It’s never too young (or too old) to start…

STOCKPILE REVIEW – YOUNG & MOBILE

Founded in 2010, Stockpile, Inc. is a relatively young company in the investment world. If you are using Stockpile for micro investing and gifting, you will be doing business with Stockpile Gifts, Inc. and Stockpile Investments, Inc., who are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Stockpile, Inc.

You’ll also likely be using the Stockpile App. You can’t be a young company without a cool app.

An app to make it easy for beginners, kids, and millennials, to learn stock trading, invest in stocks or to “gift” stocks.

The mobile app has all the functionality of the desktop platform. Stockpile offers the app for both Android and iOS devices. You may download it directly from the App Store or Google Play.

STOCKPILE REVIEW – GIFT CARDS

Stockpile offers two versions of gift cards, e-cards or actual, tangible cards. You can purchase Stockpile gift cards online or at popular retailers, like Safeway, with cash, credit card or PayPal.  Just select the amount you want $10, $25, $50, or $100. Or purchase a custom amount, anywhere from $1 to $2,000. Then gift the card, either through email or in person.

To redeem the card, just enter the code. Then use the funds to purchase any of 1,000+ stocks or ETFs. Since the shares are fractionalized, you don’t have to pay for an entire share. You can invest a small amount without having to trade penny stocks. For example, you could buy $5 worth of Apple or Amazon.

                   A gift that grows?

STOCKPILE REVIEW – ON YOUR DESKTOP

Stockpile offers two stock trading platforms, desktop, and mobile. Both are extremely easy to use and excellent for beginners. Consequently, they don’t have the tools, features, bells, and whistles of professional trading platforms. In short, think of Stockpile as training wheels for newbies, even children, entering the world of investing.

Desktop – This browser-based platform is very simple and straightforward to use and not like anything I’ve seen before. It lists your stocks by category, company logo, and symbol. Just look for the iconic Nike check mark logo if you want to trade Nike. You don’t need to know that the symbol is NKE. Then click on the Buy Stock button, choose a logo, and a window pops up to place a trade. After that, select the dollar amount you want to invest, and it will show your estimated fraction of the share.

Stockpile offers some basic features such as customizable watch lists, news, and stats, like highs, lows, P/E ratio, and Div/Yield. But if you’re in the market for a platform that offers advanced tools and analytics, this is not it. The platform also has a learning center, designed for beginners, with Quickstart Guide and Stock Market Basics sections. Additionally, if you want family or friends to gift you, use the Wish List feature. Pick the stocks you wish, write a message, and share it on Facebook and Twitter.

STOCKPILE REVIEW – ACCOUNTS, FEES, AND COMMISSIONS – 2019

It’s simple to set up an account with Stockpile. Just sign up, link your bank account to move money back and forth, and redeem your gift card. If you like, you can set up automatic recurring deposits from your bank account into your Stockpile brokerage account. Also, custodial accounts can be set up for children. There is no minimum balance requirement and no monthly or annual fees.

Buy or sell stocks or ETFs at $0.99 per trade.

When purchasing a physical gift card, currently fees range from $4.95 for the $25 card to $7.95 for a $100 one.

For e-cards, you pay $2.99 for the first stock + 99¢ for each additional share and a 3% credit/debit card fee.

Rates are low; the fee structure is simple, and I did not see any hidden fees. However, please note that you must be a US citizen to open an account. Moreover, since stock purchases are in fractional shares, you may not be able to transfer them to another broker.

Stockpile Investments, Inc. is a member of the SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) and also FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.). Also, to secure your information, Stockpile uses 256-bit encryption.

STOCKPILE REVIEW – FINAL THOUGHTS

While Stockpile isn’t for super active or professional traders, it’s a great way to introduce beginners to investing. I think it’s especially great for kids. For instance, I didn’t even begin to think about investing in stocks until I was an adult. Nowadays, you can start young thanks to fractional shares and micro-investing with companies like Stockpile, Acorns and Stash Invest, to name a few.

Young or old, it’s never too late to start learning about making money. And there are no better places to do that than with the Bullish Bears community. Our trading service is all about giving back. We believe in paying it forward.