SoFi Blog

Tips and news—
for your financial moves.

SoFi Wealth Brings the Best of High-Tech and Human Guidance to Online Investing

Wealth management service gives people exceptional access to low-cost, professional advice and planning

San Francisco, Calif. – May 16, 2017 – Today, SoFi announced the general availability of SoFi Invest, the first low-cost online invest platform to combine an easy-to-use online and mobile interface with unlimited access to live, licensed financial advisors, giving people the guidance they need to understand, define, and then work toward achieving their investing goals.

Features of SoFi Invest include:

  • Smart Portfolios: SoFi Invest helps people invest easily and intelligently by automatically building and rebalancing low cost, tax-efficient portfolios to generate long-term returns, while minimizing risk for individual and retirement accounts such as traditional deductible IRA accounts, Simplified Employee Pensions, and Roth IRAs.
  • Live Advice: SoFi is the only wealth management offering at this low price point to offer unlimited access to non-commissioned, licensed financial advisors, who are available via phone or chat.
  • Low Fees: Management fees are waived completely for SoFi loan borrowers over the life of their loan. For everyone else, management fees are just 0.25%, and are waived for the first $10,000 invested.
  • Low Minimums: A $500 initial investment or recurring monthly deposit of $100 gets investors started in SoFi’s goal-oriented portfolios of low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
  • Member Benefits: SoFi Invest comes with access to SoFi’s suite of member benefits, like community events, career coaching, and discounts on other SoFi products.

SoFi Invest users can access their accounts via the web, as well as the SoFi Invest app, available now for both Android and iOS.

“People love the low fees and automation of robo-advisors, but they struggle with not having an actual human being to talk to when facing big financial questions. We’ve built something that perfectly balances those interests,” said John Gardner, general manager of SoFi Invest. “For those who haven’t started investing, like younger professionals who make up a large part of the SoFi member base, that guidance from a live advisor can help give them the confidence they need to start planning for a lifetime of financial success.”

According to a recent Bankrate survey, less than a third of millennials invest in the stock market, and the most common reason cited by that group was not knowing enough about the market.

A conversation with a financial advisor can be prohibitively expensive for investors just getting started, and the tools that are intended to cater to this group – robo-advisors – aren’t delivering on the advice side. In fact, only 5% of U.S. investors surveyed by Gallup feel that robo-advisors make people feel confident about their investments, and only 15% of investors think robo-advisors are meeting their needs by taking their entire financial picture into account.

To complement the guidance provided by SoFi Invest Advisors, SoFi is also developing comprehensive financial planning offerings focused on its members most important needs outside of investing: first-time home buying, young family financial planning, and joint financial planning for couples. SoFi will begin delivering these highly-personalized, needs-specific plans this summer.

About SoFi

SoFi is a new kind of finance company taking a radical approach to lending, wealth management and insurance. From unprecedented products and tools to faster service and open conversations, we’re all about helping our members get ahead and find success. Whether they’re looking to buy a home, save money on student loans, ascend in their careers, or invest in the future, the SoFi community works to empower our members to accomplish the goals they set and achieve financial greatness as a result. For more information, visit SoFi.com.

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4 Startup Truths You Won’t Learn in Business School

Becoming an entrepreneur is one of the most rewarding—and terrifying—things you’ll ever do. I started my own business, a business-planning software company initially based in Palo Alto, California, three years after graduating from business school. I’ve succeeded through several decades, but it wasn’t always easy given that I struggled with student loan and mortgage payments, and took care of my family at the same time. But today, I’m financially secure, my business is healthy, and I employ more than 60 people at our new location in Eugene, Oregon. Because I’ve dealt with startups and entrepreneurs for a long time, I’m well equipped to outline what you can expect if you’re planning to start your own business.

B-school has given other entrepreneurs exactly what it gave me: business fundamentals, including basic finance, marketing, and administration. An MBA program also teaches you how to plan and, most importantly, how to understand cash flow. But what school doesn’t teach you is how to wade through the entrepreneur clichés to get to the unvarnished truth.

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How to (Actually) Buy Your First Home in New York City

You have to earn the right to call yourself a New Yorker, and one of the ways you can do that is by suffering through the challenge that is finding housing in New York City. It’s a badge of honor you can wear with pride once you do—I mean, New York is one of the only cities in the world where people willingly pay over $1,000 a month for an apartment that has a shower in the kitchen.

But even as one of the most expensive cities in the world, it may make financial sense to buy sooner rather than later in this city. You only need to stay put for three years to make buying in Queens worth the price, four and a half years for Brooklyn, and seven and a half years for Manhattan, according to a study done by StreetEasy.

The desire for space and affordability sends some first-time homebuyers to New Jersey, Long Island, or quaint towns along the Hudson River (all of which still come with steep price tags). But for those committed to staying within the five boroughs, the question remains: Just how the heck do you navigate being a first-time homebuyer in New York City?

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Imposter Syndrome Held Me Back, Until I Realized This

When I arrived at Harvard Business School to start my MBA, I remember manually closing my jaw every few minutes as I met my colleagues. There was the investment banker from Goldman Sachs. The war veteran who served in Afghanistan. The consultant who worked with 50 of the Fortune 100.

Then there was me. Little, 24-year-old-journalism-degree me who came to Boston with just two years of work experience in public relations.

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Personal Loans – Ladders

Take a vacation from high interest rates.

Personal Loan fixed rates start at 8.74% APR (with AutoPay)5.

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Checking your rate will not affect your credit score.

Welcome Ladders Customers

Get $150 when your loan is disbursed by applying through this page.*

Are you paying more than 11% interest on your credit cards? A SoFi Personal Loan could help you save thousands. With a low fixed rate and monthly payment, you can pay off high interest debt, like credit cards, or make a major purchase. It only takes minutes to apply.

Why SoFi?

Serious
Savings

Borrow from $5k-$100k at fixed rates that range from 8.74% APR to 35.49% APR (with all discounts)5, 7

No Fees.
No Catch.

No origination fees or pre-payment penalties. What you see is what you get.

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Rates

Get a 0.125% rate discount✝︎✝︎ on an additional SoFi loan—just for being a member.

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Questions? Call us for a free consultation at 855-456-7634

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