Acorns- An App That Invests Your Spare Change

Discussion in 'Wealth Creation & Management' started by House, Jun 27, 2015.

  1. House

    House Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    May 1, 2012
    Messages:
    9,527
    Likes Received:
    287
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Stack City
    Interesting concept with 700,000 users. Launches in Aus next year.

    Fortune

    https://www.acorns.com



    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYZlnkRzhCQ[/youtube]
     
  2. trew

    trew Active Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2011
    Messages:
    3,653
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    Melbern
    I don't get it

    Why not just set up a daily automated transfer if you want to save a bit of money each day



    How much is the transaction fee you would be paying for each of their "round up" ?
     
  3. House

    House Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    May 1, 2012
    Messages:
    9,527
    Likes Received:
    287
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Stack City
    its not for savings, it's for investing. It's mainly for people who can't be bothered or don't have the discipline to do it and then go researching where to invest it. Convenience is key these days, especially for the under 35 crowd.

    Fees were in the last sentence- "Currently, Acorns charges a $1 monthly fee for accounts with a balance under $5,000, and 0.25% per year for accounts larger than that." Fees FAQ.

    Reddit thread discussing fee structure, micro-investing and cheaper alternatives such as Betterment
     
  4. Big A.D.

    Big A.D. Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2009
    Messages:
    6,278
    Likes Received:
    186
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Sydney
    I do the same with spare change: all the coins go into a bucket at the end of the day and I empty it and bank the at the money end of the month.

    Neat idea to do it with an app.
     
  5. goldpelican

    goldpelican Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2009
    Messages:
    17,648
    Likes Received:
    580
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I installed this a while ago - it's basically an electronic replacement for your spare change jar. Haven't actually given it access to my accounts yet though, but hearing loss of good things about it.

    Interesting that apps like Robinhood and Acorn see Auatralia as a natural second market to launch in. I'm not even sure they are available in Canada.
     
  6. johncan

    johncan New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2013
    Messages:
    28
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Does anyone know of something like this you can use in Aus?
     
  7. House

    House Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    May 1, 2012
    Messages:
    9,527
    Likes Received:
    287
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Stack City
    Nothing yet, Acorns will be the first.

    I'll probably set up a separate account for the withdrawals and autodebit $100 or so every week so it'll "invest" the rounded up change and whatever is left over will be used for rainy days or whatever.
     
  8. House

    House Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    May 1, 2012
    Messages:
    9,527
    Likes Received:
    287
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Stack City
    Current update- Beta testing is nearly ready

     
  9. johncan

    johncan New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2013
    Messages:
    28
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    So I saw this in the app store today.
    Anyone taken the plunge yet???
     
  10. mmm....shiney!

    mmm....shiney! Administrator Staff Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2010
    Messages:
    18,605
    Likes Received:
    4,392
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Been going for a week. It rounds up every transaction you make in those accounts/cards you have nominated as "rounding accounts". So, be aware that your initial investment of say $50/month may actually be more like $80/month if you do a lot of transactions.
     
  11. aleks

    aleks Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2010
    Messages:
    2,210
    Likes Received:
    27
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Location:
    Karl-Marx-Allee
    My bullshit detector is on alert level, where is the prospectus/pds?

    "Automatic portfolio re-balancing" appears to be a euphemism for we are going to fuck you on fees
     
  12. House

    House Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    May 1, 2012
    Messages:
    9,527
    Likes Received:
    287
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Stack City
  13. aleks

    aleks Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2010
    Messages:
    2,210
    Likes Received:
    27
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Location:
    Karl-Marx-Allee
     
  14. Jislizard

    Jislizard Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    7,518
    Likes Received:
    639
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Australia
    Interesting use of "spare change".

    Looks like you are taking out a line of credit at a very high interest rate to let someone else gamble on the share market.

    It would have to perform very well for you to notice.

    More likely you will lose it all but as it was only spare change you wouldn't be over concerned, like buying a lottery ticket.

    And if you don't pay off your whole credit card then you will be paying 18% interest on all the 'invested' spare change, better hope it performs well.

    I am sure the scheme has its merits but I am also sure you are paying for the convenience.
     
  15. trew

    trew Active Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2011
    Messages:
    3,653
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    Melbern
    Wondered about that and took a look at the FAQ.

    Looks like the credit card transactions are just scanned to calculate how much 'spare change' to extract and then the money is actually taken from a regular bank account, not the credit card.

    So you need to make sure your 'funding account' will have enough money in it.
     
  16. mmm....shiney!

    mmm....shiney! Administrator Staff Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2010
    Messages:
    18,605
    Likes Received:
    4,392
    Trophy Points:
    113
    That's exactly how it works.
     
  17. renovator

    renovator Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2011
    Messages:
    6,989
    Likes Received:
    83
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    QLD
    Hearing loss ? i hope it earns you enough for a hearing aid :p:
     
  18. willrocks

    willrocks Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    May 10, 2012
    Messages:
    7,777
    Likes Received:
    7,199
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Are Acorn users squirrels or woodpeckers?
     
  19. BuggedOut

    BuggedOut Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2015
    Messages:
    2,552
    Likes Received:
    977
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    New South Wales
    Yeh, I don't get it.

    "I am too stupid and ill-disciplined to save properly so please skim every transaction I make and put it somewhere"

    I guess the youth of today needs to get used to being skimmed on every transaction they make so I shouldn't be surprised there are people marketing an app for it to be done out in the open!
     
  20. House

    House Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

    Joined:
    May 1, 2012
    Messages:
    9,527
    Likes Received:
    287
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Stack City
    So all the youth from your generation were good little savers?
     

Share This Page