and lose out right at the start.

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https://www.acorns.com/money-basics/investing/what-is-dollar-cost-averaging/

I would take a look at this article and consider some of the other ways to ease your money into the account with minimal risk to yourself. Of course, it's all up to you in the end.

I get what you’re coming from. I think your risk is fairly low. Taking care of your money is literally the most important thing for them to do. It’s a PR thing as well.

https://www.acorns.com/support/is-the-acorns-app-safe/

Here is the Acorns support regarding taxes. This should help some, https://www.acorns.com/support/taxes/

It definitely wasn't bad, but I do not remember the exact amounts. Generally speaking, you're taxed on the gains, dividends and "found" money. If you lost money, then you can claim the losses on your taxes when you file.

Acorns has a perk called Found Money where you use their referral link to complete offers or shop at sites like Walmart. They pass along some of their affiliate commission earnings to you by directly depositing some funds into your Acorns account.

https://www.acorns.com/earn/foundmoney/

“Acorns Securities is a Member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which means all of our customers' investments are protected up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash).”

From here.

Hey OP, this app is extremely safe with top notch security.

Here is the link to their website on the details.

https://www.acorns.com/support/is-the-acorns-app-safe/

In my personal experience, it is extremely safe and the customer support seem to be very kind and smart. I've had to contact them on multiple occasions and never had any issues.

https://www.acorns.com/support/spend/

Acorns Spend costs $3 and includes Core and Later, no way around that. Aside from that, Spend has no fees. No overdraft fee, no minimum balance requirements, no ATM fees (if you do use an ATM that charges a fee Acorns will reimburse you).

The other big sticking point I can see for a lot of people is that Spend cannot be a joint account. So if you and your spouse currently have a joint checking and you want to move to only using Spend, you will each need your own account. A number of my friends already keep their accounts separate, so maybe it's not an issue for most, but to me having separate accounts seems very strange. My parents always had joint accounts.

Im not sure I quite understand your question. However, no matter what brokerages, etc you use the tax structure will be the same. Knowing you're a student coming out of High School, you likely quit even make it through your individual tax credit (you should Google that) and will likely even receive a tax refund depending on your situation.

You will get a 1099 that you submit in a similar fashion to a W-2 if you've ever been employed. You likely had to fill out a W-2 if you have ever had any hourly job.

Acorns specifically has a great FAQ https://www.acorns.com/support/taxes/

Again, Keep learning. Keep it simple.

Really, you should report everything. But it wouldnt have the IRS coming after you for pennies. It should be easy, you'll be emailed your 1099 form. More info here https://www.acorns.com/support/taxes/will-i-be-provided-with-the-proper-tax-forms/

This actually happens to me all the freakin' time. I've had the same email address since 2004 but someone out there cannot figure out that they keep giving out my email as their own. I get credit card statements and responses to job applications and things from doctor, they even used my email address to sign up for ticketmaster complete with me getting emailed their tickets. I've also gotten their flight itinerary from the airlines before. I've pretty much given up on "fixing" it because no one in these businesses seem to be able to find the account and if they can they don't know what email to put in so they just do nothing. Now when I get the email I either mark it as spam or if it's a service I might want to use, like ticketmaster, I take over the account. You could reach out to support if you want to do the "right" thing, https://www.acorns.com/support/contact/

This is very false. Please do not assist people with investing if you do not have the correct "facts." Acorns recently adjusted their fees to a flat $1.00 for all accounts under one million dollars.

https://www.acorns.com/pricing/

>Acorns is a Member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). SIPC protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash). For more information on SIPC insurance or to request an explanatory brochure, please visit the www.sipc.org.

Same as any other investment bank. Source. Edit: So if they folded, your statements and their history would be enough to demonstrate what shares you owned. The holdings would likely be assigned to another organization, from which you would maintain ownership of your shares. The platform may be substantially different, though.

So they have a safe to spend feature that is constantly up to date so you always know how much cash you have. They have a goals feature that will allow you to set goals for a big purchase or maybe a big bill like auto insurance. You set the amount and due date and it will auto deposit into that goal to make sure you have the correct amount when it’s do. Also goals can be locked so no money will get pulled from them. Then they have Expenses. This will allow you to set a monthly expense like a monthly bill. You set when the bill is do and when you want to transfer money to that expense. And when the bill gets changed it pulls from that expense. They also have savings goal and it rounds up purchase like acorns. I’m sure I’m missing something but these features make managing money a lot easier. The big one for me is the safe to spend. Check them out https://www.simple.com

You should contribute as much as you can afford to your 401k before putting any money into acorns. The 401k is taken out pre-tax (so it lowers the overall amount you pay in taxes), and has an individual contribution limit of I think $19,500 this year. Acorns retirement is an IRA that has a pre-tax contribution limit of I think $5500 this year. Also, depending upon your income you may not be able to contribute to an IRA (I believe if your AGI is over $70k, you can’t contribute to one pre-tax). A regular investment account is post tax and you can contribute whatever to that.

The only reason I can think of for why someone should contribute to an IRA outside of their 401k is: they are eligible and are able to max out a 401k and have savings to spare, or the investment options in your 401k are awful and/or expensive (be sure to check out the expense ratios (the lower the better from a fees perspective).

It’s a large and complicated area to learn about. So, do some basic reading on the topic to get a better understanding of what you’re doing.

Also, unless you’re starting off with $1500 in your account, acorns expense ratio is outrageously expensive (which I’m sure is partially why acorns targets young people: they don’t understand how insanely expensive acorns can be when compared to regular brokerages). $1/month may not sound like much, but it’s astronomically higher on low balances than you can get through a brokerage.

Anyways, do your research, don’t just dump money into acorns because others are.

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/1119404509

If you can contribute regularly and avoid touching your money for up to 10 years, I would suggest aggressive every time. For additional details on how to select the proper portfolio for your situation, I highly recommend reading A Random Walk Down Wall Street.