SoFi Active Investing review 2024
Written by
Edited by
The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for .
SoFi Active Investing: Best for
SoFi Active Investing is a low-cost broker that does the fundamentals well and will likely appeal most to new investors or those looking to expand their relationship with this financial institution. For example, SoFi offers fractional share investing from just $5, allowing anyone to buy virtually any of the 4,000 stocks and ETFs on the platform. You won’t pay a commission on those trades, and the broker is also one of just a few offering no-commission options trading, too. SoFi’s mobile app allows you to track not just your investments but any of your accounts at this financial one-stop shop. In early 2024, SoFi also began offering mutual funds and some alternative investments, broadening its offering to investors.
Despite these positives, SoFi doesn’t offer as many mutual funds as some competitors, such as Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest. You’ll also be charged fees for transfering your account or closing an IRA. Those looking for another one-stop financial powerhouse should investigate Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments, too.
We want to know what you think about SoFi Active Investing
Do you have experience with SoFi Active Investing? Let us know your thoughts.
SoFi Active Investing: In the details
- Fractional shares
- Commission-free stock, option and ETF trades
- New investors
- Fractional shares
- Commission-free stock, option and ETF trades
- New investors
Pros: Where SoFi Active Investing stands out
Fractional shares
SoFi offers fractional shares on both new purchases and reinvested dividends, allowing customers to get started with as little as $5. Fractional shares are particularly popular with new investors who may not be able to afford entire shares in multiple companies. Fractional shares can allow you to build a diversified portfolio even if you don’t have a lot to invest.
SoFi allows fractional shares trading in more than 4,000 stocks and ETFs including popular companies such as Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Tesla (TSLA). This offering gives SoFi a leg up on other brokers that don’t offer fractional shares at all or only offer them on reinvested dividends.
Commission-free stocks, options and ETFs
You won’t have to worry about commissions eating into your investment returns, thanks to SoFi offering commission-free trading of stocks, options and ETFs. No-cost trading of stocks and ETFs has become the industry standard after leading brokers such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity cut commissions to zero in 2019. And SoFi recently added no-commission options trading, joining Webull and Robinhood in doing so. The addition of options trading moves SoFi another step closer to offering the most popular securities at no cost.
Historically, these pesky trading fees could have a big impact on the ultimate returns you earn over your investing life. Over long time periods, even small differences in the return you earn can have a major impact on the value of your investments due to the effects of compounding. So it’s great to see SoFi adding options to its stable of no-commission trading services.
Mobile app
SoFi’s mobile app is easy to use and allows you to track your finances all in one place. Whether you use SoFi for its checking and savings accounts or are looking to trade stocks, you can access everything you need in the app.
It’s simple to place a trade or just check in on your portfolio’s value when you’re on the go. Not all brokers offer access to all accounts through mobile apps, so SoFi stands out here.
Cons: Where SoFi Active Investing could improve
Account fees
While SoFi emphasizes its low costs, it does still charge account fees for a variety of different actions. You’ll pay $25 for an outgoing wire transfer, $100 to transfer your account to another firm and a $20 IRA closing fee. There are also fees for paper statements and participating in an IPO.
These fees aren’t likely to be regular occurrences, but they still eat into investors’ returns and can be sizable for those who manage small portfolios. Fees are almost always a negative for investors, and many popular brokers don’t charge IRA fees and the very best brokers don’t ding you for transferring your securities, either.
Limited research offering
SoFi doesn’t offer much in the way of investment research for customers. You’ll get some basic stock pages with key information, but it doesn’t come close to matching what is available through other brokers such as Fidelity or Merrill Edge. Serious investors expect access to research from a variety of sources, so it would benefit SoFi to boost its offering here.
To be sure, SoFi does offer a solid educational site that can be helpful to new investors who are looking to understand basic terms and concepts. You can even get ideas for how to set your own financial goals and which investment strategies might be the best fit for you.
Review methodology
SoFi Active Investing customer reviews
SoFi Active Investing has 16 reviews
Dive into community reviews below and see what others think about SoFi Active Investing.
In July 2024, Bankrate collaborated with a third-party vendor to survey 800 brokerage and robo-advisor account holders nationwide. Bankrate and our vendor collected and summarized account holder responses to five rating questions on a 5-point scale as well as open-ended reviews of the account experience. Responses are based on individual account holder product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by the associated brokerage or robo-advisor, nor do these responses reflect Bankrate's own expert review of these banking products.
Community Reviews
Thank you for sharing your experience with Bankrate
