By now, you have probably heard about how M1 Finance is revolutionizing the investment industry! And your follow-up question might be: “As a European, can I also sign up for M1 Finance?” Unfortunately, no… M1 Finance is unavailable in Germany, Ireland, or any other European country. To open an M1 Finance account, you must be eligible, which means be over 18 years old, a US citizen or permanent resident (a green card holder), and have a current US mailing address.
As of this writing, M1 Finance has not yet announced any plans to go outside the US. It is something we will try to keep you posted on if any update comes up!
Want to know the M1 Finance alternatives in Europe? Keep on reading. We’ve got you covered!
In a nutshell, what is M1 Finance?
M1 Finance is an investment platform launched in 2015 and based in Chicago, U.S., that offers three areas of focus combined on a single platform, ensuring that you can seamlessly access each element at any given time.
- Invest: where you may invest on your own in over 6000 stocks and funds (both ETFs and Index Funds) with absolutely no fees included and build custom investment pies or select from nearly 100 expert pies while enjoying the benefits from automated deposits and portfolio rebalancing;
- Borrow: you can ask for a loan up to 35% of your investment portfolio with an interest rate starting from 2% and pay it back on a scheduled basis. Not only can you leverage your portfolio and increase your potential returns, but you can also use that money as a loan for personal expenses (car, holidays, student loans,…) and even as an emergency fund;
- Spend: M1 Finance gives you access to a debit card just like any other bank. If you upgrade to “M1 Plus”, you even get a 1% cashback on certain debit card purchases, but that comes with an annual cost of $125.
M1 Finance alternatives in Europe
As you just witnessed, M1 Finance offers a wide variety of services within the same app. As we are not aware of the particular aspect you may be looking for, we will give you our best choices for each feature inside M1 Finance.
Are you looking for low-cost online brokers?
eToro
Commission-free ETF trading (other fees apply). You can also diversify your investment by copying other traders. Easy-to-use website and mobile app, and trusted by a global clientele of over 30 million people. Read our eToro review.
Disclaimer: 51% of retail CFD accounts lose money when trading with this provider.
Interactive Brokers
Founded in 1978, IBKR is one of the world’s most trustworthy brokers. It offers an enormous range of financial products (stocks, ETFs, Options, Cryptos,…), and low currency conversion fees (FX fees). Check our Interactive Brokers review.
💡 Interactive Brokers also launched IBKR GlobalTrader, a modern mobile trading app to trade Stocks, Options and ETFs, ideal for novice investors.
DEGIRO
One of the leading online brokers in Europe due to its low-cost structure and wide range of products and markets covered. Users have commission-free ETF trading (external costs apply). Read our DEGIRO review.
Disclaimer: Investing involves risk of loss.
Plus500
Plus500 is a multi-asset online broker that offers no commissions when trading CFDs in Indices, Forex, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Shares, Options, and ETFs. It also recently launched Plus500 Invest for those who want to invest in real shares. Check our Plus500 review.
Disclaimer: 82% of retail CFD accounts lose money when trading with this provider.
Are you looking for the Robo-Advisor side of M1 Finance?
inbestMe
A Robo-Advisor with multiple portfolio options and customization. The service is fully automated and even offers tax-loss harvesting (tax efficiency). It charges a maximum management fee of 0.41%/year. Access to a human advisor is available for amounts above €100,000.
Trading 212
Trading212 provides a free AutoInvest & Pies feature where you can construct different pies and pre-define your target weight for each asset you include in the Pies (only stocks and ETFs). As soon as you realize that your actual weights in your investments are deviating too much from your original goals, you may rebalance it in a single tap. New users get one free share of up to €100 by using the code IITW. Read our Trading212 Autoinvest review.
Disclaimer: 76% of retail CFD accounts lose money when trading with this provider.
Is it safe to invest in the fintechs mentioned above?
All the investment fintech present in this article are regulated and/or registered by top-tier regulators like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Under this shield, all clients are protected by up to £85,000 on their financial assets by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Therefore, in the unfortunate event of bankruptcy, your money will be safeguarded.
Despite their recent activity, we have seen that all of them were capable of withstanding the massive spike in volatility that occurred, especially in March and April of 2020 due to Covid-19. We hadn’t seen that market instability since 2007-08, during the global financial crisis, so it gives us good comfort to know that none of those apps suddenly crashed, as happened with Robinhood, a US-based peer of M1 Finance.
Still undecided?
At the end of the day, everything will depend on your specific case (profile, preferences, objectives…) and on the importance you give to every single factor involved.
In general, it is crucial always to be aware of the fee charged, make sure that they are regulated by top-tier institutions such as the FCA in the UK, and know the range of products they allow you to trade (not all platforms allow you to trade EU stocks, for instance), and know how responsive the customer service is, among other factors.
Explore the websites and decide for yourself!
A reminder that the above should not be construed as investment advice and should be considered information only. Investors should do their own research and exercise diligence about the services and opportunities best suited for their risk, returns, and impact strategy.
Happy investments!
