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SoFi Active Investing packs in essential perks such as no trading commissions, no account minimums, and a high-quality mobile app experience. But if you're wanting to buy mutual funds, you'll want to look elsewhere. Learn more about stock broker with our SoFi Active Investing review.
Ratings Methodology
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We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Rating image, 4.0 out of 5 stars.
4.0 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Bottom Line
A clear standout for a modern investing experience, particularly for beginner and long-term investors. The ability to buy cryptocurrencies and fractional shares bolsters our overall opinion.
Fees:
$0 for stocks, 1.25% for cryptocurrencies
Account Minimum:
$1
Open Account
On SoFi Active Investing's Secure Website.
Full SoFi Active Investing review
This stock broker is a good fit for: Beginner stock and ETF investors seeking a high-quality mobile experience and low commissions. Mutual fund investors and options traders will want to look elsewhere.
Pros
- $0 stock and ETF commissions
- Low account minimum
- High-quality mobile app
Cons
- No mutual funds
- No stock option trading
Top perks
No trading commissions
Most brokerages have scrapped trading commissions for online stock and ETF trades. SoFi is no different.
No account minimums
You can open a SoFi account with $1.
Buy fractional shares
SoFi is one of the few brokerages that let investors buy fractional shares of stock. Its fractional-shares feature called Stock Bits. In a nutshell, investors can buy a portion of a share of stock for as little as $1. This means that not only can investors open an account with a tiny deposit, but they can actually invest that tiny amount of money -- even in stocks whose share prices are relatively high.
Cryptocurrency trading
SoFi allows investors to trade cryptocurrency 24/7 through the same SoFi Invest platform that they use to buy and sell stocks. Current offerings include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum Classic. SoFi has plans to add up to 40 more digital currencies to the platform.
All-in-one app
SoFi has an easy-to-use app that serves as the functional home base for its investing platform and other financial products.
Retirement accounts
Unlike some of the other low-frills brokerages, SoFi offers traditional, Roth, and SEP-IRA accounts to its investors, both active and automated.
Discounts on other SoFi products
As an Active Investor user, you'll become a SoFi member. This entitles you to discounts on other products offered by the company. For example, if you end up taking out a personal loan, you can get a discounted interest rate because of your relationship with the company.
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What could be improved
Mutual funds and options
You can buy and sell ETFs on SoFi's platform, but not mutual funds or options. If you want to invest in mutual funds or find an options broker, you'll have to do it with another broker.
Margin
We're generally not big fans of margin investing. Nevertheless, it's worth pointing out that SoFi doesn't currently offer margin accounts.
Account types
SoFi offers traditional brokerage accounts, as well as traditional and Roth IRAs. It also offers SEP-IRAs -- a favorite of self-employed individuals. However, it does not offer SIMPLE IRAs, Solo 401(k) accounts, UGMA/UTMA accounts, trusts, and several other account types you might be interested in.
Trading platform
SoFi's desktop and app-based trading platforms are easy to use. However, they don't have as many features as some of the other top brokerages. Active investors and those who want features like stock research, charting tools, and other advanced features may want to look elsewhere.
Alternatives to consider
If you want a high-quality mobile app with a better trading platform: Robinhood led the race to the bottom with $0 stock, ETF, and options commissions. It also offers one of the best mobile trading platforms around. Similar to SoFi Active Investing, though, Robinhood doesn't offer mutual fund investing.
If you want a full-featured broker: TD Ameritrade shines where SoFi Active Investing doesn't, particularly when it comes to offering a great trading platform, mutual fund and options investing, more account types, and margin. But investors will want to look elsewhere if interested in fractional share investing or trading cryptocurrencies.
Commissions
Like most other brokerages, SoFi Active Investing doesn't charge commissions on stock trades. However, it doesn't offer options trading or mutual funds.
| Stocks and ETFs | Options | Mutual Funds |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | Not offered | Not offered |
Buying mutual funds
SoFi doesn't offer mutual funds at this time. The platform is designed to allow investors to buy and sell only stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. This could certainly change in the future. SoFi Active Investing is a very young platform and is likely to evolve rapidly over the coming years.
Fees
SoFi Active Investing is a fee-free investment platform. On all stock and ETF trades, investors will pay $0 in transaction fees. It doesn't offer the types of investment transactions (like buying options or using broker-assisted trades) that typically incur fees.
Note this review is primarily about the stock and ETF side of SoFi Active Investing. Customers can buy and sell certain types of cryptocurrencies, too. SoFi does charge a fee for these. Specifically, SoFi will add a 1.25% "markup" to cryptocurrency purchases on its platform.
Trading platform
Investors can buy and sell stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies through SoFi's desktop platform. They can also use its highly-rated app, which also serves as the home base for all of SoFi's financial products.
The SoFi app is known for its ease of use. It's currently rated at a 4.8 out of 5 in the Apple App Store, and a 4.2 out of 5 in the Google Play Store.
Margin rates
SoFi Active Investing does not offer margin investing. If margin trading is a must-have for you, you'll need to use another brokerage to get this feature.
Research offerings
SoFi Active Investing is designed as a low-frills platform. It's primarily targeted at beginning investors, and does not offer access to third-party stock research at this time. Investors who like to analyze stocks might prefer a full-featured brokerage.
SoFi Active Investing is right for you if:
- You're a beginning investor: SoFi is geared towards beginning investors. It isn't intended to be the best place for experienced investors who are analyzing stocks.
- You want to keep all of your finances in one place: SoFi is well-known for its loan products, especially personal loans. It also offers the SoFi Money account and a top robo-advisor, named SoFi Automated Investing. This product combines the best features of checking and savings accounts in one. With an all-in-one app and a wide range of financial products, SoFi can be a great choice for people who want to keep their investments in the same place as their other financial accounts.
- You don't care about options, margin, or mutual funds: SoFi Active Investing is a great place to buy and sell stocks or cryptocurrencies. That's all. If you want to invest in options, mutual funds, or pretty much anything else, you'll have to do it elsewhere.
- You want low-frills, but also want to invest for retirement: This is a big differentiator. Most other low-frills platforms don't offer IRAs. Robinhood and Cash App don't. SoFi gives investors an easy-to-use way to invest for retirement.
About the Author
Matt is a Certified Financial Planner® and investment advisor based in Columbia, South Carolina. He writes personal finance and investment advice for The Ascent and its parent company The Motley Fool, with more than 4,500 published articles and a 2017 SABEW Best in Business award. Matt writes a weekly investment column ("Ask a Fool") that is syndicated in USA Today, and his work has been regularly featured on CNBC, Fox Business, MSN Money, and many other major outlets. He’s a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Nova Southeastern University, and holds a graduate certificate in financial planning from Florida State University.
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