From acorns mighty oaks do grow.
With a new innovative investment app, students are encouraged to watch their wallets grow out of their own little acorns — their spare change.
Investment app Acorns guides its users in rounding up their daily purchases and automatically investing their loose change into a portfolio for investments. Recently, the app decided to make its services free for all students and people under 24 years of age.
The app originated in Newport Beach, California, when father-and-son duo Walter and Jeff Cruttenden wanted to make investing easier for anyone with a smartphone. Rather than having an older, more experienced group of users, the app’s main users were younger and inexperienced, but nonetheless eager to invest.
"Jeff recognized that his classmates were interested in investing and wanted to start but couldn’t because of barriers like high-minimum and just lack of knowledge," said Taylor Dance, who works in business development at the start-up. "Acorns was created to help people save and invest, make it very easy and very user-friendly."
A year after the app launched, Acorns had about half a million investment accounts opened — 70 percent of those being to investors under 35, according to the app’s press release.
In other words: millennials.
"We built it for the next generation of investors and that’s us, the millennials," Dance said.
UF is in the top 50 college campuses using Acorns, he said.
The founders decided to continue motivating their main audience and made the app free of management fees for students when they sign up using their student email addresses. Students avoid paying the $1 monthly fee if their accounts’ balances are under $5,000, or 0.25 percent per year if their accounts are over that amount.
Acorns strives to make investing as simple as possible with an easy-to-navigate app.
"If you went to Starbucks and spent $4.60 with your card connected to Acorns, we recognize that transaction and then 40 cents will get put into your funds," Dance said. "You can change the settings and determine how much you would want to round up…we give you a lot of control in your round-ups and how you invest," she said.
UF marketing sophomore Lauren Lindsay, 19, found the app to be interesting and said she sees herself using it.
"I’ve always wanted to invest in stocks, but I was hesitant because of the risk of losing money," Lindsay said. "I think risk and lack of funds are the biggest reasons why people are scared of investing; this app addresses both those concerns very well."
UF business administration fourth-year Kelsey Norris, 21, also sees use in the app.
"I fully intend on investing more money one day when I have a full-time career," Norris said. "This app would allow me to start small and learn about the process before I graduate."
Both Norris and Lindsay feel it’s important to invest money. With Acorns, it’s easier for them to get started.
"This app does make it a lot easier for beginners to test the waters," Lindsay said.
The accessibility and simplicity of the app is how the founders came up with its name.
It was inspired by an old saying: From acorns mighty trees do grow.
"The idea here is small investments over time will grow with you and your future," Dance said. "If you think of it as a tree, it starts out small and can grow into something very mighty."
Investment app Acorns allows its users to invest their spare change in the stock market. UF is among the top 50 campuses using the app, which is now free to students.
