Acorns is an app that aims to help the beginner investor by automating the investing. This type of investing account and app is called a Robo-Advisor. I suggest you do your own due diligence with Robo-Advisors, because the market has become flooded with different options.
I have had Acorns installed on my phone before, removed it, and after a while, I’ve decided to give it another try. It’s by far the app I spend the least amount of time in. The app itself is clean and is definitely a dream for a minimalist, but I feel it lacks something to keep me within the app, or at least understanding the full method of auto investing.
Other Robo-Advisor type of applications or fintech give you an option to also try an active investing account or give fraction shares as an option to build a separate portfolio. I understand the idea behind the robo-advisor is to be hands off, but when it comes to money, I like to know where it’s going, even though I might not have put my money there is the first place.
Acorns gives you a few different approaches on investing, Aggressive, Moderate, or low risk, and I went with Aggressive. It takes a little bit to get used to the interface, but if you managed to find your way to it, you can actually see the pie chart of where your money goes, you can change your approach to investing, and you can narrow down to see where your holdings are.
Most other fintech or robo-advisors give some sort of news, but Acorns sticks to a minimalist view, only giving directions on how to further invest your money within Acorns.
My biggest gripe with Acorns is that not all banks are created or function equal. I have a bank that unfortunately doesn’t allow roll overs that Acorns in famous for, so the basic function doesn’t work for me. They also have a $1.00 minimum charge for the account which can be seen as cheap, but when you are first getting started, every dollar counts. My family is attempting to use our credit cards less, so the roll over is just not a reality for me as an Acorns user.
Overall, I am enjoying the hands off approach as it’s a bit freeing than constantly monitoring your own choices. I also really enjoy the focus on minimum investments, reoccurring investments, and the simplicity to use the overall app. The sign up is quick as well, which is not always the case with other apps.
If you’re looking to get started, use my invite link below!
https://www.acorns.com/invite/5UA35V
Thrifty Investing 