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]
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" ?
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
https://acornsau.com.au/product-disclosure-statement/ Fees- $1/m or .25%/yr for $5k and over. Simples. https://www.acorns.com/fees/
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.
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.
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!
