The Acorns App

Hi Scott

I wanted to get your thoughts on the Acorns app and whether using this would be just as good as, if not better than, using a ‘Smile’ saver account for Mojo. I want to see my money grow quickly but am unsure whether using Acorns is relatively risk-free and worth it?

Tim

Hi Tim,

Hold your nuts Timbo, because I’m about to whack you in the acorns:

You say you want to ‘grow your money quickly’, but it needs to be ‘relatively risk free’?

Whack! Whack!

I’ve spoken about the Acorns app before. Basically, it’s the investment equivalent of putting training wheels on a bike (with a bell and pretty streamers on the handlebars). The app scoops up small amounts of money from your account and then invests it into Exchange Traded share Funds (ETFs) — and charges an extra layer of fees to boot.

It’s a bit of a gimmick, and I wouldn’t advise committing serious dough to it, and I certainly wouldn’t be keeping my short-term savings in the share market. In other words, the Acorns app is a Frown account, not a Smile account.

Scott