M1 - Chicago, Illinois

Steven

Overall, I'm pleased with M1 though I've not tried to make a withdrawal. My big issue is their statements are a mess. They use a proprietary character set so users can't copy and paste from them. Also missing is the ability to download transactions as a csv or Excel File. Missing basic tools like *all* other financial institutions provide makes tracking and managing investments difficult.

Eugene A.

I had a terrible experience with M1 Finance that I feel compelled to share to warn others. This company is incredibly unreliable, and their lack of professionalism has been nothing short of shocking. I’ve been trying to complete a $27,000 transaction since last week, and it’s still unresolved because of their so-called "technical issues." The worst part? Their customer support is beyond terrible.

First off, they don’t even seem to understand the problem, and every time I try to explain it, they just repeat generic, canned responses. It's like they don’t actually listen to what the customer is saying. I have spoken to multiple agents, and not a single one of them was able to provide any real help. It feels like they don't even care about their customers. The lack of empathy and urgency is staggering, especially when it comes to handling large sums of money.

It’s as if they don’t even have U.S.-based personnel who understand how to handle these issues. The entire operation feels shady and unreliable. They keep blaming some "technical issue" without providing any timeline for when it will be fixed or offering any alternatives. It's unacceptable to have to wait over a week for such an important transaction with no clear resolution in sight.

If you’re thinking of trusting M1 Finance with your money, don’t. They clearly don’t have their act together, and their support team is completely useless. Save yourself the headache and go with a more reputable company that actually values its customers. The way M1 Finance operates is completely unprofessional, and their lack of transparency is a major red flag. Stay far, far away from this company!

Lucas T.

Fun app, great portfolio balancing, but good luck getting your money back. I lost out on multiple investment opportunities because they ignored transfer requests. I eventually had to take a hit on withdrawing a portion of my IRA early because there was no other way to claw my funds back. Customer response is nonexistent.

Tirzo G.

One year update:

The app has had many improvements that have made it easier to use as it lacked many basic functions.

The pie invest function is the best M1 feature and the reason why I kept using M1. It's been a very successful experience for me.

A major selling point is the 5% HYSA and the rewards credit card.

Another major reason I got M1 was for its "all in one" financial services. Out of the blue it decided to stop offering a checking account and closed all checking accounts. They did give plenty of time to make arrangements, but people felt let down and so did I.

No plans of moving out of M1 in 2024 yet but I fear it will be messy when I do. I'm not confident on the customer service.

I'm keeping my 3 star rating due to the checking account issue and still many improvements it needs to make to the app and customer services.

No regrets with M1, just been a rocky, and risky road.
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The idea of M1 is very promising, but the execution of setting up an account is questionable, and not transparent. I got very excited over this set up, portfolio (multiple pies, shares, ETFs, etc), checking account, credit card, and in the future savings account. Sounds great, but the execution is slow, and nerve racking. It's been weeks and I'm still not fully set up. Don't expect a customer service chat/rep to help you either, its all through email tickets that you can never figure out what they are as the emails are vague and they lack reference.

With only two weeks+ in, and the frustration is enough for me to write this and warn new users. One of my brokerage accounts has been on hold, and the transfers, and the cash tied to it for some verification technicality that's taken over a week to sort out (I think it's sorted out).

The transfers, internal, and external, are extremely slow. I have missed out on some many trades during buy periods because of this process. They ask to leave a review on their main page, so this is it. I will however, for the sake of giving it a second chance (it has so much promise), give it a little more time and wait for the dust to settle since I will consider myself a long term investor.

Although, there shouldn't be so much dust when setting up a new account, it's supposed to be exciting, and new users shouldn't be wondering what is going on, with no transparency, or help.

I probably will update in a month, if I don't actually settle for another brokerage, and end up closing my account before 2023. If you have the patience, and see the long term potential, try it out. If you want to move funds and execute trades quickly, look elsewhere. I really hope they improve.

Sanjit M.

After watching many YouTube videos about M1 Finance and seeing how you can buy slices, auto invest into your pie, create different pies; lots of customization - decided to try it. It has been 6 months and I'm enjoying it.

Cons: Wish you could DRIP your dividends right back into the same security and wish you could add more than one bank account.

Darrin P.

I like everything about M1 except trying to create Pies. I did my original pie with no problem but trying to additional pie's for different things is near impossible for me. I can not for the life of me get another pie made with the certain slices in it that I want. I have 1 pie with what I wanted in it, then I have 2 more slices on their own because I couldn't get another pie made. I just tried again to make another pie and it too failed. I have tried 6 different ways to Sunday to make the pie and add slices to it but it doesn't show up anywhere. I have money invested where I want to(with the exception of the funds/stocks I tried to do this morning) and they aren't there. I am about to give up on it. Tell me what I am doing wrong.

Blake G.

As someone who is blind, I was initially concerned that I wouldn't be able to make use of M1 Finance, but I was able to sign up without any initial deposit or obligation, and found that I was able to create a portfolio that I wanted. Some items aren't the easiest things to use with a screen reader, but they work well enough, and I love the balance between an automated investing approach, and one you can do yourself.

So far, this is a great platform, and unlike others, it's not only free, but has a small minimum deposit, which makes it more attractive for me, being in a low income situation. I've been investing and experimenting for a bit over a week now, and so far, I've been enjoying it greatly.

This is a fantastic platform, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone seeking to invest money for themselves.

Jesse M.

Beautiful appearance. I love the pie charts. I would give it a 5 star except, the mobile app needs some work. Every time you go to the news articles in the app and then press back. You have to sign back on, ALL the time. It would be nice to have it set up to give you a time out warning. The moving of stocks around to other pies or just simply organizing all your pies is a pain in the neck, in the desk top and mobile app. It take some work and YouTube to figure out how to move things around without causing a tax event. A simple drag and drop into and out of pies would be an amazing tool, especially for beginner investors.

Edit: Thank you, Thank you, you peeps did an awesome job listening to us about moving slices, without causing a tax event 5 STARS! Keep improving and being awesome