Are you someone who has no interest in becoming a stock market guru?
You’re not alone. Just 55% of Americans own stock, which is a long way from the 2002 peak, where 67% of Americans said they owned stock. Many Americans want to invest, but they don’t want to put the time into educating themselves.
With the rise of the robo-advisor Betterment following the 2008 financial crisis, a new way of investing was born. Today, there are investing platforms that allow you to automate almost the entire process.
For the hands-off investor, SoFi Invest is a popular choice. As well as being affordable to use, you can invest in solid portfolios without being a financial expert.
If becoming a hands-off Floridian investor sounds appealing to you, keep reading to find out how it works. You can also check out this honest SoFi review for a more detailed insight into the platform.
What is SoFi Invest?
SoFi Invest is primarily aimed at the younger investor searching for a platform that makes investing easy. One of the big problems for younger Floridians is nobody is teaching kids about investing. This leaves them to make poor decisions later in life.
SoFi is a solid, comprehensive platform that simplifies the whole process. There are also no management fees and no commissions.
It excels in goal setting and chooses investments based on algorithms. Decisions are made not on hunches but solid market data.
This is the perfect combination for the investor who wants to deposit their money and watch it grow.
Choose from One of Five Portfolios
Portfolio management utilizes Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) with a primary focus on ETFs when creating portfolios.
When you create your account, there are five main portfolios to choose from. These are detailed like thus:
- Aggressive Portfolio – 90%+ stocks.
- Moderately Aggressive Portfolio – 80% stocks 20% bonds.
- Moderate Portfolio – A 60/40 split between stocks and bonds.
- Moderately Conservative Portfolio – A 40/60 split between stocks and bonds.
- Conservative Portfolio – 90%+ bonds.
Maintaining five main categories makes it simple for you to decide what you want to invest in. You don’t need to educate yourself on investing. All you have to do is know your goals and determine your personal risk tolerance.
Take Advantage of Automatic Rebalancing
The markets change. The underlying algorithms change. SoFi automatically analyzes and rebalances the portfolios it offers in the event an asset deviates by 5% or more from its target allocation.
This ensures your portfolio is balanced according to what you want at all times. Automatic rebalancing is completely free for all clients and there’s no need to speak to independent financial advisors should the market drift.
Invest in Fractional Shares to Maximize Your Money
You may have heard of platforms like M1 Finance offering something called fractional shares. These are not full shares of equity but percentages of individual shares.
Most investors don’t like them, but they ensure every single dollar you have is working hard. Over time, your fractional shares will become full shares, particularly if you’ve invested in stocks with high dividends that automatically reinvest themselves.
SoFi Invest will invest your money in your chosen portfolio automatically upon every deposit.
Opt for Recurring Deposits to Maintain Growth
SoFi Invest enables the hands-off investor to schedule recurring deposits. Set the amount you want to deposit every month and the money will leave your account and enter your investment portfolio on a specific day. Due to automatic rebalancing, you can rely on the platform to invest your money according to your instructions.
Can You Invest in Individual Stocks?
Yes! If you hear about a hot stock, you can also make an individual investment. You’re not confined exclusively to the portfolios offered by SoFi.
For example, if you feel like making a passive income through investing in a high dividend stock, you can do that. Again, you can also set up recurring deposits if you want to keep adding to your stock investment.
Other platforms like Acorns and Stash allow this too. SoFi was a little slow to catch up, but this is a platform fast expanding its number of features.
Is My Investment Protected?
SoFi has been running for several years now and has a strong track record among the investing community. When you create an account on the platform, there’s also a community of other users you can interact with. Furthermore, SoFi is a member of the SIPC, which means your investments are protected up to a maximum of $500,000 in the event the company collapses.
Whether you’re a beginner or just someone who doesn’t want to read through investment guides and learn about the markets, SoFi Invest offers a solid hands-off product. With both an easy-to-use mobile app and a strong desktop dashboard, managing your portfolio couldn’t be simpler.
