Is Acorns A Good Investment Tool?

If you're new to investing (or just looking to invest in something new), it’s normal to have questions about where your money is going and how it might perform. 

At Acorns, we want to be as transparent as possible about what we offer and what you can expect so that you can make the best decision for you and your money.

What is the Acorns investment app?

Acorns makes it easier for everyone to save and invest their money with simple-to-use financial wellness tools. With Acorns, you can invest for yourself, your retirement, and your kids. Plus, Acorns offers a bank account that puts investing at the center of your money by allowing you to automatically allocate a piece of your paychecks across your different investment accounts.

Is Acorns a good investment tool?

There are no crystal balls when it comes to the market, and what is a good investment for some, may not be a good investment for others. However, we strive to offer easy investing options for all, Acorns portfolios were built on time-tested investing principles and are designed with diversification in mind, giving your money a change to grow over time. 

Start investing your spare change

An Acorns subscription gives you access to our Round-Ups® feature, which helps you start investing even if you don’t have a lot of cash saved up. In fact, you can get started with just your spare change. Every time you swipe your linked debit or credit card, Acorns’ Round-Ups® feature automatically saves and invests your spare change for you. And those small investments can really add up over time! The average Acorns user saves and invests over $150 in their first 4 months using the Round-Ups® feature.

We’re in it for the long term

Acorns is built on long-term investing principles. With a long-term investing strategy, you stay focused on a long-term investment horizon even when short-term market volatility and your emotions might be pulling you in the other direction. Just remember, historically, the market tends to reward a long-term outlook: every market downturn in U.S. history has ended in an upturn. And if your financial goals are 10, 20, or 30 years in the future, what happens in the stock market today will likely have little bearing on your investments in a decade.

The opportunity of compounding

We all know that money doesn’t grow on trees. But with the potential for compound returns, your money does have a chance to grow on itself. It’s another long-term investing principle and what people mean when they say “make your money work for you.”

Here’s how compound returns work: when the value of your investment grows based not only on the original principal but also based on the returns that investment generated. Now, you’ve got more money invested, which can result in higher returns. Basically, your investment earns returns, which can earn more returns, and so on.

Try our compound interest calculator to see for yourself!

Expert-built portfolios, recommended for you

We know that everyone’s financial wellness journey is unique. That's why Acorns offers 9 different expert-built portfolios, 5 Core portfolios and 4 with an ESG focus. And when you sign up for an Acorns Invest Account, we’ll recommend a Core portfolio for you based upon your age, income, and investing goals.

Diversify your investments from the start

You’ve probably heard the phrase “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Well, the same goes for investing! That’s why Acorns' ETF portfolios are strategically diversified right from the start. Diversification means your investments are exposed to a broad range of stocks, bonds, or both. With Acorns, your investments could possibly be exposed to over 7,000 different assets, which can help reduce your risk compared to trading individual stocks.

Benefits of ETFs

An Acorns investment portfolio contains Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs. They're like baskets of different investments, including stocks and/or bonds, and come with benefits like diversification, lower costs, and potential tax efficiency. Plus, when you invest in Acorns ETF portfolios, there’s a good chance a portion of your investment is in some of the world’s largest and most successful companies, including names like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Berkshire Hathaway. 

(The companies referenced above represent potential underlying holdings of the Acorns ETF portfolios only and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any specific security.)

Invest in what really matters

Acorns Early makes it easy to start investing for the kids in your life. Acorns Early is an UTMA/UGMA custodial account (Uniform Transfer to Minors/Uniform Gift to Minors). Unlike other accounts intended for educational expenses only (like a 529 plan), Early funds can be used in various ways when it directly benefits the child. Plus, the account is easily transferred to the beneficiary when they reach the age of majority.  

Even more ways to Earn

With Acorns, there’s more than one way to grow your oak! With Acorns Earn, you can earn bonus investments just for shopping at thousands of top brands — including ones you likely shop at anyway! You can search for these offers right in the Acorns app or download the Acorns Earn browser extensions so you never miss a chance to earn.

Tons of tools, one low fee

We bundle our products into subscription tiers that provide easy-to-use financial wellness tools. Rather than surprise fees, Acorns charges just one, low monthly fee. With our up-front pricing and simple, transparent plans, you always know what you’re going to pay and what you’re going to get.

Ready to start saving and investing?

Acorns puts investing on autopilot so you can work on your financial wellness in the background of life. Sign up in minutes and we’ll recommend an investment portfolio for your money goals. From there, you can set automated investments, starting with just your spare change.

You can sign up here and start investing in just a few minutes.