Sofi Invest Rating: 
Sofi Invest Overview
SoFi Invest is known for many things. The broker provides a range of opportunities for investing in the stock and cryptocurrency markets. SoFi also offers personal banking products, loans, retirement plans, and much more. As far as personal finance is concerned, SoFi covers nearly every base, and they do it quite well. Here what you can expect from SoFi Invest and its various services.
Pros and Cons
Just as with any broker, SoFi comes with some pros and cons. Here are some of the things that we like and some of the things that we think could be better.
Pros
-
Award winning robo investing available
- Choice of three account types: self-directed, auto, retirement
- Zero commissions
- Social network provides inspiration and education
- Access to additional services, including loans, credit cards, bank account, and more.
Cons
- Limited security access
- No option contracts (yet)
- No mutual fund trading (yet)
- Margin trading unavailable
- Crypto pair trading unavailable
Investment Vehicles
SoFi Invest customers can create various types of investment portfolios using stocks and ETFs listed on the U.S. stock exchange. Investors also have access to new IPOs.
All of the well-known tickers are available, including names like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL), Netflix (NFLX), and Amazon (AMZN). ADRs like Baidu (BIDU), and Alibaba (BABA) are also available to traders looking for international exposure. In addition, investors can take their pick from a long list of ETFs when a more diversified or industry-specific approach is what they are looking for (more on these later).
For all available investment vehicles, SoFi Invest offers fractional shares making it possible to take part in a wider variety of securities, regardless of the cost-per-share. It is also possible to actively invest in stocks and ETFs or go the automated route.
Cryptocurrency investment is also available and we’ll cover SoFi’s approach to digital asset investment in more detail further along.
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Customer Service
Customer service is one area that SoFi Invest does very well. The firm has a dedicated team for each of the products it offers. We like that because the list of services is so diverse, customers will benefit from speaking with a customer service representative focused on a particular area.
Depending on whether an investor requires assistance with SoFi Money, SoFi Loans, SoFi Invest, or any of the other available services, contacting the support team via a toll-free number is a simple process. Phone lines are open 7 days a week, and hours run from;
5 am to 7 pm PST, Monday – Thursday,
and 5 am to 5 pm PST, Friday – Sunday.
There is also a detailed FAQ section where users can find answers to commonly asked questions regarding investing, as well as account/service details.
Cash Management
SoFi is more than just a stockbroker. Looking at the services designed to help its customers take control of their financial lives really highlights that fact.
For cash management services, investors should navigate to SoFi Money, either on the SoFi web portal or the mobile app.
SoFi Money cash management services include:
- Savings Account
- Checking Account
- Overdraft Protection
- Early Paycheck Program
- Cashback Programs
- Check Deposit Options
- Debit Card
- Credit Card
- Low Fees
- Various Educational Services
ETFs
As previously mentioned, ETF trading is available at SoFi Invest.
SoFi Invest has created several of its own ETFs focused on particular corners of the market. Each is designed with a different target in mind and investors will likely choose the one(s) they want based on their personal investment strategies and goals. Here they are:
- WKLY (SoFi Weekly Dividend)
- TGIF (SoFi Weekly Income)
- GIGE (SoFi Gig Economy)
- SFY (SoFi Select 500)
- SFYX (SoFi Next 500)
- SFYF (SoFi Social 50)
Investors will find many others listed on the exchanges as well. To find a complete listing of available ETFs, simply navigate to the “Trade Stock” section of the web platform or mobile app. Entering the ticker for the ETF will bring it right up. Alternatively, searching for the term ‘ETF’ brings up a whole list of options.
ETF trading at SoFi Invest is commission free and can be purchased through the SoFi Active Invest account.
Mutual Funds
SoFi Invest does not currently offer mutual funds as an investment vehicle. The nearest thing to mutual funds at SoFi Invest are ETFs with dividend reinvestments set to ‘active’.
Pricing
The pricing schedule at SoFi Invest is very competitive with other brokers in the retail investment industry. Commissions for stock and ETF trades are set to a nice round number: zero.
Well, mostly, at least. SoFi’s own ETFs come with a small fee ranging from 0.19% to 0.59% annually.
Another investment vehicle that comes with fees is crypto. Although it is free to sell and store crypto in a SoFi Invest crypto account, purchasing crypto on the platform comes at a cost of 1.25%.
For automated investing, the popular fintech company follows a similar pricing approach. Surprisingly, the there are no percentage-based fees for the service which allows investors to take a hands-off approach to their investment strategy without any fees piling up in the background.
In the spirit of keeping its services fee free, SoFi Invest also offers advisement services for no additional cost.
Other services offered by SoFi, such as SoFi Money also provide a commission-free experience. With no account minimum, overdraft, or ATM fees, it is easy to see why SoFi has become a favored personal finance firm and brokerage.
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Account Types
As a multi-faceted personal finance company, SoFi offers a complete range of account options
that its customers can take advantage of.
As far as SoFi Invest is concerned, users may open one or more of the available accounts:
Active Investing,
Automated Investing, and IRA Investing.
Once a preferred account type is selected, the system brings new account applicants through a familiar process of information entry and regulatory agreements. Later, there is an option to add funds via wire, ACH, ACAT, or a mailed check. All in all, the entire process takes just minutes and can be completed by investors with any level of familiarity with financial tools and markets.
Once the first account is open, investors are free to navigate to NEW ACCOUNT to open either of the other two available options. For convenience, SoFi greys out any accounts that are currently open, leaving any remaining choices clear.
Additional Account options beyond the Invest accounts are:
Website
The website for SoFi is full-featured and provides all of the firm’s financial tools and products in one simple layout. No matter how many accounts a user has open with SoFi, they can all be accessed from the same website. The website is also a convenient way to organize automatic bill pay, money transfers, and track referrals.
From the SoFi Invest tab, some basic account information is available, including account value, gains, losses, buying power, open positions, and a convenient stock/ETF search bar.
From the search bar, investors are taken to the information page of the stock/ETF of their choosing. Some basic charting is available as are the statistics, prospectus, and order ticket buttons.
To place a trade on the website, all that is required is to navigate to a particular security’s page, select either “Buy” or “Add a Recurring Purchase”. From there, users are prompted to either buy whole shares or purchase in dollars. The process is simple and offers all the basic functionality one may need to buy stocks and ETFs.
Apart from the basic information, SoFi’s website also offers a lot of opportunities for education, watchlist curation, and discovery.
Desktop Platform
At the moment, there is no desktop platform to speak of. We are hoping that one will be added in the near future, but for now investors will use the website or the mobile app.
Mobile Trading
SoFi Invest is highly tailored to mobile users and the app offers several features that the website does not.
In concept, the app follows the same approach as the website. Most of the features are the same, including the simple charting, educational resources, sector comparisons, and more.
In the app, however, there are some additional tools. The ability to see the trading activity of other traders on the social network is one of them. When searching for stocks and ETFs to invest in, traders are greeted by a feed that shows social sentiment for that investment vehicle, as well as a news feed that displays stories and reports that correlate with the selected security.
Another feature unique to the app is IPO trading. While it is possible to follow IPO progress on the website, any bids for new stocks making an IPO debut should be placed on the app.
Security Research
The research section of both the SoFi mobile app and the website are quite good. Each tradable security has its own page. There is a news feed with articles related to the industry and to the ticker itself as well as a description of the company with some highlights. On the app, research goes further. There is also a social trading concept provides a personal touch.
The “Investor Activity” section on the mobile app shows when traders follow companies, and there is also a heads up when traders buy or sell securities in their portfolios. Following popular investors can provide inspiration and education that news articles would not be able to.
SoFi does not offer a screener in the traditional sense, unfortunately. However, investors at SoFi have a few options to locate stocks and ETFs to trade. There is a search bar where a ticker or company name can be entered, and then there are collections to choose from and browse within.
Found on both the website and the app, Discovery provides investors with groups of stocks that have been grouped into different categories. Examples of the types of stock groupings available are; Trending, Popular, Gold Miners, Stocks Under $10, Semiconductor Players, and many more.
In addition to the curated lists of stocks, industries, and investor participation, SoFi also provides a market overview tool that shows which sectors are outperforming and underperforming. The combination of the market overview and the curated lists can make short work of deciding on an investment strategy.
Cryptocurrency Trading
Cryptocurrency trading at SoFi is a simple affair that investors at all experience levels can enjoy. Both the website and app utilize the same trading interface used for stocks and ETFs for its crypto offerings. Selecting one of the available cryptocurrencies opens a page similar to the stock pages. There is some general information about the selected cryptocurrency and the social feed is present on the app.
Investors looking for the world’s most influential digital assets, whether that be DeFi projects, tokens, or standalone crypto products, will likely find what they are looking for at SoFi.
Although the list of available assets is certainly large enough for most, there are some limitations to SoFi’s crypto trading experience that some may notice. Most notably, there is no digital wallet function and that is a limiting factor. In short, it means that cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold with dollars. There is currently no way to transfer crypto in and out of a SoFi crypto account. It is also not possible to trade crypto pairs.
Here is a partial list of tradable digital assets on SoFi:
Securities Services
Investors at SoFi can take advantage of several different security-related services.
Dividend reinvestment is a popular service that allows investment portfolios to grow over time with minimal management.
The robo investment services are a major highlight at SoFi. Apart from the active investment account, users can open a separate commission-free Auto Investment account that is rebalanced, diversified, and updated on a regular basis. An additional service that comes along with the Auto Investing account is free financial advice from registered professionals.
Global Trading
For investors looking to gain international exposure, SoFi’s idea of global trading comes in the form of ADRs and ETFs that hold foreign securities. There are no direct connection to foreign exchanges.
Traders can find many opportunities to build and maintain a portfolio that is geographically balanced. The lack of a comprehensive scanner makes finding specific foreign securities a bit tricky, though.
The simplest way to find ADRs and ETFs to invest in is to use the search function. Some basic search terms are supported but knowing the name of the stock that you are looking for will certainly quicken the process.
Recommendations
Mutual Fund Investors
As there are no mutual funds available, SoFi is not a good choice for mutual fund investors (see
Best Brokers For Mutual Funds).
Individual Retirement Accounts
Self-directed individual accounts are available, but available securities are limited. For retirement accounts focused on stock and ETF investing, SoFi provides plenty of great tools. For options, mutual funds, and futures, traders would need to look elsewhere (see
Best No Fee IRA Companies).
Beginners
SoFi is an excellent choice for beginners. The social aspect and information provided, as well as the simplified trading interface, make for a user-friendly experience that all can enjoy.
Active ETF and Stock Trading
SoFi’s zero commission ETF and stock trading make it an excellent choice for investors looking
for these investment vehicles. However, lack of margin and trading platform forces us to recommend
WeBull instead
Long-Term Investors and Retirement Savers
SoFi’s platform is geared towards longer-term investors and retirement accounts are available. The ability to utilize a self-directed or an automated approach makes SoFi ideal for longer-term investment strategies.
Small Accounts
There are no account minimums at SoFi and the fractional shares come with a minimum of $5 per security ‘slice’. SoFi is a great choice for smaller accounts.
Sofi Invest Review Summary
SoFi is certainly a one-stop-shop for investors of all kinds. The popular broker provides a
long list of financial products and seeks to make finance as simple as possible for as many
people as possible.
Investors can make use of SoFi’s brokerage account to invest in stocks, ETFs, and crypto. They
can use investment strategies that are either self-directed or automatic, and crypto buying and
selling is supported for the most popular cryptocurrencies.
Traders looking for advanced order types and charting may not be satisfied with the simplified
approach used by SoFi.
For many, however, the simplicity is a breath of fresh air as the financial markets can be
quite complex.
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0% SoFi management fees and access to financial planners.
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