What does M1 Finance do?
M1 Finance’s self-directed investing platform is a digital brokerage and portfolio-building service built around customizable pies, where users choose their own holdings, set target allocations, and use auto-invest and dynamic rebalancing features to automate deposits and keep portfolios closer to their targets.
M1 Advisory Services LLC is an SEC-registered investment advisor based in Chicago.
The firm was founded in February 2015 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of M1 Holdings Inc.
As of March 30, 2026, M1 Advisory reported $633,573 in non-discretionary client assets and $0 in discretionary client assets.
The advisory service is delivered through M1 Intelligence, an AI-powered advisory system built into the M1 web platform and mobile app.
Main products:
- Stocks and ETFs
- Curated portfolios
- Brokerage and retirement accounts
- Trust, custodial and crypto accounts
Key services:
- Custom pies: Users build portfolios with stocks, ETFs or other supported assets and set target allocations.
- Automated investing: Deposits can be invested automatically according to the user’s pie settings.
- Dynamic rebalancing: New money is directed toward underweight holdings to help maintain target allocations.
- Self-directed brokerage platform: M1 Finance provides self-directed brokerage services.
- Fractional-share allocation: Investors can create portfolios of stocks and ETFs, assign target percentages, and have future cash deposits allocated according to those percentages, using fractional shares when necessary.
M1 Advisory’s investment philosophy centers on long-term, diversified, and cost-conscious investing. M1 Intelligence may recommend individual stocks and ETFs, but the client decides whether to accept, modify, or ignore a recommendation.
What are the pros and cons of M1 Finance?
Here’s a summary of the key advantages and disadvantages to guide your choice.
Pros of M1 Finance:
- Customization structure: Users can build portfolios with Pies and target allocations instead of being limited to a standard model portfolio.
- Useful automation: Auto-Invest and dynamic rebalancing help direct new money toward underweight holdings.
- Low advisory fee: M1 Advisory’s maximum annual advisory fee is 0.20% of assets in accounts.
- No formal advisory minimum: M1 Advisory does not require a minimum account size or investment amount for advisory services.
cons of M1 Finance:
- Not a full robo-advisor: M1 does not place trades for users, which limits its fit for investors who want fully delegated portfolio management.
- No human advisory relationship: M1 Advisory says advice is not provided in person, by phone, or through correspondence.
- Additional platform fee may apply: M1 charges a $3 monthly platform fee or IRA fee unless the user meets waiver conditions.
M1 Finance fees: How much does M1 Finance cost?
M1 Advisory charges an annual advisory fee based on the average daily balance of assets in accounts maintained through M1 Finance LLC. The maximum disclosed advisory fee is 0.20% per year.
Item | Cost |
|---|---|
Self-directed brokerage commission, trading or management fee | $0 |
Advisory fee | Up to 0.20% annually |
Platform / IRA fee | $3 per month unless waived |
Fee waiver | Waived if the client has at least $10,000 in total M1 assets during the billing cycle or an active M1 personal loan. |
Fund expenses | ETFs and funds may have their own internal expenses. |
Other account costs | Transaction, custodial, regulatory, transfer, or other fees may apply |
What is M1 Finance’s minimum account size?
M1 Finance does not disclose one universal minimum account size for its self-directed automated investing platform. Minimums depend on the account type and deposit activity.
- M1 Advisory minimum: No minimum account size or investment amount is required for advisory services.
- Individual, joint, custodial and crypto accounts: $100 minimum initial deposit.
- Traditional IRA, Roth IRA and SEP IRA: $500 minimum initial deposit.
- Trust accounts: $5,000 minimum initial deposit.
- Additional deposits after the first deposit: $10 or more
Who should choose M1 Finance?
M1 Finance works well for:
- Hands-on long-term investors: M1 is useful for people who want to choose portfolio holdings and target allocations themselves.
- Investors who like automation: It offers auto-invest and dynamic rebalancing.
- Cost-conscious users: The disclosed advisory fee cap is relatively low.
Who might not benefit as much:
- People who want human financial planning: The advisory service does not include in-person, phone, or correspondence-based advice.
- Investors with complex planning needs: M1 Intelligence is not a substitute for tax, legal, estate, insurance, or comprehensive planning advice.
- Users uncomfortable with AI-generated recommendations: M1 Advisory’s model depends on M1 Intelligence rather than human advisor review.
M1 Finance: Is it secure?
M1 Finance has standard brokerage-account protections, but investors should not confuse this with protection against market losses.
M1 Finance is a registered broker-dealer with FINRA and a member of SIPC, which protects eligible securities customers up to $500,000, including up to $250,000 for cash claims. SIPC does not protect investors if their securities lose value.
M1 also states that supplemental insurance may apply after SIPC limits are exhausted.
M1 also discloses practical account-security controls, including 4096-bit encryption for transferred and stored data and optional two-factor authentication, which gives the platform a stronger security disclosure than providers that only mention SIPC coverage.
M1 Finance: Customer service
Advisory services are provided through the M1 Platform and M1 Intelligence rather than through in-person meetings, phone calls, or written correspondence.
Existing clients are encouraged to use the web platform or mobile app for support. In contrast, email support and phone assistance for urgent requests are available during weekday business hours, excluding market holidays.
M1 Finance: Mobile app
The mobile app is central to the service. M1 Platform includes both the mobile application and web platform, and M1 Intelligence is integrated into that platform.
For investing, the app supports several core functions: users can build custom portfolio pies from stocks and ETFs, choose curated portfolios based on goals and risk tolerance, use automatic rebalancing, invest with fractional shares, and manage taxable, trust, custodial, and retirement accounts.
The app also emphasizes dynamic rebalancing and the ability to manage a complex portfolio with less manual work.
M1 Finance: What real customers are saying?
Comments often focus on Pies, Auto-Invest, and rebalancing.
One user said the Pie system “makes it really easy to keep your allocations,” and that contributions “will dynamically rebalance your portfolio.”
A few feedback points to the limits of that same structure. Some users like the Pie concept but find the platform restrictive when they want more control over execution, tax lots, or moving money between Pies. One user said they “generally like the idea of pies,” but were leaving because the platform no longer suited them.
Overall, M1’s automated investing tools are well-liked by long-term, self-directed investors. Still, the service is less attractive for users who expect high-touch support, advanced trading control, or a fully managed robo-advisor experience.
Is M1 Finance worth it?
M1 Finance is worth considering for long-term investors who want automated investing but still want to control their own portfolio.
Its main strengths are custom pies, auto-invest, rebalancing tools, AI-powered recommendations, a low disclosed advisory fee, and no formal advisory minimum.
The main limitation is that M1 is not a fully managed robo-advisor. It gives recommendations and automation tools, but users still make the final investment decisions.
It is a better fit for self-directed investors than for people who want human financial planning, high-touch support, or a platform that manages the entire portfolio for them.
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