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Get the latest Motif Investing promotions here, including the free month offer, $100 bonus and $150 bonus.
Motif Investing basically specializes in stock picking and index investing. They will create portfolios called “motifs” that contain up to 30 stocks or ETFs that become a nice investment package. You can choose from over 150+ professionally built motifs or select from 75,000 motifs created by other investors like you.
Searching for a financial planner? Take a look at SmartAsset, which is free to use.
If you want to learn more about the company, read My full review further down below.
Other brokerage bonus promotions can be found here, including great offers from J.P. Morgan and Ally Invest.
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Free Motif Subscription Referral Offer
You and your referrals can earn free Motif subscription periods with this offer.
- You will receive 1 month of free Motif BLUE for each friend that opens an account and is approved.
- To ensure you receive the offer, each friend must use the link in your Motif invite to open their accounts.
- The link creates a unique electronic cookie as an identifier.
- Therefore, your friend’s cookie setting must be enabled.
- For your referral to qualify for the offer, your friend cannot be an existing Motif member or trading account holder.
- This offer cannot be combined with any other offers from Motif Investing.
- Motif Investing reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time and to refuse or recover any promotion award if, in Motif Investing’s sole opinion, it was obtained under wrongful or fraudulent circumstances, that inaccurate or incomplete information was provided in opening the account, or that any terms of the Account Agreement have been violated.
- This offer is not applicable to associates or affiliated associates (including contractors, interns, and temporary employees) of Motif Investing and their immediate family members.
- You are not required to provide your credit card to start your month of free Motif BLUE.
*Click the link below to see an example of the referral form, but you’ll need a Motif account to create your own referral link to earn bonuses.
Be sure to check out the top offers from FutureAdvisor, TD Ameritrade, and more below.
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Motif Investing 1 Month Free Offer

*Update: check the link below for updates, but it appears as though this offer is no longer available
You’ll get 1 month for free when you sign up for a new Motif Investing Impact Account.
- No stated expiration date for this offer
- Impact Account is eligible for the offer
- Impact Account:
- Fully-automated portfolio
- Align your financial goals with your values
- Tax-aware automated investing
- After award period, one flat subscription of $9.95/month
- No Compromise Guarantee: 100% fee-refund if your portfolio underperforms
How To Get The Offer
- Use the link below to go to the Motif Investing website
- Click on “Open Account” at the top right corner
- You’ll see the screen where you choose the type of account you’d like to open, with a message stating “Your first month FREE” under the Impact Account heading.
Full Review Of Motif Investing
Motif Investing was founded by Hardeep Walia. He created the business in order to aid investors to get more control over what they were able to invest in. By offering this service in a low-cost manner, it allows those who do not have a lot of initial capital to get started and get onto the investing ladder.
Motif is tax efficient; it’s cost-effective and cost-competitive too. With a somewhat unique offering, Motif Investing delivers a service that allows investors to trade exchange-traded funds and stocks. For a fee starting at $4.95 per month, users can create and trade themed collections known as “Motifs” of up to 30 stocks or ETFs.
This theme-based approach of investing is completely unique to the platform and is a great way to diversify your portfolio; it is also pretty cost-efficient too. Motif Investing is a discounted brokerage service which enables the user to dictate their preferred areas for investing. For this service and others in their arsenal, Motif Investing has been featured in the CNBC Disruptor 50 listings for 2016.
Commission | $4.95/Share; $9.95/Motif; Automated Investing starts at $4.95/month |
Account Minimum | $0 |
Promotion | 1 free month of Motif Blue |
Options Trades | N/A |
Mutual Funds | N/A |
Accounts Available | Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Trusts, Individual and Joint |
Mobile App | Apple iOS, Apple Watch and Google Android |
Customer Support | Phone, Text and Email |
Who Is Motif Investing Suitable For?
- If you want control over what stock is being chosen for your portfolio
- Those who want to buy fractional shares of stocks or ETFs
- Those who want to invest in IPOs
- Those who wish to see what other people are trading before committing themselves
- Those who do not have a lot of capital to invest
- People who are new to trading
- If you need a low-cost option
Opening An Account With Motif
If you want to open a new account with Motif Investing, the process is easy to initiate. You will need to complete an online form that will ask for your Social Security Number and some other personal information. There is then a range of different account types for you to choose from. Don’t worry about doing everything on day one, as you can open other accounts later on if you need to.
You will then be requested to add funds to your account, and there are a number of different options available for that.
- If you wish to transfer an account from another broker, this is also referred to as an ACAT. This process can take up to 10 working days to go through, and you are limited to cash, ETFs, and listed securities.
- ACH, Bank, and Wire transfers usually take 24-hours and are the quickest deposit option.
- Using a check to fund your account is still possible – it generally takes four business days from the date is gets cleared with the bank.
Motif Investing Pros
Themed “Motifs.”
These are the essence of the offering that Motif Investing provides and the standout feature that sets them aside from others in this space. There are essentially two different categories that these “Motifs” fall into. Community Motifs are created by Investors who then choose to share them with the wider audience of customers on the Motif Investing platform. Then, there are the Professional Motifs which are created by Motif Investing themselves.
The extensive catalog displays a hugely in-depth array of data which includes the highest dividend yielded, performance, most purchased, as well as a ranking table which details the 30-day winners and losers respectively.
If you wish to purchase Motifs that are from an existing model, which has already been created in either the professional or community categories, you can use a range of nifty tools in order to filter through the different options that are available. These are Financial Services, Green Technologies, Healthcare, Social Causes, and Energy and Natural Resources.
Performing a search using the term “technologies” results in more than 40 different professional Motifs and over 5,000 different community Motifs. Motif Investing lists crucial information that is neatly contained within the search results to make it easy to see what might be the right option for you. They show a quick overview that incorporates a one-month trend viewpoint.
Supports A Range Of Account Types
With Motif Investing, a range of account types are supported. These include IRA, Standard Taxable Accounts, and Roth IRAs.
Low Cost and Transparent Fees
With Motif Investing you know exactly what you are paying, and there are no hidden charges or fees. Their fee structure is clearly displayed and easy to understand. What’s more, it is competitively priced when you compare that with traditional purchasing of ETFs or buying individual stocks. Choose from either the $4.95, $9.95 or $19.95 plan depending upon your individual needs.
Minimal Deposit Required
Motif Investing is a great way for those who have minimal funds to invest. Because a dollar buying approach with fractional shares is available, they make it easy for people with all different scales of budgets to invest and use their platform. You only need to have $300 in order to start investing in a motif.
Great Accessibility
Motif Investing is easy to use and easy to access. Their platform is available across a range of different devices. You can access it via any Android or Apple Device, via a web browser, or on any tablet device. Whichever way you choose to access their services, the interface is clean and simple to navigate around.
Adaptability
If you want to trade ETFs or individual stocks, this platform will allow you to do that as well. It gives full access to the entire suite of US-listed securities. In fact, Motif Investing will meet the requirements of a whole host of different investors. Another great feature I love about Motif Investing is that investors can also trade in dollars rather than in shares. This means that fractional shares can be purchased and it opens the gates for investors with smaller amounts to invest too.
American depository receipts are also available through Motif Investing. These typically serve to represent shares in international businesses. Because these shares are issued by a US brokerage or banking institution, they can help investors who want to invest or buy foreign stocks who prefer not to be faced with the complexities that can sometimes occur from buying shares in companies that are located outside of the US.
Royalties for Motifs
If you create a Motif that is purchased by someone else within the community, you will then earn royalties on that purchase. This adds an extra element and a new dimension to their offering. It is best to check the latest royalty levels direct on their website as these can occasionally fluctuate.
Motif Investing Cons
Limited Trading Tools
There are certain features which traders typically expect to see that are lacking from the Motif Investing offering. Although they seem to be looking to bring active traders to their platform, their range of features does not offer a full set of tools. This includes a range of ordering options, diverse research, and key analytical tools. One clear missing feature is that traders are able to utilize stop and stop-limit orders only on their sell orders.
Motif Investment Subscription Model
This new model was launched in the last part of 2016 and brought Automated Investing (Betterment and Wealthfront are leaders in Automated Investing) to Motif Investment’s range of online offerings. This added functionality means that customers are able to buy into Motifs on a regular frequency. The options are annual, quarterly, monthly or bi-weekly. The major plus to this service arrangement is that investors do not need to pay a commission each time money is invested. The fees are charged as an overall fixed monthly subscription amount, depending upon the particular level that is selected. There are three different levels, details of which are below:
- BLUE Starter – The cost of this service is just $4.95 per month. This includes the option to invest, and to Auto-rebalance a single Motif.
- BLUE Standard – The cost of the standard service is $9.95 per month. This includes the option to invest in three Motifs and Auto-rebalance any professional Motif. With this plan, you also get Capital Market Reports from Motif, and you are able to make one commission-free trade of either a stock or a Motif each month.
- BLUE Unlimited – The cost of the unlimited service is $19.95 per month. This includes the option for auto-investment into three Motifs along with the ability to rebalance any professional Motif automatically. There are three trades of either stocks or Motifs that are free of any commission. As with the standard plan, you get the Motif Capital reports. However, you also get the added benefit of stock quotes in real-time across all pages.
On Monday mornings at 09:30 ET, Motif Blue will rebalance portfolios automatically across all professional Motifs only.
With this service, there are a lot of fine details to go through. One of the standout points I feel is necessary to highlight about Motif Blue is that at present, you are only allowed to reinvest in Motifs that you have created yourself, or the professional Motifs which are created by Motif Investing themselves.
Final Thoughts
Motif has certainly been able to differentiate themselves through their unique creation of Motifs that allow investors to fully align themselves with chosen investments in fields or areas which are particularly meaningful to them. All this along with the added benefits of auto-rebalancing and the hands-on investment approach gives customers something to really sink their teeth into. The other huge plus point with Motif Investing is the flexibility of the service and the ability to buy fractional shares.
The service allows investors who prefer a hands-on approach; it also offers a relatively low-cost way to create customized portfolios with ease. The fact that you can trade ETFs or up to thirty different stocks, for a very low commission comparatively is a real plus to their offering.
However, for those who really don’t want to get into all the detail and prefer a hands-off approach to managing investments, perhaps one of the other true Robo-Advisory services like Betterment or Wealthfront would be much more suited to their needs. See the list of the current best Robo-Advisors here.
*My Investments Disclosure
I’m constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup.
- Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Stocks & Options. My strategies are always evolving but my main focus currently is on selling Put Options.
- Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffett recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. I’ve also decided to diversify further with the total stock market, investing in the VTI ETF with Vanguard.
- Wealthfront. If you’re a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I’ve been able to waive all management fees through their referral program.
- Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I’m not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open.
- Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. I have minimal investments in Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency space. Be sure to click the link to get the latest offers for free Bicoin and more.
READ MORE: See The Best Bank Promotions Here And The Best Investing Promotions Here