Investing in your future is more crucial than ever before. Even if you’re young, you still need to start thinking about your long-term plans.
It’s estimated that 64% of Americans are unprepared for retirement. This leaves the majority of the country facing tight budgets and outright poverty in the decades to come.
Thankfully, we’re now looking at the era of the robo-advisor. The best robo-advisors make investing simple. You don’t need to pay high fees by connecting with a traditional brokerage. More importantly, you don’t even need to be an expert on the stock market.
M1 Finance remains one of the best options for starting an investment portfolio. Let’s take a look at how to start investing in your future on this platform.
Check out this great M1 Finance review for a more in-depth look at the platform.
- Invest in an Expert Portfolio as a Beginner
Investing in the stock market doesn’t have to be about gambling. Robo-advisors like M1 Finance specialize in compiling expert portfolios based on huge amounts of data.
At the click of a button, you can invest in a portfolio that reflects your goals, your risk tolerance, and your values.
The difference between M1 Finance and Betterment, for example, is the sheer amount of choice available to you.
There are currently more than 80 different portfolios all aimed at different people. M1 states who each portfolio is designed for and what you can expect from it. These portfolios are not based on human opinion but on hard numbers.
- Invest in Fractional Shares
Get the maximum from your money by investing in fractional shares. The way it works is M1 buys fractional shares and then sells them to its investors. You own the share, and it stops dollars just sitting in your account not doing anything.
If you’re looking to make a passive income, fractional shares are capable of maximizing that until you can purchase a full share of equity in your company of choice.
Fractional investing is smart investing because it enables you to build an investment portfolio on a low budget.
- Expose Yourself to a Broad Segment of the Market
M1 Finance is not a financial planning service. It’s an investment platform. You’re not going to receive recommendations on the latest hot stocks as you see with services like The Motley Fool.
Instead, it’s about spreading your exposure. Always spread your exposure to avoid becoming vulnerable to issues with one or two specific companies.
With M1 Finance, you can build multiple different financial pies. These pies can be invested in stocks, ETFs, and bonds. Each pie can be tailored towards a specific goal or industry to guarantee broad exposure across the financial markets.
This keeps your risk low and allows your investment to grow at a solid rate over time.
- Change Your Strategy as Your Situation Changes
The goals of a Floridian investor in their 20s will differ from those of a Floridian approaching retirement. Alter your strategy as your financial situation changes.
For example, investing in DRIP stocks for a consistent income is a better option for those who require the income in retirement. Younger investors can afford to invest in growing companies with more risk attached.
You may also want to rebalance your portfolio as your risk tolerance changes. Most personal finance guides recommend becoming more conservative as you age.
Older investors should lean towards more conservative government bonds within their portfolios as a stock market crash could compromise their retirements.
M1 Finance allows you to take advantage of automatic rebalancing to make sure that your portfolio always reflects your desired split among assets.
- Maintain a Long-Term Mindset
Despite the fact there are no commissions or management fees at M1 Finance, this shouldn’t serve as a green light for short-term investments or day trading.
Robo-advisors are aimed primarily at long-term investors. If you’re unwilling to hold your investments for at least 2-3 years, this is not the platform for you.
Trades are not instant, and so if your strategy relies on timing the market, this platform could cause you to lose a lot of money.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Invest in Individual Stocks
Although most M1 Finance investors focus on baskets of stocks, don’t be afraid to invest in individual stocks. This Motley Fool review shows that this platform has a strong track record for individual stock recommendations.
M1 allows you to invest in individual companies and ETFs. These are kept separate from the rest of your portfolio, so it’s easy to manage.
Robo-advisors are all about expanding market access to more of the general population. If you’re yet to invest, gather together some investment tools and resources and start your investment journey.
Although there are competitors like Mindful Trader, Stash, and Acorns, M1 Finance is one of the best platforms for newer investors to begin learning about the markets and making money.
