Friday, April 29, 2016

Market Update Today! April 29, 2016

Happy Friday everyone!

The market is down along with Acorns Portfolios. 

Aggressive is down by -0.60%.
Moderately Aggressive is down by -0.50%.
Moderate is down by -0.40%
Moderately Conservative is down by -0.30%.
Conservative is down by -0.20%

I added $200 more because the market is down. 

Have a good day!

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Acorns Trade and Confirmation Statements

I got my first Acorns trade and confirmation statement today.

acorns trade statement

I finally can see the purchase price of each ETF. 

My portfolio is setup to aggressive. 

Daily Market Update! April 28, 2016

All Acorns Portfolio down..

Aggressive down by -0.70%
Moderately Aggressive down by -0.60% 
Moderate down by -0.50%
Moderately Conservative down by -0.40%
Conservative down by -0.30%

 We had better days :D

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Market Update today! April 27, 2016

Happy Wednesday everyone!

The market continues to go up from Monday!

All the portfolios gained the same amount at an impressive +0.30%!

Conservative Acorns is up +0.30%
Moderately Conservative Acorns is up +0.30%
Moderate Acorns is up +0.30%
Moderately Aggressive Acorns is up +0.30%
Aggressive Acorns is up +0.30%


Note: We started tracking the funds on 04/25/2016.

Join Acorns and get $5 free to start investing!

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Market Update today! April 26, 2016

Happy Tuesday everyone!

The market continues to go up from Monday!

I have changed my portfolio to aggressive.

Conservative Acorns is up +0.20%
Moderately Conservative Acorns is up +0.30%
Moderate Acorns is up +0.40%
Moderately Aggressive Acorns is up +0.50%
Aggressive Acorns is up +0.60%


Note: We started tracking the funds on 04/25/2016.

Join Acorns and get $5 free to start investing!

Getting started with Acorns investment app

It is surprisingly easy to get started with Acorns investment app.

If you haven't joined already, you can get $5 free from Acorns here. You can only get the $5 free using the promotional invitation code above.

What to expect during the registration process
During the registration process, you will need to submit your legal name, email address (use your .edu email and get free access til you reach 24), primary phone number, home address, and social security number (Patriot Act). In addition, you will also need to add PIN as an added protection.

The registration process is less than five minutes.

After registration, you will then add your checking account and round up account. The checking account funds your investments. All withdrawals are sent to this account as well. Note that changing the funding source may delay a withdrawal as the new funding source must be verified. The round up accounts track your spending for Round-Ups. The funds for Round-Ups come from the bank account connected on the Checking tab.
Acorns app approval

Acorns does reserve the right to approve or deny account accounts. After submitting my application, I was approved for an account in 17 minutes.

You then fund your account for less than $5. It takes 1-3 business days for the funds to clear and be ready for investment.

Before you get a full access, they will need to verify your account. They will use the information provided on the application and checking account to verify the account. This is in line with the Patriot Act. Verification should take less than 3 business days.

Diversified Portfolios
The fun part of Acorns investment app is choosing among the 5 portfolios.

Aggressive offers the most capital appreciation with major risk.

Moderately Aggressive offers capital growth with risk.

Moderate offers capital growth with safety cushion.

Moderately Conservative offers safe investment with steady income coming in.

Conservative offers safe and sound investment.

Acorns investment app excels in ease of registration process, diversified portfolios, and low cost. New investors are provided with great platform to start.

Always remember, always do your own due diligence.






Monday, April 25, 2016

Market Update today! April 25, 2016

Happy Monday everyone!

This starts our daily Acorns market update!

Conservative Acorns is up +0.10%
Moderately Conservative Acorns is up +0.10%
Moderate Acorns is up +0.10%
Moderately Aggressive Acorns is up +0.20%
Aggressive Acorns is up +0.20%




Acorns Portfolio Current Dividend Yield

Portfolios on Acorns comes with dividends and they get reinvested automatically.

Aggressive 3 %

Moderately Aggressive 2.7 %

Moderate 2.5 %

Moderately Conservative 2.4 %

Conservative 2 %

Looking at the list, the Acorns Aggressive Portfolio offers the most dividend yield at 3%. The dividend yield mostly comes from real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs make up 30 % of the Aggressive Acorns portfolio.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

The Best Portfolio on Acorns App Investment

I think the hardest part of investing with the Acorns app is choosing which portfolio is the best suited to our investment needs.
Time Horizon
A time horizon or planning horizon is a fixed point of time in the future at which point certain processes will be evaluated or assumed to end. Wikipedia.org

If you have about 20-30 years before you retire, an aggressive portfolio is ideal. It provides the maximum capital appreciation, however it assumes that you wont need the money invested for 20-30 years. Aggressive portfolios requires a long time horizon and market is always going up and down. Patience is a virtue in investing. There will be ups and downs.


Diversification
Spread the Wealth. Equities are wonderful, but don't put all of your investment in one stock or one sector. Investopedia.com

The good thing about Acorns is that they use 6 exchange trade funds (ETF) focusing in different sectors. They have Large Company, Small Company, Emerging Market, Real Estate, Government Bonds, and Corporate Bonds. Acorns invests on each ETF depending on your investing style.

What's Best for you
This is hard to answer.

For example, I am 22 years old and my investing style right now on Acorns is Moderate. Now, those with investment experience will realize that I have a very long time horizon. One would expect for me to put my money to a more aggressive portfolio.

But why did I choose to invest my money on the Moderate portfolio?

It's more to do with risk-tolerance. The Moderate portfolio is a safe investment with 39% invested in bonds with very little risk on volatile markets like 10% Emerging Markets and 19% Small Cap Stocks. However, it still provides growth with 16% invested in Large company stocks and 16% Real Estate Stocks.

Emerging markets and small cap stocks are just too risky for my liking. A lot of them are one time hit wonders or momentum stocks.

Check your investment horizon, diversify, and do your own due diligence.




Saturday, April 23, 2016

Acorns Investment Composition Demystified NYSEARCA:VWO

One of the investment composition in Acorns diversified portfolio is NYSE ARCA: VWO by Vanguard.

Invests in stocks of companies located in emerging markets around the world, such as China, Brazil, Taiwan, and South Africa. Goal is to closely track the return of the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Transition Index. Has high potential for growth, but also high risk; share value may swing up and down more than that of stock funds that invest in developed countries, including the United States. Only appropriate for long-term goals.

This is very aggressive.

Average annual performance

 
  | 
 As of03/31/2016

1 Year3 Year5 Year10 YearSince Inception
03/04/2005
FTSE Emerging Markets ETF**–12.63%–4.35%–4.15%2.83%5.38%
Spliced Emerging Markets Index†–12.45%–4.16%–3.96%3.01%5.58%

Characteristics as of 03/31/2016
Fund total net assets$51.5 billion
Number of stocks3944
Net assets of ten largest holdings17.0%

Month-end ten largest holdings
(17.0% of total net assets) as of 03/31/2016 
1Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
2Tencent Holdings Ltd.
3China Mobile Ltd.
4China Construction Bank Corp.
5Naspers Ltd.
6Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.
7Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.
8Infosys Ltd.
9Bank of China Ltd.
10Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd.
Source: http://www.vanguard.com

Acorns Investment Composition Demystified NYSEARCA:VOO

One of the investment composition in Acorns diversified portfolio is NYSE ARCA: VOO by VanGuard.


Invests in stocks in the S&P 500 Index, representing 500 of the largest U.S. companies. Goal is to closely track the index’s return, which is considered a gauge of overall U.S. stock returns. Offers high potential for investment growth; share value rises and falls more sharply than that of funds holding bonds. More appropriate for long-term goals where your money’s growth is essential.

This investment is moderately aggressive.

Average annual performance
 As of03/31/2016

1 Year3 Year5 Year10 YearSince Inception
09/07/2010
S&P 500 ETF1.75%11.78%11.54%14.45%
S&P 500 Index**1.78%11.82%11.58%7.01%14.49%

Portfolio composition


Equity sector diversification
S&P 500 ETF
as of 03/31/2016
S&P 500 Index
as of 03/31/2016
Consumer Discretionary12.90%12.90%
Consumer Staples10.40%10.40%
Energy6.80%6.80%
Financials15.60%15.60%
Health Care14.30%14.30%
Industrials10.10%10.10%
Information Technology20.80%20.80%
Materials2.80%2.80%
Other0.00%
Telecommunication Services2.80%2.80%
Utilities3.50%3.50%
Sector categories are based on the Global Industry Classification Standard system.
 Characteristics as of 03/31/2016
Number of stocks506
Fund total net assets$227.5 billion
Net assets of ten largest holdings19.0%
Foreign holdings

Month-end ten largest holdings
(19.0% of total net assets) as of 03/31/2016 
1Apple Inc.
2Alphabet Inc.
3Microsoft Corp.
4Exxon Mobil Corp.
5Johnson & Johnson
6General Electric Co.
7Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
8Facebook Inc.
9AT&T Inc.
10Amazon.com Inc.

Source: http://www.vanguard.com