Are you looking for a simple and easy-to-use app to start investing with? Stash may be an option worth checking out.
Stash is one of the easiest investment apps to get started with, in our opinion.
Unsurprisingly, the app is one of the fastest-growing platforms available today, with over four million Americans already taking advantage of what it has to offer.
In this post, I’ll cover Stash in more detail. You’ll learn about our favorite features – and find out answers to questions that I most frequently get asked about Stash (such as whether it’s legit, safe, and if investing with Stash is a good idea).
What Does Stash Offer?
Stash is an investment and banking app rolled into one easy to use platform squarely aimed at people who have little to no experience investing. It allows you to grow your financial portfolio through easy-to-use savings strategies.
To help you save more, it also gives you the opportunity to learn more about finance and investing through education and recommendations.
Knowing that it’s educating you at the same time is a big bonus – especially if you’re new to the whole investing game, and don’t have very much money to start with.
Stash Investment Account
A Stash Personal Brokerage account is a type of account you can easily set up on Stash. It allows you to invest in Stocks, ETFs, and bonds with as little as $1.00. They also offer the option of fractional shares.
Stash offers 2 main subscription plans depending on your financial goals.
Growth Plan – $3.00 / month
This plan might be for those looking to build a more stable foundation for their financial life.
You get everything mentioned in the Beginner plan with the addition of a retirement account (IRA) with tax benefits.
Stash+ Plan – $9.00 / month
Finally, there’s Stash+! You can use this plan to help grow your financial power.
You get all of what the Growth plan has to offer plus investing accounts for two kids4, a metal debit card with 2x Stock-Back® rewards2, as well as monthly market insights reports.
Stock-Back® Rewards
Stash also has a rewards scheme called Stock-Back®, which is quite cool.
If you signup for a Stash Bank account and use your Stash debit card to make purchases at publicly-traded companies, say Chipotle or Amazon, you will get rewarded with a percentage of that company’s stock. If you purchase at a local store, you will earn Stock-Back® rewards in a diversified ETF.
Just another way to help you invest.
Stash Retirement and Custodial Accounts
With Stash, you can also plan for longer-term investments by setting up retirement and custodial accounts to save for your retirement or your kids’ future, respectively.
Retirement accounts help you save on your tax bill with both Roth IRA and Traditional IRA accounts available. Which one you choose will largely depend on your financial goals.
Just like the retirement account, custodial accounts can grow over time thanks to compounding interest; however, these are not high-yield savings accounts.
Features such as Auto-Stash can also help you easily stay on track with automatic transfers at a schedule you can set yourself.
Educational Resources
I’m sure you’ll agree that investing can be unnecessarily complicated. The jargon the financial industry uses can sound alien to the uninitiated, which, together with the high barrier entry, makes it impossible for those who do not have a Ph.D. in finance to invest in a way that they understand what is actually going on.
This is why Stash offers a coach and a financial education platform that breaks down the unnecessary complexity surrounding financial investments so that you can not only understand what is going on but also have access to sound advice you can act on.
Stash Learn and Stash Coach
Features like Stash Learn and Stash Coach can help you quickly understand the intricacies and jargon that surround the world of investments.
Stash Learn covers the topics of finance and investment news, as well as practical money coverage tips and solutions for everyday situations. Stash Coach provides personalized financial coaching, making learning about investing fun.
You can learn about the investment world through completing sets of challenges, designed specifically to help you understand investing better.
Stash FAQs
Because Stash is changing investing, there are a lot of questions about the app. Here are some of the most common questions about Stash investing.
Is Stash Legitimate?
If you’re still not sure whether Stash is legitimate, the short answer is yes. Stash is a legitimate financial solution, registered with the US Securities Exchange Commission. The company has been in business since 2015 and has since then experienced encouraging growth.
What Are Fractional Shares?
Shares can be quite pricey things to buy, putting them out of most people’s reach. Fractional shares, on the other hand, make investing quite affordable for everyone.
When talking about fractional shares, what essentially happens is Stash allows you to buy a percentage of the share, thereby making it more affordable.
You can also buy ETFs about causes that are close to your heart, such as social media, green energy, and gender equality. There are over 1,800 different ETFs and stocks to choose from.
What are ETFs?
ETF, which stands for Exchange Traded Fund, is a collection of different investments put together as one investment.
ETFs are usually constructed in such a way as to track the performance of an underlying index ex-S&P 500. Stash has several ETFs available to invest in that are more user-friendly than indices.
Is Investing With Stash a Good Idea?
If you’re looking at taking the next steps to financial freedom, investing is always a good idea. There is a caveat here that needs to be mentioned; investing is always a good idea, as long as you understand what you’re investing in.
This is what makes investing with Stash a good – or even great idea: their financial education system is just brilliant at helping you understand what you’re investing in and how you should invest your money to see a healthy return.
Of course, investing can be risky – but understanding that risk goes a long way in making sure you are investing with your head and not over it.
Is Stash a Safe App?
When you decide to invest your money, it’s absolutely crucial to make sure you go for a company that’ll keep your money safe. And what about Stash? You have nothing to worry about, as the company takes all necessary security precautions to ensure the Stash app and your account are as secure as possible.
All Stash accounts need a user ID, a password, and a pin to log in successfully. Furthermore, you can also use your phone’s biometric sensors such as fingerprint readers, to enhance the security of your account further.
All data is encrypted using 256K bit encryption, which is one of the most secure encryption methods available today. The application also uses TLS to ensure all communication between you and the server is protected.
It is also worth mentioning here that Stash is PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant, which makes it as safe and reliable as they come.
How is my money on Stash Protected?
All Stash accounts are held by a custodian, Apex Clearing, a registered broker-dealer regulated by FINRA.
At Apex, your investments are protected up to a maximum of $500,000 total, including $250,000 in cash balances through the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). This protection does not insure against the potential loss of market value.
For uninvested funds, your Stash account is enrolled in something called the Apex FDIC-insured Sweep Program.
Deposits to the Sweep Program are covered by FDIC insurance up to the $250,000 limit per customer at each FDIC-insured bank that participates in the Sweep Program. Once your cash is deposited with participating banks under the Sweep Program, such cash will no longer be covered by SIPC.
Is Stash A Good Investment Option?
So, now that you know more about Stash, could it be the right investment app for you? What I like the most about Stash is that it simplifies investing, and makes it accessible to everyone. Saving and investing aren’t the easiest things to do when you don’t have much money to spare or years of first-hand investing experience.
But whether it’s retirement money, your emergency fund, or anything in between – healthy finances are pivotal to a healthy life.
This is why Stash can be such a useful financial tool in your pocket (literally). Not only is Stash a legit investing app – but it is also an excellent way to save and grow your money. You can start to grow your money pot while you learn about the ins and outs of investing, taught to you in simple and fun ways.
Stash helps you stay involved in how your money is saved and how it grows, and could help alleviate the concerns many new investors have – such as not understanding the language, or worrying that they don’t have a large enough sum to start with.
With Stash, you can start with as little as $1.00, making it easy to kick-start your investing journey with as little as the cost of a coffee.
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