Stash Review 2024 (2024)

Stash is a good choice for people who are just starting to learn about saving and investing. The easy-to-use platform gives new investors a convenient way of managing all of their money via a single mobile investment app.

Users get an investment account and an online banking account with Stash, helping them to coordinate their financial goals. For example, you can gradually fund your investment by rounding up purchases to the nearest dollar using a Stash debit card,¹ depositing the rounded amount in the app’s brokerage account.

Stash’s robo-advisor functionality provides a managed portfolio tailored to your risk tolerance and goals, where the platform selects investment assets and manages them for you. More hands-on investors can design their own investment portfolios.

However, all this convenience comes with a relatively high price tag. Stash charges flat monthly subscription fees, and while they only amount to a few dollars a month they’re still quite expensive relative to other options available, especially for smaller portfolio balances. Moreover, the banking account does not offer an annual percentage yield (APY), making it a poor option for savings.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive service, you can probably get a better deal by choosing a dedicated robo-advisor platform. People looking to grow as self-directed investors should check out an online brokerage account. Consider an online savings account if you want an app to stash your cash with a high APY.

Stash offers two main features: investing and banking. A two-tiered monthly subscription fee gives you access to both services, and you maintain separate balances with each service.

The investing service allows you to buy stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). From there, you can add more money if you wish, or you can schedule automatic, recurring deposits.

You can choose between a taxable investment account or a tax-advantaged individual retirement account (IRA)—either a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. If you have children younger than 18, you can open a custodial investment account on their behalf.

For hands-off investors, the Smart Portfolio option offers a robo-advisor account. After you fund your account, Smart Portfolio creates and manages a custom portfolio based on your risk tolerance and financial goals.

Stash Banking

There’s no minimum deposit requirement to open Stash’s online banking account, but you need to deposit at least $1 to receive a debit card¹. There are no overdraft fees², no minimum balance requirements and no monthly maintenance fees. Stash partners with Stride Bank to hold your deposits.

You may instantly transfer funds between your investment account and your banking account balance. The debit card provides fee-free ATM access² from more than 55,000 ATMs worldwide and cash deposits at retail locations at participating CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens stores.

Debit card purchases earn 1% rewards¹on all purchases in the form of fractional shares of stock. You can choose a stock to earn as a reward, which is deposited into your investment account.

As noted above, the bank account lets you round up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and deposits the balance in your investment account³.

The Stash mobile app enables mobile payments via your online banking account. It also includes budgeting tools so you can track your spending and savings. Finally, if you receive direct deposits, the account gives you access to your money up to two days before payday⁴.

Budgeting Features

Stash doesn’t offer the robust budgeting features found with many other budgeting apps. But within the banking portion of Stash, you can set savings goals and automate savings to fund your goals. Users can track spending with Stash, which will help you understand your expenses better and provide guidance when planning your monthly budget.

Security

Stash uses the latest security measures to protect its customers, including 256-bit encryption, biometric authentication and other cutting-edge technologies.

Deposits to Stash banking accounts are FDIC insured up to the legal limits through a partnership with Stride Bank. Investments with Stash are protected up to $500,000 through partner company Apex Clearing, a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC)⁵.

Stash Smart Portfolio Robo-Advisor

If you choose to enroll in the Smart Portfolio robo-advisor, Stash will ask you to fill out a questionnaire to gauge your risk tolerance, financial goals and investment preferences. The app builds you a portfolio of investments that best fits your needs with this info.

Smart Portfolio sets target asset allocations—say, 70% stocks and 30% bonds—and rebalances your investments every quarter to keep on track with the targets. It also adjusts your allocations as you add or withdraw cash from your investment account.

You cannot manually alter the investment allocations chosen by Smart Portfolio. If your financial situation changes, you may update the answers to the questionnaire and the robo-advisor will adjust your asset allocation as needed.

It takes $5 to open a Smart Portfolio account. You may only use a robo-advisor with a taxable brokerage account. It’s not available for their retirement accounts.

Stash Self-Managed Portfolios

If you’re a hands-on investor, Stash’s brokerage account option lets you build your own investment portfolio. Thousands of different stocks and ETFs and fractional shares are available.

Stash does not charge trading commissions. However, they only process trades during four windows each day to discourage day trading rather than whenever the market is open. This is a good approach for beginner investors, although it’s a deal breaker for more serious traders.

Stash makes money by charging you a monthly subscription. There are two plans: Stash Growth for $3 a month and Stash+ for $9 a month.

The lower-cost Stash Growth plan includes access to an online banking account, a brokerage account and the robo-advisor, plus limited investing advice for individuals and a $1,000 life insurance policy. Choose either a taxable brokerage account or an IRA—custodial accounts are unavailable at this level.

Stash+ includes all of the above, plus custodial accounts. It also gives you access to investment research and investment advice for families. It also provides $10,000 in life insurance.

The debit card stock rewards program is a bit better with Stash+. You can earn 1% in stock rewards on spending up to $1,000 a month. If you spend more than $1,000, your purchases stop earning the “Stock Back®” reward unless you spend over $4,000. Purchases above this limit earn 0.125% in stock back. The Stash Growth account only earns 0.125% in stock rewards on all purchases.

Note that beyond Stash’s monthly subscription fee, you could also owe management fees for buying funds. ETFs charge expense ratio fees as a percentage of your total investment. The app shows you how much you’d owe per year before you purchase an ETF.

• Low portfolio minimums. You can open an investment account with no minimum, and use their robo-advisor with an opening deposit of just $5.
• Decent investment selection. Stash lets you invest in thousands of different stocks and ETFs.They offer retirement accounts and custodial accounts.
• Mobile banking services. Stash provides a decent online banking account to complement its investment services. There are no monthly or overdraft fees. You get a debit card and mobile payments, plus free access to more than 55,000 ATMs.
• Additional account benefits. Stash gives you life insurance, although the amounts are very modest. Stash’s debit card also helps you earn stock rewards.

• No automated tax strategy. The robo-advisor does not offer tax-loss harvesting. This strategy aims to generate income tax benefits by selling investments at a loss. Other robos like Betterment offer it as a standard feature.
• Relatively high fees, especially for small portfolios. Stash’s monthly fee can be quite high for a small portfolio. If you have $1,000 in your account and pay $3 a month for Stash Growth, that’s $36 a year—a wildly expensive 3.6% annual fee. Betterment charges an annual management fee of only 0.25%. As your portfolio gets larger, the Stash fee gets relatively lower.
• No human advisors. You cannot get help from a live financial advisor at Stash. If you’d like to build your own portfolio, there’s no option for professional advice.
• Bank account doesn’t earn interest. If you keep cash in the Stash banking account, it doesn’t earn an APY.

Disclosures:

Paid non-client endorsem*nt. See Apple App Store and Google Play reviews. View important disclosures.

¹Stash Banking services provided by Stride Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. The Stash Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® is issued by Stride Bank pursuant to license from Mastercard International. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated. Any earned stock rewards will be held in your Stash Invest account. What doesn’t count: Cash withdrawals, money orders, prepaid cards, and P2P payment. If you make a qualifying purchase at a merchant that is not publicly traded or otherwise available on Stash, you will receive a stock reward in an ETF or other investment of your choice from a list of companies available on Stash. 1% Stock-Back® rewards available only on Stash+ ($9/mo) and only for client’s first $1,000 of Qualifying Purchases in each calendar month program. See Terms and Conditions for more details. Investment products and services provided by Stash Investments LLC and are Not FDIC Insured, Not Bank Guaranteed, and May Lose Value.

²For a complete list of fees please see the Deposit Account Agreement for details. Get fee-free transactions at any Allpoint ATM, see the app for location details, otherwise out-of-network ATM fees may apply.

³This Program is subject to terms and conditions. In order to participate, a user must comply with all eligibility requirements and make a qualifying purchase with their Stock-Back® Card. All funds used for this Program will be taken from your Stash Banking account.

⁴Early access to direct deposit funds depends on when the payor sends the payment file. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.

⁵Investments in your Stash account are protected up to $500,000 total (including $250,000 for claims for cash). For details please see www.sipc.org. For uninvested funds, your Stash account is enrolled in the Apex FDIC-insured Sweep Program. Deposits to the Sweep Program are covered by FDIC insurance up to $250,000 limit per customer at each FDIC-insured bank that participates in the Program. Once your cash is deposited with the participating banks under the Sweep Program, such cash will no longer be covered by SIPC. To note, SIPC coverage does not insure against the potential loss of market value.

Stash has full authority to manage a “Smart Portfolio,” a discretionary managed account. Diversification and asset allocation do not guarantee a profit, nor do they eliminate the risk of loss of principal. Stash does not guarantee any level of performance or that any client will avoid losses in their account.