M1 Finance Review: The Autopilot Broker That Charges You $3/Month to Taxi
M1 Finance wants to be the set-it-and-forget-it broker for long-term investors. The pitch is compelling: build a custom portfolio of stocks and ETFs, automate your contributions, and let the platform handle rebalancing. No commissions on trades. A slick "Pie" system that makes portfolio allocation visual and intuitive. And it mostly delivers — if you have at least $10,000 to invest. Below that threshold, M1 charges a $3 monthly platform fee. That's $36 a year just for the privilege of holding an account. On a $1,000 portfolio, that's a 3.6% annual drag — worse than many actively managed mutual funds. On $5,000, it's still 0.72%. That fee is the single most important thing to understand about M1 before you sign up. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Chicago, M1 has grown to over 1 million users and $12 billion in client assets. They're SEC-registered, a FINRA member, and SIPC-insured. The broker sits in an unusual niche: more automated than Fidelity or Schwab, more customizable than Betterment or Wealthfront. If you're a buy-and-hold investor who wants to build a diversified portfolio and automate contributions, M1 might be exactly what you need. But it's not for everyone.