M1 Finance Investing Review 2019

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M1 Finance Overview

M1 Finance is a digital brokerage platform based around the concept of auto-balancing portfolios created by users in an easy to use “pie” interface. Users choose from any number and combination of the stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds available on M1 in order to create their perfect portfolio.

M1 Brokerage Fees and Pricing

So how is this different from creating any other portfolio? M1 allows users to snap up fractional shares of any securities in their chosen portfolio which means $100 can buy you shares of nearly any number of securities and there’s no minimum account balance. Users also avoid any commissions on sales and purchases because M1 charges nothing. Yes, your money is managed absolutely free.

Investing With M1 Brokerage

M1 supports simple brokerage accounts as well as Roth and traditional IRAs. Users can trade during one set trading window per day by editing the contents of their pies and electing for a “rebalance” through the interface system. Inside of each account, users can create an infinite number of pies and sub-pies to create their perfect portfolio or select from premade pies such as index trackers, or hedge fund replicators like Berkshire Hathaway.

Unfortunately, users must create an account before being able to view and access the M1 dashboard but there’s no requirement to fund the account after creation so it’s a low-consequence way to check out the system and see if it’s a fit for your tastes. In order to fund the account users can set up recurring or one-time payments on a highly flexible scale from daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or yearly. Once M1 has more than $5 in available cash, either from funding or dividend yields, it will automatically rebalance the portfolio to the user’s specified proportions.

Why is M1 a great option for hassle-free portfolio creation? Fractional trading means you can virtually infinitely diversify even a small amount of capital. Lack of commissions means that you can add, remove, and rebalance securities daily without incurring fees which would otherwise jeopardize any profits you might otherwise be able to make. By selecting the securities you want, setting the fractional proportion of your portfolio, and then letting M1 automate the rest, users can create a highly tailored and automated investing experience unique to you.

A great new feature the company recently introduced is an ability to borrow up to 35% of margin account value at the extremely low rate of just 4.00% APR.

M1 Investing Review

Website and Mobile Investing

M1 stands above the crowd with a simple, yet robust and functional interface. The dashboard is clean and concise offering a pie which illustrates your current portfolio. Hovering over the sections of the pie results in a pop-up neatly showing you the percentage and dollar value of your portfolio allocated to that asset. Prominently displayed is a graph of the value of your portfolio over time and underneath is a list of all the assets you currently own as well as their gain or loss.

M1 Finance Investing Review

Without a doubt, there are digital finance and investing applications available today which can rival the simple power of M1. In the correct hands this wonderful and budding fin-tech application has the power to unlock investing styles that small retail investors otherwise would find impossible due to large share prices and commission trades.

M1’s phone application is just as simple and powerful as the desktop version offering users the ability review their portfolio, explore potential new assets, as well as buy and sell with zero hassle. Fingerprint recognition makes the entire process slick and simple. It’s clear that M1 is focused on building an app that will quickly evolve with the needs of users looking for quicker, cleaner, and more simple ways to tackle what is otherwise an overly complicated life chore.

M1 Cons

M1 was launched early in 2016 and plans to expand its horizons in the future. One major drawback, currently, is the single trading window per day which means that once you commit to a trade, M1 will automatically execute that trade at a set time. This is less than ideal for traders looking to buy and sell at specific limits, set stop loss orders, or other more complicated buy and sell orders. Developers have been talking about potentially releasing these more complex options as part of a future paid service for members who might opt-in.

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Is M1 Finance Safe and Insured?

Anyone who is wondering whether M1 Finance is scam or fraud have nothing to worry about. The firm is SIPC insured which means your funds are protected from any negligence on the part of the broker. M1 also works with Apex Clearing Corporation as the firm’s custodial bank so your funds are not actually held with M1. Along with that, M1 utilizes Plaid – another third-party whose job it is to interface the transfer of funds from your bank to M1. All personal information is secured and never stored.

M1 Finance Investing Review Recap

M1 is an excellent platform for investors and traders looking to buy and sell securities with smaller capital allocations due to the utilization of fractional trading, and lack of commissions. Users may consider M1 for a new take on portfolio building in a simple, yet powerful interface that takes no time at all to master. And it is absolutely FREE!

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M1 Finance Reviewed by TopRatedFirms.com on Jan 24, 2019. Rating: 4