Motif Investing Review: Get Up to $150 Cash Back!

Motif Investing  is an online brokerage that started in 2010 and has seen impressive growth since. With that in mind, Im doing a Motif Investing Review  to go over some of their offerings to see how they differ from other brokers in the industry.

Motif Investing   started with the idea of giving investors more control over what theyre investing in by offering a theme-based approach to investments. If you would like to check out some of my previous online brokerage reviews, you can do so below:

With the growing popularity of Motif I decided to open an account to see how they measure with relation to the other online brokerages in the industry. I manage most of our investing through Scottrade and Optionshouse and decided to open a smaller play account with Motif Investing to get a feel of what makes them unique.

A brief backstory on Motif, they were started by Hardeep Walia who is a former Microsoft Executive who moved into the investing realm. It was funding from Goldman Sachs and others that allowed them to open for business. Many in the finance industry have also taken notice with Motif Investing being named #4 in the CNBC Disruptor 50 for helping revolutionize the finance industry, as well as being named the most innovative company in the personal finance space by Fast Company.

They started with an approach that is a bit different in the investing world and are geared toward giving investors more say over what they’re investing in which I love to see. Ive provided a brief video below that goes a little more in depth to see what makes Motif different. With that out of the way, let’s move on to the Motif Investing review.

Motif Investing Features

You Create Your Own Fund. The basic premise with Motif is that you create your own fund based around a specific theme or idea. You can select up to 30 stocks or ETFs of whatever area you want to focus on and buy shares in that motif for a flat $9.95. I will give the disclaimer that you will  likely end up with fractional shares, but the point is you control what you want to invest in. I often got asked in my past job if there were options like socially aware funds or funds that focused on a certain niche industry. In most situations those presented very limited options and Motif Investing provides a solid way to take care of that. Taking part of the Grow Your Dough challenge . I decided to make my motif one thats focused on the oil industry.

They Offer Pre-made Ones As Well. What if you don’t have a specific kind of focus you want to create? Simple – Motif has close to 150 pre-made motifs you can choose from. They have a very straightforward interface that allows you to choose your selected motif. You simply log in to your account and you can search by different sectors and industries to see what pre-made motifs are available. These motifs can be as simple as the Growing Dividends motif or ones as exotic as 3D Printing or World of Sports. The point is the possibilities are endless.

Straightforward Pricing. The pricing at Motif Investing is straightforward and easy to follow. You pay a flat $9.95 per motif that you choose to invest in. The nice thing about the motif is that if you choose to remove or change up a certain stock in your motif you can do so for $4.95 per trade or a flat $9.95 for unlimited changes. Honestly though, Id just create my own motif without having to pay extra to customize a pre-made one.

Extensive Social Network. The other nice feature about Motif Investing is they have an extensive social network. They have one in-house that allows you to share investing ideas with others and they also allow you to invite friends of yours from your social media networks. Social media is becoming more of a player in the online brokerage space and Motif Investing has done a great job of taking a unique spin on it. You can also use this to get royalty payments from Motif if someone buys a custom motif youve created!

New Horizon Motifs:  Motif Investing has recently launched their new Horizon motifs . What makes these motifs great is that they are no fee motifs that are comprised of low-cost ETFs that are considered best in class for their respective asset class and are completely customizable. The Horizon motifs are based off of your specific risk tolerance, timeline and amount to start investing with. Whereas you would pay a fee for the same basic thing with Betterment  there is no charge with Motif.

Advantages of Motif Investing

Can Be Great for Secondary Investing. The thing that I love about Motif Investing is that they offer a good option if you’re looking for a secondary investing channel. I believe they can also be a good option for someone new to investing and has little money to start investing with .

No Hidden Fees. One of the biggest things I like about Motif Investing is they have no hidden fees. Fees can be a drag on investing returns and hidden fees are horrid at best. This puts Motif in the ranks of Scottrade, Optionshouse  or Etrade  as being able to invest without the fear of getting hit with some sort of random hidden fee. This also includes no maintenance or custodial fees.

Instant Diversification:  Diversification is something overlooked by many investors and to their own detriment. Having the ability to put up to 30 stocks or ETFs in a bucket provides a great way to get instant diversification without much work at all.

They Offer Active Rebalancing. If you select one of the pre-made motifs, Motif  actively monitors it for rebalancing needs. Remember to be careful about rebalancing too often as you should really be looking at a semi-annual or annual interval for rebalancing a portfolio. That said, it’s a nice little feature Motif Investing offers and if you choose to go with the rebalancing you pay $9.95 for the trading involved.

Great If You Have A Specific Focus. Like I said prior, if you have a specific and specialized theme or niche you’re looking to invest in, Motif is the place to go.

Disadvantages of Motif Investing

No Dividend Reinvestment is Offered. One of the disadvantages I see with Motif Investing is they do not offer dividend reinvestment. This may not be an issue for all as some investors prefer cash as opposed to a reinvested dividend. With that in mind, Motif Investing actually has launched a class of dividend specific motifs. What I like about this offering is that they have motifs made up of companies that have not cut dividend payouts for the previous ten years, those that have increased dividends each of the past five years or those that are considered high yield dividend payers. If none of those motifs fit the bill and you do want a dividend focused motif you always have the option of creating your own through Motif. That said, Motif Investing has seen the draw dividends have for many investors and have made a great attempt to meet that need.

Motif Investing Review my take

Speaking honestly, I have been pretty impressed with Motif Investing in my experience thus far. Motif makes it fairly straightforward to open an account and the platform is intuitive. Having used a variety of broker platforms currently and in the past I would rate Motif as ahead of the curve when it comes to ease of use and navigation through their platform.

I think for the right person, Motif Investing can be a great option, especially as a supplement to what you’re already doing elsewhere in terms of investing as well as for someone new to the stock market.

I also believe Motif provides a great way to supplement your investing with a smaller portion of your portfolio. This is particularly the case if you’re wanting a way to invest in a certain specialized niche or market that you’re unable to find elsewhere and are comfortable with the risk associated with that.

If you’re considering opening an account with Motif Investing, make sure to check out my Motif Investing promotion code   post to see what theyre currently offering for new accounts. Motif Investing offers very low minimums to start, as low as $250 to invest in a motif.

Open a new Motif Investing account today and get the limited time promotion of $150 cash back!

After reading my Motif Investing review, what do you think of this style of investing? Do you have a small portion of your portfolio that you allocate to invest in certain sectors or niches?