For last few years, online investing has been drastically changing. Today, we have wide range of countless investing tools, traditional brokerage firms and Robo-advisors. This makes it difficult for beginner investors to choose an option that suits them well. If you want to choose an investing platform according to your strategy, you should read this M1 Finance vs. Vanguard review.
Vanguard is one of the largest providers of mutual funds and offers more than 6.2 trillion worth of assets. Meanwhile M1 Finance is a new brokerage that is rapidly becoming popular. It offers a plethora of investing markets such as ETFs and stocks. It is a commission-free tool that doesn’t charge you on your trades. Currently, M1 Finance has more than $5 billion worth of assets. But since, it is drastically growing it might become one of the largest platform in the world.
So, the question remains the same, what is a better investing option between M1 Finance and Vanguard. Let’s take a review of both the platforms.
What is M1 Finance?
Brian Barnes launched M1 Finance in 2015 to facilitate beginner investors. It is a Chicago based investment tool and holds more than $5 billion worth of investments. Because this platform offers automated portfolios, it is becoming popular. Also, investors with little or no knowledge about the market use this platform to access financial market.
M1 Finance enables new investors to understand the market and make decisions. With the help of automated portfolio investors can save money and plan their retirement. This tool is a game changer for many investors. Completely automated services make this tool a unique option for investors. Furthermore, with the help of pie investing feature, you can customize your portfolios and take control over your investments. M1 Finance offers wide range of features that you wouldn’t get from other investment tools. These features are:
- Automated rebalancing
- Fractional shares
- Smart transfers
- Tax minimization
- Free retirement accounts
- Expert portfolio or pies
- Dividend reinvestment
What is Vanguard?
Jack Bogle introduced Vanguard in 1975 with low-cost investing. From the time of its launch, this Pennsylvania based investing company becomes one of the popular investment tools in the country. This was the first-ever tool that offered index fund, which makes it a unique tool that time.Â
Vanguard offers 0.04% on its ETFs, while M1 Finance offers 0% fees on its investing options. Keep in mind that investors run this platform by managing the funds on an indirect basis. Today, Vanguard is the second-biggest ETF provider and biggest provider of mutual funds. The major features of Vanguard are:
- Wide variety of account types
- Commission free accounts
- Research tools
M1 Finance vs. Vanguard – Which Tool is the Best?
Although M1 Finance is a new investing tool, it offers incredible benefits. That’s the reason why it is more popular than other tools. Both these platforms targets different types of investors. Vanguard requires huge minimum investment. Therefore, it is a perfect tool for professional investors. Meanwhile, M1 Finance is perfect for beginners with low-investments. So, if you want to get started with investment, but have low budget, you should choose M1 Finance. It enables you to invest as low as a few dollars. Also, it allows you to customize your portfolio. The platform use M1 pie system for portfolio customization. Here are some advantages of using M1 Finance:
- No account minimums
- No fees or commissions
- Automatic rebalancing
- Tax optimization
- Fractional shares of stocks
- Commission free trading
- Retirement accounts
On the other hand, Vanguard allows you to choose your portfolio based on your needs. That’s what attracts investors with high net-worth. When they create portfolio using this tool, they can choose relevant features. Vanguard is better than various investment tools such as Betterment. Here are some advantages of using Vanguard:
- Time-tested brokerage
- Low-cost management fees
- Large fund selection
- Commission-free trading with ETFs and stocks.
Conclusion
M1 Finance is the better option than Vanguard for various reasons. First, it offers customizable portfolio so investors can take complete control over their investments. Secondly, M1 Finance is a user-friendly tool suitable for beginners. Lastly, you can start your investment with as little as one dollar. Hopefully, this M1 Finance vs. Vanguard comparison was enough to help you pick the best tool for your investments. If you want to learn more about M1 Finance, visit this link.
