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Stash review
Stash Learn More Minimum deposit and balance Bank account: no minimum; Smart Portfolio: $5; Brokerage, Roth and traditional IRAs: $0.01
Fees Fees vary based on the pricing tier: Stash Growth is $3 a month and Stash+ is $9 a month
Investment vehicles offered Robo-advisor, Traditional and Roth IRAs, Brokerage account, Custodial Accounts, Bank account
Investment options Stocks and ETFs Pros Access to a robo-advisor, brokerage account, bank account and retirement accounts in one app
Variety of stocks from different companies and ETFs Cons Hefty annual fee of at least $36 Learn More View More
Stash’s pricing options and features
For starters, Stash is an online and mobile financial service, available through the App Store and Google Play. There are two pricing tiers to choose from: Stash Growth and Stash+. Both options offer customers access to financial counseling services, a brokerage account, a Roth or traditional IRA, a Smart Portfolio, life insurance coverage through Avibra and a bank account with the associated Stock-Back® Card, a debit card that lets you earn stock rewards. Stash Growth costs $3 a month, while Stash+ costs $9 a month — over the course of a year, Stash Growth would run you $36, while Stash+ will end up costing $108. By paying an extra $6 for Stash+ each month, you’ll receive access to the same perks as Stash Growth, plus more extensive financial counseling, two custodial accounts (meant for your kids), a higher rewards rate on the debit card (2X the stock rewards) and more life insurance coverage ($10,000 instead of $1,000). Note that the financial counseling offered by Stash+ does not mean personalized advice through a human financial advisor, but written guides and how-to articles.
Why a Stash brokerage account might not be worth it
With Stash’s brokerage account, you can start investing in two types of asset classes: Individual stocks and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. When you buy a share of an ETF, you’re essentially buying a basket of stocks and/or bonds — these can also be bought and sold throughout the day on an exchange. Stash offers a variety of ETFs, ranging from value and growth stocks to commodities and bonds. You can also purchase stocks from individual companies such as Chipotle or Adobe, or fractional shares of stock — for example, one-tenth or one-one-hundredth of a share of stock. The Stash brokerage account has no commission fees, so you won’t have to pay a broker for buying or selling your investments, which are covered up to $500,000 by Apex Clearing. There are, of course, expense ratios, or annual management fees for funds, for the ETFs you purchase. Note that since Stash charges a monthly fee for its services, you may be paying higher fees than you would with a traditional $0 commission trading platform. For example, if you were to invest $1,000 in the Stash brokerage account, you would also be paying $36 annually because of Stash’s monthly charges, on top of an expense ratios. A better alternative may be to use a different investment platform such as TD Ameritrade, Ally Invest, or Vanguard, which Select ranked among the best free stock trading services. These brokerages do not charge a fee just to have an account.
TD Ameritrade Learn More Fees/commissions $0 commission on stocks, options and ETFs
Account minimum $0
Investment options Includes stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options, Forex, and futures Pros Excellent customer service
Intuitive trading platform
Large selection of mutual funds Cons Some mutual funds charge high commissions
Free research may not all be relevant to novice investors
Doesn’t offer fractional shares of stocks Learn More View More
Stash also offers its users a Smart Portfolio, a robo-advisor product that creates an investment portfolio based on your personal financial goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. The Smart portfolio rebalances on a quarterly basis, changing the allocation of your portfolio if it ever drifts from your goals. Customers need to invest at least $5 to use this feature, which, it’s worth noting, does not offer tax-loss harvesting. There are a number of alternative robo-advisors services available that may be better suited for you. Select ranked Betterment as the best robo-advisor option for consumers based on factors such as fees and investment options. With Betterment, you’ll have to pay a 0.25% annual fee based on what you’re investing, which means if you were to invest $1,000, you’d only have to pay $2.50 more per year in addition to the expense ratios. However, if you’re investing more than $15,000, the Stash robo-advisor may be a better option than Betterment, as annual fees would be $37.50 with Betterment (and would continue to rise the more you invest) versus a flat $36 for Stash. SoFi is also worth considering if you’re looking for an all-in-one financial services platform similar to Stash, as it offers banking, investing and lending services. SoFi Invest offers commission fee trading and a robo-advisor with no management fee. However, since SoFi curates some of it own ETFs, you may find that your investment portfolio is composed heavily of SoFi ETFs which generally have higher expense ratios than index fund ETFs from companies like Fidelity and Vanguard.
Betterment Learn More On Betterment’s secure site Minimum deposit and balance Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. For Betterment Digital Investing, $0 minimum balance; Premium Investing requires a $100,000 minimum balance
Fees Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. For Betterment Digital Investing, 0.25% of your fund balance as an annual account fee; Premium Investing has a 0.40% annual fee
Bonus Up to one year of free management service with a qualifying deposit within 45 days of signup. Valid only for new individual investment accounts with Betterment LLC
Investment vehicles Robo-advisor: Betterment Digital Investing IRA: Betterment Traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs 401(k): Betterment 401(k) for employers
Investment options Stocks, bonds, ETFs and cash
Educational resources Betterment RetireGuide™ helps users plan for retirement Terms apply.
SoFi Invest® Learn More On SoFi’s secure site Minimum deposit and balance Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. No account minimum for active or automated investing, or to participate in IPOs. $5 minimum to own a fractional share of a company. $10 minimum to trade crypto
Fees Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. Active investing has zero commission fees for trading stocks and ETFs (exchange and fund management fees may apply). Automated investing has zero management fees
Bonus Download the SoFi app and get up to $1,000 when you open an Active SoFi Invest® Brokerage Account. Make your first crypto trade of $10 or more and earn $10 in bitcoin. SoFi covers up to $75 of any transfer fees your brokerage may charge when you transfer an account to SoFi
Investment vehicles Robo-advisor: SoFi Automated Investing IRA: SoFi Traditional, Roth, SEP and Rollover IRAs Brokerage and trading: SoFi Active Investing
Investment options Stocks, bonds, ETFs, crypto, fractional shares and IPO participation
Educational resources Investors can create a personal watchlist that follows their stocks to stay up to date and receive the latest investing news Terms apply.
The Stock-Back Card and other noteworthy features
One of Stash’s other touted features is its Stock-Back® Card, a debit card associated with a digital bank account, which is FDIC insured through Green Dot Bank. There are no minimum balance fees, no overdraft fees, and users have access to more than 19,000 fee-free ATMs. Rather than receiving cash back or rewards points, cardholders can earn rewards in stock of their choice. Note, however, that the amount of stock you’ll actually earn is pretty meager — Stash Growth users can earn 0.125% back on purchases while Stash+ customers can earn 0.25% back. Don’t miss: Debit cards that offer credit card-like rewards and perks While the Stock-Back® Card is a debit card, you might be better off using a rewards credit card instead, as they tend to offer more rewards and give you an opportunity to build your credit score — most will let you earn at least 1% cash back, which is only slightly less than 10X the rewards rate of the Stock-Back® Card. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a good no-annual-fee card option, allowing cardholders to earn 3% cash back when shopping at drugstores and dining at restaurants (including takeout and certain delivery services) as well as 1.5% back for all other purchases. Another comparable choice is the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, which offers 2% cash rewards for all eligible purchases.
Chase Freedom Unlimited® Learn More On Chase’s secure site Rewards Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases
Welcome bonus Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) – worth up to $300 cash back. That’s 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.
Annual fee $0
Intro APR 0% for the first 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
Regular APR 17.24% – 25.99% variable
Balance transfer fee Intro fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee 3%
Credit needed Excellent/Good Terms apply.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card Learn More On Wells Fargo’s secure site Rewards Unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases
Welcome bonus Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months
Annual fee $0
Intro APR 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate
Regular APR 17.24%, 22.24%, or 27.24% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
Balance transfer fee Introductory fee of 3% ($5 minimum) for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5% ($5 minimum)
Foreign transaction fee 3%
Credit needed Excellent/Good See rates and fees, terms apply.
In terms of other notable features, Stash provides a round-up function, which will round up any purchases you make with your debit card and set aside that money for investing. Once you have at least $5 accumulated, Stash will transfer money over to your investment account. Stash also offers custodial accounts — brokerage accounts for children that are managed by parents, grandparents or children, which come with Stash+ subscriptions — as well as retirement accounts such as a Roth or traditional IRA, which are offered to all members.
Bottom line
While Stash can be useful for amateur investors who want to have a debit card, a traditional or Roth IRA and a bank and brokerage account all within one app, that access comes at an expense — the annual fee is $36 for the lowest tier of services, while it’s $108 for the premium-level tier. If you’re a bit more experienced at investing and want to save money on fees, consider using a $0 commission trading platform. However, the Stash Robo-advisor can be a good option for investors planning on investing more than $15,000 through the service. The Stash Stock-Back® Card also offers meager rewards — using a rewards credit card would be a good alternative since they tend to offer higher rewards rates even if it means you’re getting cash back or points and miles back for your everyday purchases instead of stocks. Catch up on Select’s in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.