App of the Week – Acorns
Published on June 23, 2015
Investing in the stock market can feel like a daunting task. However, the process has gotten a whole lot easier with Acorns - an app that lets you invest your spare change in the stock market.
How does it work? Acorns connects to your credit card and bank accounts, rounds up your daily purchases to the nearest dollar, and invests the remaining change in a Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) portfolio at the risk level of your choosing.
When you open up the app, you're greeted by a large graph that indicates the value of your portfolio over the course of the day, granting an overview of growth and shrinkage. A more detailed breakdown is found in the "Positions" tab, which includes what funds Acorns has invested in, what they are worth, the number of shares owned, etc.
You have a good amount of control over your credit card investments. For example, you can choose to have automatic investments based on rounded up purchases, or it can require your approval before proceeding.
It's important to note that on accounts worth less than $5,000, Acorns charges a fee of $1 a month. Really, this is a minor administrative fee, and the benefits may well outweigh the cost for most casual users.