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SoFi Active Investing Review: Solid Investing App With Unique Features

Review Updated
Matt Frankel, CFP®
Author: Matt Frankel, CFP®
Matt Frankel, CFP®
Matt Frankel, CFP®
Writer, Analyst

Matt is a Certified Financial Planner™ and investment advisor based in Columbia, South Carolina. He writes personal finance and investment advice for Motley Fool Money and its parent company The Motley Fool, with more than 4,500 published articles and a 2017 SABEW Best in Business award. Matt writes a weekly investment column for the Motley Fool ("Ask a Fool") that is syndicated in USA Today, and his work with Motley Fool Money has also been syndicated to MSN and Yahoo! Finance. He has been regularly featured on Fox Business and many other major outlets. He’s a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Nova Southeastern University, and holds a graduate certificate in financial planning from Florida State University.

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Nathan Alderman
Fact Checked: Nathan Alderman
Nathan Alderman
Nathan Alderman
Fact checker

Nathan Alderman has been a full-time Motley Fool employee since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool's premium newsletter services. As Motley Fool Money's Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site's information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and keeps various financial partners happy. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan spends his spare time volunteering for civic causes, writing and podcasting for fun, adoring his wife, and wrangling his two very large young children.

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Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures that our product ratings are not influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.

SoFi Active Investing might be for you if: you're looking for an easy-to-use, app-based investment platform that is part of a full-featured financial ecosystem. SoFi Active Investing offers easy stock trading, as well as mutual funds and some unique alternative investment choices. In this SoFi Active Investing review, we'll discuss everything you need to know before deciding if you should take a closer look.

  • Our team of experts assessed 45+ trading platforms
  • We evaluate all brokerage accounts across the same 4 key criteria: user experience, cost efficiency, product variety, and support and security
  • Our brokerage ratings are never influenced by our advertising partners
  • We strictly feature products that offer federal insurance and high customer satisfaction, keeping our recommendations unbiased
SoFi Active Investing
Learn More for SoFi Active Investing

On SoFi Active Investing's Secure Website.

Ratings Methodology
SoFi Active Investing

SoFi Active Investing

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Our Rating:

Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
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Bottom Line

This brokerage is a clear standout for its well-rated mobile app and 1% IRA match⁸ on rollovers and contributions. It also has unique investment offerings like IPOs, options, and fractional shares.³

Fees:

$0 for stocks,¹ $0 for options contracts⁴

Account Minimum:

$0

Special Offer Circle with letter I in it. For new accounts: Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $25 within 30 days of opening the account. Probability of customer receiving $1,000 is 0.028%.

Get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new Active Invest account.⁷

Learn More for SoFi Active Investing

On SoFi Active Investing's Secure Website.

Alternatives to Consider

We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.

Broker Best For Commissions Learn More
Logo for Public
Rating image, 4.0 out of 5 stars.
4.0/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Easy fractional investing in stocks and bonds. $0 commissions, 1%-2% crypto markups
Learn More for Public

On Public's Secure Website.

Logo for J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
Rating image, 4.0 out of 5 stars.
4.0/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
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Low mutual fund fees. $0 per trade
Learn More for J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing

On J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing's Secure Website.

Logo for E*TRADE
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
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Long-Term Investors, Stocks and Options Traders Commission-free; other fees apply
Learn More for E*TRADE

On E*TRADE's Secure Website.

Full SoFi Active Investing review

SoFi Active Investing is one of the few brokerage platforms that doesn't charge commissions on any of its investment products,¹ including mutual funds. There are some unique features, including access to IPO investing and alternative investment funds,² and buying and selling is easy through SoFi's app or desktop platform. This can be a great choice, especially for investors who also use SoFi for banking services, or who want to keep their financial lives in one place.

Two unique features
  • SoFi Active Investing has one very unique feature: its access to alternative investment funds and private equity investment vehicles.² For example, SoFi Active Investing customers can put money into Ark Invest's ARK Venture Fund, which invests in pre-IPO companies like SpaceX, Epic Games, and OpenAI. This fund is only available through SoFi, has a rather low $500 minimum investment, and doesn't require you to be an accredited investor.
  • Another unique feature is that SoFi gives access to new IPOs to all of its SoFi Active Investing customers, not just those who have large account balances. IPO investing has traditionally been most accessible by Wall Street insiders and wealthy investors, and SoFi does the best job of any platform of democratizing the process.

We tried it: Our team's experience

Here at Motley Fool Money, we pride ourselves as real users of most of the products across our site. Writer Brittney Myers uses SoFi Active Investing -- here's her take on this broker:

SoFi alternative investments screenshot

Selection of investments

SoFi Active Investing offers a surprising variety of securities and investment products in which I can invest my money. This includes all the typical products:

  • Stocks
  • Options⁴
  • Bonds
  • ETFs
  • Mutual funds

I like that I don't have to buy full shares, which can be pricey for some companies. Instead, I can choose to invest a set dollar amount with fractional shares.

I'm also interested in SoFi's new array of "alternative investments." This includes options like real estate, precious metals, and commodities, which can help diversify my portfolio.

SoFi making trades screenshot

Making a trade

I appreciate that SoFi makes it very simple to get to my trade options from pretty much anywhere via the blue Trade button. It's especially convenient when I'm on the info page for a specific stock and am ready to make the purchase.

It's simple to set up my trades. I can do it in a few easy steps:

  1. Tap the Trade button
  2. Choose a one-time or recurring trade
  3. Decide whether to buy in dollars or shares
  4. Choose my amounts
  5. Review and initiate my trade

Checking the status of my trades is easy, too. My investing dashboard includes a snapshot of my recent activity, so I can see all of the trades I've completed and what's still in the works.

SoFi Learn investing screenshot

Learning about investing

I'm far from an investing expert, and there are definitely still times when I need a little more information to help me make the right investing choices. I like that SoFi includes several robust guides on a lot of the foundational topics that can impact your investing success.

For example, I know a little bit about dividends, but the ins and outs of how and when they pay out? That required a bit of extra reading.

Even if you're pretty knowledgeable about investing, refamiliarizing yourself with the basics can help you stay on top of your skills and not forget important fundamentals.

Brittney's final thoughts: SoFi Active Investing is a simple introduction to investing

SoFi could be worth a try if:

  • You're new to investing and want educational resources.
  • You want to explore a variety of investment types.
  • You like a simple, easy-to-use interface.

If this sounds like what you're after, then SoFi could be the right investing app for you.

Folks who have more investing experience and need more tools and data may want to look elsewhere. This app isn't as feature-rich as others out there.

Investment offerings

SoFi doesn't have as wide of a selection of investments or account types as some of the large, long-established brokerage firms. For example, you can't buy bonds or CDs through SoFi, and you can't open a custodial account for a minor. But as far as app-based platforms go, SoFi has a lot to offer.

Investments

  • Alternative investment funds
  • ETFs
  • IPOs
  • Mutual funds
  • Options⁴
  • Stocks

Brokerage accounts

  • IRA
  • Roth IRA
  • SEP IRA
  • Traditional (taxable) brokerage

TIP

Other financial services

In addition to the SoFi Active Investing brokerage platform, SoFi offers several other financial products and services.

  • Checking accounts
  • Savings accounts
  • Personal loans
  • Student loans
  • Credit cards
  • Mortgages
  • Automated investing (robo-advisor)

Commissions and fees

SoFi is a low-cost broker. While all major brokers have dropped their commissions on stocks and ETFs, SoFi has no commissions whatsoever on options or mutual funds¹, both of which are somewhat rare. However there are a few fees to be aware of.

Reason Cost
Stock/ETF commission $0
Options trading fees (per contract) $0
Mutual fund commissions $0
Inactivity fee $25 every six months
Outgoing transfers (full or partial) $100
IRA closing fee $20
IPO investment fee $0 to buy IPOs, $50 if sold within 120 days of IPO
Data source: SoFi

Margin rates

Unlike some of its rivals, which offer a tiered margin structure for different balances, SoFi has a flat rate margin structure.⁶ As of early December 2024, SoFi's standard margin interest rate was 11.25%, which is on the higher end of the spectrum but is still in-line with many of its peers. It's worth noting that SoFi's margin rate is variable and can change at any time (usually in response to a Federal Reserve interest rate action).

SoFi Active Investing Promotions

SoFi Active Investing sometimes offers promotions that could save you money. Click below to go to our dedicated page covering current SoFi Active Investing promotions:

SoFi Active Investing Promotions

Research and education

As an app-based platform, SoFi's research and education is one of its weaker points. To be fair, SoFi does have some educational resources, and its Investing 101 Center has some excellent content that's easy to follow and makes seemingly complex topics more accessible. For example, if you want to know the difference between the popular retirement account types, or want an explainer about the IPO process, you can find one there.

On the other hand, SoFi doesn't offer any access to third-party stock research through its platform. For investors who want to research individual stocks and get opinions from top analysts, you'd probably need to sign up for an account at a traditional brokerage or pay for a research subscription from a third party.

Interface

SoFi has two different ways to invest -- its app-based platform and its web-based platform. Both are equally simplistic in their design and make it easy to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and mutual funds.

On the other hand, there's no advanced trading software, or a desktop application of any kind. You won't find advanced charting tools anywhere in SoFi's interface, for example. SoFi's platform is perfectly functional for most investors' needs, but if you want to say, back-test an options strategy or monitor information about lots of stocks in real-time, SoFi might not be the best fit.

App

SoFi Active Investing is designed as an app-centered investment platform, and as such, it is an easy-to-navigate interface. It is highly rated, with 4.8 out of 5 stars based on more than 345,000 reviews in the App Store, and with an average rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars on Google Play. It's worth noting that SoFi is designed as an all-in-one app, with the company's loans and bank accounts also managed in the same app (and many of the negative reviews have to do with SoFi's banking products).

Customer service

General reviews indicate that SoFi has strong customer service, especially for a mobile-first financial services company.

There are several ways to get in touch with SoFi's customer service:

  • Phone lines open from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 5 a.m. until 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday (Pacific time).
  • 24/7 online chat from a virtual assistant, live help from humans during business hours.
  • Email support through SoFi's website

Security

SoFi Active Investing uses the same platform as SoFi's banking products, and therefore it uses bank-level security protocols.

About

SoFi was founded in 2011 and its initial commercial product was student loan refinancing, which the company pioneered on the private student loan side of the business. The company dipped its toes into mortgage lending and personal loans a few years later.

SoFi Invest® launched in 2019, and the company received a banking charter in early 2022. As of December 2024, SoFi had 9.4 million members on its platform, and SoFi Active Investing has been evolving rapidly in recent years.

Learn more about SoFi Active Investing

Keep reading about SoFi Active Investing on these pages: