Acorns Review 2024

Acorns investing app

Our Take

If you want to make the most of your spare change and stack up major retailer cash rewards then Acorns is the best roboadvisor app on the planet for you. Automatic round-ups make saving extra cash extremely easy plus you can build a decent savings if you add recurring investments to the mix.

What’s the catch? The only downside is that Acorns fees can cut into or wipe out your entire investment account if you have a small balance.

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What is Acorns?

Acorns offers a simple, easy automated method for beginner investors to invest their money in a balanced mix of ETF to meet their financial goals.

With a minimum investment of $5, investors can start investing on the platform to build up their investment portfolio. Acorns also lets you “round up” purchases to the nearest dollar then invest the difference back into your portfolio automatically.

These small investments can really add up over time and help grow your investment portfolio a lot faster. This strategy is similar to David Bach’s Automatic Millionaire method that recommends building a massive nest egg by saving a few dollars consistently each and every day.

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Pros and Cons

ProsCons
Automated roundups to the nearest dollar for automatic investingCannot invest in individual stocks
Get cashback from over 350+ merchantsHigh monthly fees on small balances
Earn cashback with Acorns Visa Debit Card
Setup UTMA/UGMA account for minors

How Acorns Works

Acorns offers 6 main investment products on its app: Invest, Later, Bank, Earn, Found Money, and Early.

  • Acorns Invest: This is Acorn’s flagship taxable investment account that puts your money into exchange traded funds (ETFs) chosen based on your risk tolerance and desired portfolio allocation. You can fund your account via round-ups, recurring deposits, or one-time lump sum deposits.
  • Acorns Later: This is a tax advantaged individual retirement account (IRA) for long term investing purposes. Your portfolio is made up of the same ETF allocations just like Acorns Invest.
  • Acorns Bank: A checking account that comes with a debit card and offers zero minimum balance and overdraft fees. You can invest a portion of your paycheck using Smart Deposit. Use your linked debit card at over 55,000 fee-free ATMs plus receive up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance.
  • Acorns Save: This is an emergency savings account for rainy day expenses. You can automatically fund your savings with every paycheck and set a balance goal for your emergency fund. You must first setup an Acorns checking account with direct deposit to access this feature.
  • Acorns Earn: An online shopping & jobs marketplace that offers a small percentage back on purchases made at hundreds of major retailers, including eBay & Walmart.
  • Acorns Early: This is the $5 family account feature that offers UTMA/UGMA account for minor children. Setup an investment account for your child’s future.

Acorns Invest Review

This is the main bread and butter of Acorn’s investment platform. You can view your overall account balance and set up round-ups, one-time or recurring deposits, or withdraw funds from your Acorns account.

Portfolio

You can invest in a basket of preselected ETFs based on your risk tolerance. Acorns offers the following portfolio types:

Risk ToleranceAllocation %
Conservative100% bonds and 0% stocks
Moderately Conservative60% bonds and 40% stocks
Moderate40% bonds and 60% stocks
Moderately Aggressive20% bonds and 80% stocks
Aggressive100% stocks
Conservative

This portfolio is best suited for investors who want to preserve their money and don’t want extra risk. If your time horizon is short term then this is the best option for you.

Here’s a breakdown of the bond ETFs held in the Conservative plan:

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ETF NameAllocation
UltraShort Term Govt Bonds (BIL)20%
UltraShort Term Corp Bonds (JPST)20%
UltraShort Term Corp Bonds (ICSH)20%
Short Term Govt Bonds20%
Short Term Govt Bonds20%
Moderately Conservative

This portfolio is best suited for investors who want to capital appreciation along with lower risk. The 40% stock allocation provides some long term portfolio growth while the 60% bond allocation will reduce risk and preserve your capital.

Here’s a breakdown of the bond ETFs held in the Moderately Conservative plan:

ETF NameAllocation
Large Company Stocks (Vanguard 500 Index ETF: VOO)24%
Medium Company Stocks (IJH)4%
International Company Stocks (IXUS)12%
Short Term USD Bond (ISTB)18%
US Aggregate Bond (AGG)42%
Moderate

This portfolio is best suited for investors who have a moderate time horizon and want to invest in more aggressively than the previous two conservative portfolio options.

Here’s a breakdown of the bond ETFs held in the Moderate plan:

ETF NameAllocation
Large Company Stocks (Vanguard 500 Index ETF: VOO)35%
Medium Company Stocks (IJH)5%
Small Company Stocks (IXUS)2%
International Company Stocks (IXUS)18%
Short Term USD Bond (AGG)12%
US Aggregate Bond (AGG)28%
Moderately Aggressive

This portfolio is best suited for investors who want to more risk and higher potential returns with an overwhelming 80% stock portfolio allocation. This is the current Acorns plan I’m using at age 36.

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Here’s a breakdown of the bond ETFs held in the Moderately Aggressive plan:

ETF NameAllocation
Large Company Stocks (Vanguard 500 Index ETF: VOO)47%
Medium Company Stocks (IJH)6%
Small Company Stocks (IJR)3%
International Company Stocks (IXUS)24%
Short Term USD Bond (ISTB)6%
US Aggregate Bond (AGG)14%
Aggressive

This portfolio is best suited for investors who want to earn the highest possible returns by taking on the most risk. If you are 30 years or younger then this plan is the best option for you because you have a long time horizon until retirement.

Here’s a breakdown of the bond ETFs held in the Aggressive plan:

ETF NameAllocation
Large Company Stocks (Vanguard 500 Index ETF: VOO)55%
Medium Company Stocks (IJH)10%
Small Company Stocks (IJR)5%
International Company Stocks (IXUS)30%

Round-Ups

Round-Ups are the most useful feature offered on the Acorns app. Whenever you buy something with your linked credit or debit card, Acorns will round up the transaction to the nearest dollar then deposit the difference into your investment account.

For example, let’s say you spend $24.50 on Amazon using your credit card. Acorns will deposit 50 cents into your Acorns account and you will see a small Acorns debit transaction on your credit card statement.

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Adjust your Round-Ups settings to select how much money you will automatically deposit into Acorns.

By default, Round-Ups is set to manual so tap the “Set to Automatic” slider to activate Automatic Round-Ups.

Be careful with Automatic round-ups because you may be charged an overdraft fee by your bank if you don’t have enough funds in your account.

You can add a Multiplier to your Round-Ups to boost your investment growth faster. Acorns has 2x, 3x, and 10x Multiplier round-ups. For example, if you charge $9.50 on your credit or debt card then Acorns will deposit $1, $1.50, or $5 depending on which multiplier you choose.

What happens if you charge a whole dollar transaction? Acorns lets you choose a predetermined round-up amount between zero and $1. For example, let’s say you purchase an item on Amazon for $10. Acorns will deposit 25 cents into your invest account if you select $0.25. Just drag the slider within the app to your desired amount and you’re done.

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Recurring Investments

Recurring investments is a simple way to grow your Acorns portfolio over time if you don’t want to rely on the Round-Up feature.

The minimum recurring investment is $5 and you can setup daily, weekly, or monthly recurring deposits.

Withdraw

Need to withdraw money from your Acorns account? Acorns will sell your shares and withdraw funds from your account within 3 to 6 business days.

If markets are going down then withdrawing your funds will lock in losses. If you want to simply protect yourself from losing money in the down market then consider pausing your investments instead.

Acorns will stop investing your deposits into your selected ETF mix and store the funds as cash. You can resume investments when you believe the market has bottom and it’s safe to buy again.

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Acorns Checking Account Review

Acorns Bank is the checking account product that lets you access the Acorns debit card for everyday purchases.

You must order your Acorns debit card before accessing your full Acorns checking account features. In order to receive your debit card, you need to:

  • Confirm your mailing address
  • E-sign your signature that will be engraved on the back of the card
  • Make an initial deposit of $25, $100, or $250 to confirm your debit card
  • Activate your debit card upon arrival (wait time is about 9 to 11 days)

Once you receive and activate your debit card, you can use Acorns checking just like any other regular checking account.

You cannot earn any interest in this account so remember to deposit your funds into Acorns Invest if you want to grow your savings.

Use the ATM locator feature to find any one of the 55,000 fee-free ATMs within your area.

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Acorns Fees

TypeFee
Account Management FeePersonal: $3 a month for an investment account plus an IRA and a checking account.

Family: $5 a month for all of the above plus investment accounts for kids.
Investment Expense Ratios0.05% to 0.18%.

Markets & Products

Asset TypeAvailability
StocksNo
CryptoNo
BondsNo
ETFsYes
ForexNo
Binary OptionsNo

Education

Acorns publishes a section full of helpful articles on investing, retirement, tax management, cryptocurrencies, and general personal finance topics under “Grow Your Knowledge.”

Security

Acorns offers up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance plus uses SSL security to keep your account safe.

You must setup a 4 digit pin code to access your account and will be required to enter it whenever you tap the app.

Referral Program

Once you sign up, Acorns will automatically enroll you in their referral program that pays $800 when you invite 4 friends to join,

If you invite 4 friends to join by 8/27/22 then Acorns will invest $800 in your account plus give you and your friend a $5 bonus for signing up.

The Bottom Line

Acorns is a fun and simple way to invest your round-ups and get extra cash back on major retail purchases. If you don’t mind the $3 to $5 fee then Acorns is worth a shot!

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