According to our idea, the TU Overall Score indicator should answer the biggest question of all: “Can I trust this broker with my money?”. The scores range within 0.01 – 9.99 (the higher the indicator the more trust the broker has). More details
- $1
- Proprietary platform SoFi
- floating
- Pattern Day Trader should maintain an account balance from $25,000
Our Evaluation of SoFi Invest
According to our idea, the TU Overall Score indicator should answer the biggest question of all: “Can I trust this broker with my money?”. The scores range within 0.01 – 9.99 (the higher the indicator the more trust the broker has). More details
SoFi Invest is one of the top brokers in the financial market with the TU Overall Score of 8 out of 10. Having reviewed trading opportunities offered by the company and reviews posted by SoFi Invest clients on our website, Traders Union expert Anton Kharitonov believes he can recommend this company as the majority of reviews prove that the broker’s clients are fully satisfied with the company.
SoFi Invest is a broker providing a service to the stock market. The company's financial regulators are SIPC and FINRA. Available trading instruments in SoFi Invest: managed portfolios, stocks, and ETFs. The company is more suitable for traders who prefer long-term trading strategies. SoFi Invest cooperates with clients from the USA. SoFi Invest is ideal for novice investors and those with other accounts with Social Finance, Inc. (SoFi).
How we tested SoFi Invest
Traders Union has analyzed financial markets for over 14 years, evaluating brokers based on 250+ transparent criteria, including security, regulation, and trading conditions. Our expert team of over 50 professionals regularly updates a Watch List of 500+ brokers to provide users with data-driven insights. While our research is based on objective data, we recommend that users perform independent due diligence and consult official regulatory sources before making any financial decisions.
Learn more about our methodology and editorial policies.
Brief Look at SoFi Invest
SoFi (Social Finance, Inc.) is an investment company founded in 2011 by graduates of Stanford Business School to provide federal and private student loans. The SoFi Invest division appeared in 2019 to provide brokerage services to active traders and passive investors from the United States. Currently, the broker is a member of FINRA (CRD#: 151717/SEC#: 8-68389) and SIPC and serves over 1,800,000 clients. SoFi Invest offers to invest in stocks (including fractional ones), cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and IPO.
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- Membership with FINRA and SIPC. These organizations monitor the broker’s compliance with the rules specified in the Client Agreement.
- Clients can combine transactions with stock market instruments with lending, insurance, and financial planning.
- Providing clients with two types of investment: active trading with securities and a passive option with asset management by an automated advisor.
- No commissions for trading stocks and ETFs, or asset portfolio management.
- Possibility to invest in fractional shares of companies.
- Only US residents can open an account with this broker.
- To invest in an IPO, you need to have more than $3000 on your account.
- Day traders can trade if they have an amount of $25,000 or more on their account.
TU Expert Verdict
Chief Analytics Officer
SoFi Invest offers U.S. clients access to trading stocks including fractional shares, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and participating in IPOs through a proprietary web and mobile platform. Regulated by FINRA and SIPC, the broker requires no minimum deposit for opening Self-Directed or Robo accounts, and supports both active and automated investment strategies. Trading stocks and ETFs is commission-free for clients, with portfolio management by an automated advisor also offered at zero cost. Additional benefits include SIPC insurance for securities up to $500,000 per client, free ACH withdrawals, and integration with other Social Finance, Inc. services for streamlined transfers.
Some disadvantages include eligibility restricted to U.S. residents, a $25,000 account minimum required for Pattern Day Trader status, and restrictions on IPO access for accounts under $3,000. Withdrawals to bank accounts incur a $25 fee, and cryptocurrency trades have a markup up to 1.25%. SoFi Invest is better suited to novice and passive investors interested in low-cost trading and managed portfolios, rather than active day traders or those seeking advanced tax optimization features.
SoFi Invest Summary
Via Sofi Invest's secure website. Your capital is at risk.
| 💻 Trading platform: | Proprietary platform SoFi (Web and Mobile) |
|---|---|
| 📊 Accounts: | Robo Accounts Active, Self-Directed Account (Margin и Cash), Retirement Accounts (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Traditional Rollover IRA) |
| 💰 Account currency: | USD |
| 💵 Deposit / Withdrawal: | Wire transfer, payments through the automated clearing house ACH, transfer of assets from another brokerage company (ACAT), checks |
| 🚀 Minimum deposit: | from 1 USD |
| ⚖️ Leverage: | floating |
| 💼 Copy Trading: | No |
| 📈️ Min Order: | No data |
| 💱 EUR/USD spread: | absent |
| 🔧 Instruments: | Stocks (including fractional ones), ETFs, cryptocurrencies, IPOs |
| 💹 Margin Call / Stop Out: | No |
| 🏛 Liquidity provider: | no data |
| 📱 Mobile trading: | available |
| ➕ Affiliate program: | No |
| 📋 Order execution: | No |
| ⭐ Trading features: | Pattern Day Trader should maintain an account balance from $25,000 |
| 🎁 Contests and bonuses: | available |
SoFi Invest offers a convenient application for trading and investing in stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and IPOs. No commission is charged for trades in stocks and ETFs. Also, with zero commissions, the investor can purchase fractional shares of Stock Bits. SoFi Invest does not have a minimum deposit, however, Pattern Day Traders should have at least $25,000 on their account. Otherwise, the account may be limited under FINRA’s daily trading margin requirements. Pattern Day Trader consists of traders who trade securities four or more times within five business days, and the number of daily transactions is more than 6% of the total trading activity for the same period. The minimum order size for the purchase of cryptocurrency is $10, and the maximum is $50,000 per client per day.
SoFi Invest Key Parameters Evaluation
Video Review of SoFi Invest
Trading Account Opening
To start trading or investing with SoFi Invest, you need to open a brokerage account. This can only be done by persons over 18 years of age with American citizenship, residing within the 50 states of the United States and the District of Columbia. Brief instructions for opening an account:
Go to the official website of Social Finance, Inc. (www.sofi.com), and on its home page, click the “Find My Rate” or “Become a member” button. Then select the service you are interested in. If you plan to use a broker as an intermediary for transactions with stock market assets, then click on Invest.
Enter your first name, last name, state of residence or registration, email, create a password. Next, you need to choose the priority type of investment - active (asset trading or IRA) or automated. Then enter your address - residence address or APO, FPO, DPO (if you are military) - and a valid Social Security Number (SSN). The broker opens an account after checking the provided information on income and scanned copies of documents.
In the SoFi Invest personal account, the broker’s client can:
Also in the personal account, the trader has access to:
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Management of credit funds, cash, and trading accounts.
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Trading assets via a web terminal, tracking market data in real time.
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Formation of statistics for the referral program.
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Number of points for the SoFi Member Rewards loyalty program
Is SoFi Invest Safe?
The holding company Social Finance, Inc. (SoFi) includes several companies. Brokerage services and active investment products are offered by SoFi Securities LLC, a member of FINRA and SIPC. SIPC insurance coverage is up to $500,000 per client (but not more than $250,000 for monetary claims).
Automated investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, a SEC-registered investment advisor company. Cryptocurrency transactions and accounts are handled by SoFi Digital Assets, LLC, which according to the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) qualifies as a monetary services company. All securities are cleared and stored by APEX Corporation.
Advantages
- SIPC insurance policy is available to active investors
- You can file a claim with FINRA
Disadvantages
- SIPC protection does not apply to cryptocurrency accounts
- Identity verification and complete information on sources of income are required
- The choice of payment systems is limited
Commissions and Fees
Traders Union’s analysts checked SoFi Invest’s terms and conditions to identify all possible trading and non-trading fees. The broker does not charge any fees for buying and selling stocks, including fractional Stock Bits. Also, there is no ETF investment fee on the part of SoFi Invest, but it should be borne in mind that most funds have commissions based on the expense ratio, which is included in the cost of the fund itself. For transactions with cryptocurrency, SoFi Invest charges a markup of up to 1.25% per transaction, and upon purchase, the markup is added to the market price on the exchange. The commission for stocks purchased in an IPO within 120 days is $50 for the first trade, $5 for subsequent trades, and for trades after 120 days. Withdrawals through ACH are free of charge. However, for transferring money to a bank account, the broker charges $25 for each payment.
| Account type | Spread (minimum value) | Withdrawal commission |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Directed Account (Margin и Cash) | from $5 | Available when withdrawing with a wire transfer |
| Robo Accounts Active | from $5 | Available when withdrawing with a wire transfer |
There is no commission for managing portfolios of assets through Automated Investing; and there are no opening and account maintenance fees. Traders Union compared the trading fees charged by US stock brokers for trading stocks. For better clarity, all the data obtained during the analysis are presented in the form of a table.
| Broker | Average commission | Level |
|---|---|---|
|
$5 | |
|
$4 | |
|
$ |
Account Types
The broker SoFi Invest offers traders accounts for active trading and passive automated investing. Each client can have one individual taxable Active Invest brokerage account and several Active Invest IRAs. There is no limit on the number of available Automated Invest accounts.
Account type:
Currently, SoFi Invest does not provide demo accounts to its clients.
The broker offers accounts adapted to different strategies like active trading, passive investing, and financial planning investments.
Deposit and Withdrawal
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Funds from accounts can be withdrawn to a bank account using Wire Transfer or Automated clearing house (ACH).
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The money is credited to the account within 1-3 business days after confirmation of the withdrawal request.
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The application can be submitted two working days after the last transaction is completed, and the deposit must be made at least 5 days before the withdrawal request is made.
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There is no commission for withdrawals through ACH. For wire transfer withdrawals, the broker will withhold a fee of $25 per transaction.
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The fee for a payment returned via ACH due to a request for a larger amount than available at the time of application is $15.
Investment Options
SoFi Invest offers asset management services called “Automated Investing”. Investors are connected to the service for free, but they pay basic commissions and expenses for ETF funds.
Automated Investing via robo-consultants without human intervention
A client who wants to invest in stock market instruments informs SoFi Invest of his investment goals and based on that the broker constructs a diversified portfolio. It consists of a wide range of risk mitigation assets. The investor does not need to monitor the market: Automated Investing uses computer algorithms to provide financial advice and manage portfolios.
The main principles of automated investing from SoFi Invest are:
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The broker does not charge any fees for consulting services or asset portfolio management.
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Portfolios are automatically rebalanced quarterly and during market fluctuations. The adjustment of securities is performed by a robotic program.
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There is no minimum amount to start investing. You can invest from 1 USD.
Connecting to the automated investment platform makes it possible to invest money without transferring it to active management. Moreover, such a decision is a way to avoid the occurrence of possible human errors when making an investment decision.
If you are a large investor and plan on investments over $10,000, contact us at vip-invest@tradersunion.com or by the feedback form on our website. Our professional team will take you through all the intricacies of the deal and all the steps from signing up to withdrawal of profits.
SoFi Invest affiliate program
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Referral program — a partner can receive up to $10,000 per year. The amount of remuneration depends on the recommended service and the number of connected referrals.
A partner can generate referral links with recommendations for personal and student loans, investment products, obtaining a credit card, and opening cash accounts. This offer is not available to customers in Ohio, Michigan, or Vermont.
Customer Support
Support is available Monday through Thursday from 5:00 am to 17:00 and Friday from 5:00 am to 16:00 (PT).
Advantages
- Broker clients can contact operators via online chat
Disadvantages
- It doesn’t work on Saturdays and Sundays
- Chat is not available for unregistered users
Available communication channels with customer support specialists include:
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a call to the phone number indicated in the Contact Us section on the website;
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email;
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online chat (only for clients with open accounts);
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Facebook and Twitter Messengers
The company’s offices are located in San Francisco, New York, and Healdsburg (CA).
Contacts
| Foundation date | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Registration address | 234 1st Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 |
| Regulation | FINRA, SIPC, FinCEN |
| Official site | sofi.com |
| Contacts |
Education
A section of the official website called SoFi Learn is devoted to learning the basics of financial planning, investing, and the principles of accumulating money. There is a handy filter that allows you to sort the submitted articles by topic or life stage.
The broker does not provide a demo account, so the knowledge gained can only be applied in real trading conditions.
Detailed Review of SoFi Invest
SoFi Invest is a subsidiary of the financial holding Social Finance, Inc., specializing in investment and brokerage activities in the stock market. It provides services to US citizens who trade securities or prefer long-term passive strategies. The company offers zero commissions on a range of instruments (stocks, ETFs, and managed portfolios) and guarantees the protection of client’s funds through SIPC and FINRA memberships.
SoFi Invest achievements in numbers:
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The broker serves more than 1,800,000 clients.
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As of March 2021, the company manages about $338.7 million.
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More than $10 million of referral bonuses were paid to the partners.
SoFi Invest is the company for trade, investment, and financial planning
SoFi Invest is an investment product that offers two types of accounts. The first of these is an active trading account that allows traders to buy securities and cryptocurrencies. The second type of account is an investment account controlled by a robot advisor, which offers users portfolios that are pre-created taking into account the level of risk and available capital. Clients of SoFi Invest have access to planning and wise investing guides, various types of calculators, and daily newsletters.
The broker does not use terminals of third-party software developers but offers a proprietary platform adapted to the various needs of its users. The terminal is presented in two iterations - web and mobile. A desktop version is not available. Through a single application, the company’s clients can manage cash, savings, and investment accounts, as well as arrange loans, credits, and mortgage loans.
SoFi Invest’s useful services:
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SoFi Daily Pod. Daily podcasts of stock market news and events to listen to on the SoFi app or on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon.
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Investing 101 Center. A section with information about investing, which will be useful to both beginners and experts.
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Calculators. The broker’s website has special tools for calculating investments, the number of debt payments on loans, and mortgage payments.
Advantages:
The minimum deposit to start trading and making passive investments starts from $1.
There are zero commissions for trading stocks and ETFs and automated asset portfolio management.
There is a referral program and a SoFi Member Rewards loyalty program. The company also periodically offers bonuses for the first account deposit.
Clients get free access to certified financial planners.
Cryptocurrency trading is available 24/7.
All trading and financial operations are performed by clients via an application - a proprietary terminal developed by Social Finance, Inc.
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