Stash is a personal finance app that aims to make investing easier.
Stash, which is available for iOS and Android, provides investing and savings tools, the Stock-Back Card, fractional share purchasing, a $5 cash intro offer, and other features.
How does Stash function? What can Stash be used for? Is the $5 free offer genuine? Continue reading to learn everything there is to know about Stash.
What is Stash?
Stash is a personal finance app that is available for both iOS and Android devices. Stash, like Robin Hood, aims to make investing simple for anyone. Stash could be the right choice for you, whether you're an experienced investor or trying to buy stocks for the first time.
Stash has over 5 million users as of July 2021. The Stock-Back Card, a debit card that rewards you with stock in major brands in exchange for making purchases, is also available through the app.
Stash offers three subscription plans: $1 per month, $3 per month, and $9 per month. All subscriptions include a debit card, but the $3 and $9 monthly subscriptions include additional account options (such as Traditional and Roth IRAs and custodial accounts), financial subscription services, and other benefits.
How Does Stash Work?
Stash aims to make investing simple for newcomers. The app requires no minimum balance to open a personal portfolio, making it an excellent choice for those with any amount of money to invest. Stash also has retirement and custodial portfolios available.
If you're looking for a simple way to invest, Stash might be the way to go. The app simplifies the selection of stocks and exchange-traded funds. For a monthly subscription fee of $1 to $9, you get access to a brokerage account, Stash's online bank account, and a debit card with a rewards program (even at the lowest $1 subscription level).
Stash offers a retirement account (either a Roth or traditional IRA account) at the $3 per month subscription level for investors willing to spend more. Stash offers two custodial accounts for minors, additional rewards bonuses, and a subscription to a monthly investment advisory, among other benefits, for $9 per month.
Smart Portfolios, a fully-managed, automatically rebalanced portfolio option, was introduced by Stash in 2021. Stash Smart Portfolios, which is available at the $3 and $9 per month tiers, works similarly to the robo-investing services offered by other brokerages, automatically balancing your portfolio with a hands-off approach to investing.
Stash Features
Here are some of the most important facts about Stash and its subscription options:
$0 is the minimum account balance.
Account Management Fee: $1/month, $3/month, or $9/month
Expense Ratio for Non-Thematic Funds: 0.16 percent, 0.25 percent for All Other Funds
Other account fees include a subscription fee, no annual fee, no inactivity fee, and a $75 outgoing transfer fee.
More than 3,000 ETFs and individual stocks are available for investment.
Individual brokerage accounts, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, online debit accounts, and various types of custodial accounts are all available.
Robo Investing: Intelligent Portfolios (automatic rebalancing on withdrawals and contributions and quarterly rebalancing)
Other Resources: DRIP, retirement calculator, diversification analysis, Stash Coach (for investor education), and debit card rewards.
Stash Advantages
Stash's main advantage is that it teaches new investors how to invest. If you're new to the world of investing and want a simple way to get started, Stash might be the right choice for you. Here are a few of the benefits of using Stash.
Easy to Pick Stocks and ETFs
Stash allows you to purchase over 3,000 stocks and ETFs. The user interface of Stash makes it simple to understand what each investment is about, providing critical information about each asset at a glance.
You can easily view the following information before purchasing a stock or ETF through Stash:
- A summary of the investment and what it entails
- A risk analysis bar graph indicating the asset's riskiness.
- ETF descriptions with the ticker symbol and price, as well as the expense ratio and a list of the ETF's holdings
If you want to learn more about a stock or ETF, you can use Stash's interface. Each asset has a question mark that allows you to learn more about it.
Unique ETF Categorization
It can be difficult to sort through ETFs. Blackrock and Vanguard's top products can all sound so similar. Stash distinguishes between ETFs by giving them distinct names.
Instead of using SPDR to refer to the popular biotech ETF, Stash refers to it as "Modern Meds." Meanwhile, Vanguard's small-cap ETF is dubbed "Small But Mighty" by Stash. You can also look at ETF categories like Clean & Green (for clean energy), Do the Right Thing (for socially responsible companies), Women Who Lead (for companies led by women), and Rate Hike Refuge (for a floating rate bond ETF), among others.
Automated Investing
Stash, like other modern brokerages, makes it simple to invest your money automatically. Stash has a number of automatic investing features that make it simple to save money. You can, for example, round up your debit card purchases to the nearest dollar. When that amount reaches $5, Stash transfers the funds to your investment account, providing you with regular $5 infusions of cash.
Stash also makes it simple to reinvest dividends automatically (via DRIP). Dividends can be automatically reinvested across all account types using Stash's DRIP.
Stash also offers the following automated investing tools:
Set a Schedule: With Stash, you can create a recurring schedule and automatically invest according to that schedule.
Round-Ups: Round up your debit card purchases to the nearest dollar amount and deposit the difference into your investment account (once it reaches a minimum of $5).
Smart Stash: Stash can analyze your spending habits and automatically transfer 'extra' money to your portfolio.
Overall, the automated feature of Stash makes it simple to save more money every day and month. Stash's automated investing tools can be a game changer for investors who struggle to save money for their investment accounts.
$5 Bonus
Stash is currently offering a $5 sign-up bonus. If you open a Stash account and deposit at least $5, you will receive a $5 bonus.
Budgeting Options
Stash also provides budgeting and personal financial planning tools. In your Stash debit account, for example, you can create partitions to separate parts of your account for different expenses and goals. Short-term goals can be saved for in your regular spending account.
Custodial Accounts
Stash provides custodial accounts for parents who want to open an account for their children. If you want to get your children started with investing, the Stash's custodial accounts (available for a $9 subscription fee) may be a good option.
Smart Portfolio
Stash has a Smart Portfolio system that makes it simple to build an investment portfolio based on your specific objectives. Here are some of the Smart Portfolio features that Stash users enjoy:
Smart Mix: Stash's investment picks are guided by reputable financial research as well as your own risk tolerance. You provide basic information to Stash, and it intelligently diversifies your portfolio.
Fractional Shares: Within your Smart Portfolio, you can purchase fractional shares of ETFs or companies for as little as $5.
Smart Transactions: When you add or remove cash from your Smart Portfolio, Stash automatically rebalances it, bringing you closer to your ideal investment mix.
Stress-Free Investing: The goal of Smart Portfolio is to provide you with intelligent rebalancing. If your portfolio deviates by 5% from its target allocation, Stash will rebalance it quarterly.
Flexible Plans: Access to the Smart Portfolio is included in the Stash Growth and Stash+ plans, but not in the Smart Beginner plan.
Available Investments with Stash
Stash allows investors to buy whole or fractional shares of over 3,000 stocks and ETFs. One of Stash's best features is the way it sorts stocks and makes it simple to select stocks by theme, category, and more. Stash's curated list of ETFs, for example, makes it simple to support a specific mission or cause.
Stash's 3,000 stocks and ETFs can be purchased using the following customization options:
Stocks by Industry: Select from consumer staples, energy, finance, health care, and industrials.
Stocks Organized by Category: ETFs can be chosen based on categories such as bonds, broad markets, commodities, diversified mixes, and global exposure.
View companies in specific industries, such as technology, health care, and energy.
Bonds: Purchase bond ETFs through Stash. Stash's themed bond ETFs are made up of loans to corporations and governments that have been pooled together into a single fund. Big Business Bonds, Don't Tax On Me, Uncle Sam: Short-Term, Long-Haul Bonds, and Park My Cash are among the bond ETFs offered by the firm.
If you don't want to use the above categorization options, you can search for specific stocks or ETFs within Stash, then view at-a-glance information about each stock before deciding whether to purchase it.
Security
Stash, like all personal finance apps, prioritizes security. Stash protects your account with 256-bit encryption, biometric authentication, and other cutting-edge technologies.
Through a partnership with Green Dot Bank, Stash's bank accounts are also FDIC insured up to the legal limits. Account balances of up to $500,000 are also insured by Stash's partner company, Apex Clearing Corporation.
Purchase Fractional Shares
Stash provides unique purchasing options, such as the ability to purchase fractional shares. This option has grown in popularity among investing apps, particularly as the prices of popular stocks (such as Amazon, Tesla, and Apple) have risen beyond the means of a novice investor.
Other major brokerage accounts, such as Robinhood, Charles Schwab, and TD Ameritrade, also offer fractional shares.
A fractional share can be purchased for any amount of money. When purchasing Apple, for example, you can select share options such as $5, $25, or $50. Instead of purchasing a full Apple share for $133, you receive a predetermined dollar amount. In fact, if your investment is less than $1,000 per share, you can put as little as $0.01 into it. For assets worth more than $1,000, the minimum investment is $0.05.
Stock-Return Program
Stash has a one-of-a-kind system called the Stock-Back program, which rewards you for spending money. Any qualifying purchases made with your Stash debit card earn a percentage of the purchase price back in stock. For example, if you spend $100 on qualifying purchases with your debit card, a portion of that goes toward purchasing a stock or ETF of your choice.
Disadvantages of a Stash
Stash is generally well-liked by users, and it's especially popular among novice investors who are intimidated by traditional investing platforms. Although more experienced investors may find better options, Stash has few drawbacks when compared to competing investing platforms.
Fees and Pricing
Stash's fees may be higher than those of competitors. Stash has a subscription fee model that raises rates for smaller investors, though larger investors may find Stash to offer more competitive pricing. In exchange for a fee, Stash provides a service (easy stock and ETF selection). You can get good value if you use the platform's full rebalancing options and other perks. However, if you're just looking to buy stocks and ETFs in your account, you should be able to find commission-free options.
ETFs that are too expensive and management ratios that are too high
Stash's ETFs make it simple to invest in specific causes, but they come with higher fees. Stash's ETFs have management expense ratios of 0.25 percent, which is higher than the average MER.
Pricing for Stocks
Stash has higher fees than competitors such as Acorns and Wealthfront. Due to the unique subscription system, however, investors with higher balances will pay less, while investors with lower balances will pay more. If you have a $500 balance with Stash and pay the $1 per month subscription fee, you're paying 2.4 percent in fees. If you have a balance of $5,000 or more, the fee is reduced to 0.24 percent.
What Do Users Have to Say About Stash?
Stash has received positive feedback online. It's especially popular with first-time investors looking to dip their toes into the world of investing. If they're just buying stocks and ETFs, more experienced investors may want to go with a commission-free brokerage.
Stash has received positive feedback from users on the iOS app store, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 and over 243,000 reviews. Stash has a rating of 4.2 stars out of 5 on the Google Play Store, with over 67,000 reviews.
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages mentioned by app store reviewers:
Reviewers like Stash's all-in-one convenience, which includes a debit card, brokerage account, and automatic investing features, among other things.
Some reviewers criticize Stash's purchasing system, which only buys stocks four times per day (once in the early morning, once in the middle of the day, once in the middle of the afternoon, and once in the late afternoon); if you want to buy a stock at a specific price right away, Stash may make that difficult.
Many reviewers praised the automatic investing system, particularly if they had previously struggled to contribute to their investment accounts.
Stash is popular among beginners and intermediate investors, particularly those who are just getting started and want to enjoy the thrill of seeing their investments grow over time.
Some reviewers are dissatisfied with Stash's customer service, while others appear to be satisfied with responses.
Overall, Stash is popular among first-time investors who plan to invest for the long term. If you're looking for a commission-free trading app that allows you to make multiple trades per day, Stash isn't the app for you. Stash, on the other hand, may be the best option if you're looking for a hassle-free, user-friendly way to invest.
Concerning Stash
Stash was first introduced in 2015. As of 2021, the company had received over $455 million in venture capital funding, had 5 million users, and employed over 300 people.
Brandon Krieg and Ed Robinson, the founders of Stash, are Wall Street veterans. While working on Wall Street, they noticed that wealth creation systems, particularly investing, were stacked against ordinary Americans. They quit their jobs with the goal of making investing simple and affordable for everyone.
Final Word
With 5 million users, Stash is a personal finance app. The app makes it simple for anyone to purchase shares or ETFs. Investors can begin with as little as $5.
Visit Stash.com to learn more about the personal finance platform and how it works.
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