Best M1 Finance Pie

M1 Finance is a fee-free investment app offering pre-selected portfolios called "pies." What's the best M1 Finance Pie? Find out.

M1 Finance is a no-fee investment app with some unique features.

M1 lets you invest in "pies," which are a unit of your portfolio. You can choose your own investments in a Custom Pie. Or invest in a preselected Expert Pie.

If you are new to investing, M1s Expert Pies are a big help.

What is a M1 Finance Pie?

M1 Finance is an online brokerage platform that lets you invest in "pies." Each pie is a part of your portfolio. And each slice represents the stocks, bonds, ETFs, or mutual funds that you've invested in.

All of your pies make up your entire portfolio.

Their experts have selected a wide range of investments, and you can invest with just one click. Want an aggressive investment? Or a more conservative one?

They have pies for both, and everything in between.

M1 Finance Pie Types

You can choose to make Custom Pies or choose from pre-selected Expert Pies. These are pies that M1's financial experts have chosen based on many factors. You'll learn about these below.

They currently offer more than 80 pre-selected portfolios in 7 categories. If you've just signed up for M1 Finance, you may be unsure which is the best investment.

Which M1 Finance pie will make you the most money? Well, this depends on your investment goals.

What Are Your Investment Goals?

If you're new to investing, you need to answer some basic questions first. Like, what is your investment goal?

M1 has more than 80 pies though. It can be overwhelming if you're new to the platform. What's the best M1 Finance pie for you?

The best M1 Finance pie for you depends on what you want to gain from your investments.

Knowing your goals will help you choose the best M1 Finance pie.

• If you want to protect your assets, you may choose a pie that is invested primarily in bonds. You'll receive a lower return but also expose yourself to lower risk.

• If you're interested in income, then you'll want to look at M1's many pies that focus on dividends. M1 is popular with dividend investors and you'll find many options.

• If want to grow your portfolio as much as possible, you'll want to check out the higher-risk or aggressive pies.

But you'll first need to answer another question: What is your investment timeline?

What Is Your Investment Timeline?

Are you looking for investments that you can hold until you retire in 40 years? Or do you want to make a quick return in a year or so?

Knowing your investment timeline will help you choose the best M1 Finance pie for you.

• For long-term investors, you could invest in higher-risk assets. Since you have plenty of time for an asset to go down in price and then come back up.

• For short-term investors, you may need to withdraw your money in a couple of years. So, you can't afford much volatility and could select lower-risk assets.

Now that you know your timeline and goals, how can you find the best M1 Finance Pies?

What to Look for in a M1 Finance Pie

The first thing to consider when looking at M1 Finance Pies are their categories. M1 offers 7 categories of pies:

1. General Investing
   
2. Plan for Retirement
   
3. Responsible Investing
   
4. Income Earners
   
5. Just Stocks and Bonds
   
6. Other Strategies

Once you select your Category, then you see important data on each M1 Finance pie. So, you can understand if the investment is right for you. You can see:

1. Number of Holdings: How many securities are held in the pie?
   
2. Dividend Yield: How much has this pie made from dividends?
   
3. Performance: This chart shows you the up-and-downs of the security
   
4. APY: How much interest has been made over 1, 3, or 5 years?
   
5. Risk: How likely is your investment to go down?

Let's look more closely at the pies in each category.

General Investing

If you're looking for low-cost investments and a lot of market exposure, these are the option for you.

You can choose how much risk you are willing to tolerate from ultra-conservative to ultra-aggressive.

Each pie has 6 to 10 holdings.

The dividend yields vary from 0.7% to 2.7%. But if dividends are your priority, then check out the Income Earners category below.

Plan for Retirement

You can select a pie for retirement by choosing your target retirement date. It will automatically adjust its holdings as you approach your date.

The target dates start in 2020 and go to 2060.

You can select your strategy from Aggressive to Moderate to Conservative. Risk on these pies varies from Medium-Low to Medium, with 16 to 19 holdings per pie.

Responsible Investing

If you're an investor who wants to support companies with socially responsible principles, then you can find 2 pies here.

There's a domestic pie and an international socially responsible pie. These pies invest in ESG ETFs, also called environment, social, and governance funds.

You'd just need to decide if you want to invest domestically in the U.S. or internationally.

Income Earners

If you're looking for passive income, the Income Earner pies are some of the most popular on M1.

You get dividends or a substitute for high-yield savings accounts. These funds focus on income coming into your bank account this month or quarter, instead of long-term growth.

You can find 6 pies with names like:

• Bank Balance
  
• Domestic or Global Dividends
  
• Short, Medium, or Long-Term Bonds

Each has 3 to 5 holdings, Low to Medium Risk, and dividend yields as high as 3.7%.

Just Stocks and Bonds

If you only want to invest in stocks and bonds, M1 Finance pies allow you to do that.

You can select your allocation from 9 options:

• 10% stocks/90% bonds
  
• 20% stocks/80% bonds
  
• 30% stocks/70% bonds
  
• 40% stocks/60% bonds
  
• 50% stocks/50% bonds
  
• 60% stocks/40% bonds
  
• 70% stocks/30% bonds
  
• 80% stocks/20% bonds
  
• 90% stocks/10% bonds

These only have 2 holdings and are low to medium risk.

Other Strategies

If you want to try the more uncommon M1 Finance pies and investment strategies, look at these:

You could invest in ARK ETFs and gain exposure to robotics, fintech, and other cutting-edge technology. Or try the Cannabis Pie to invest in the growing cannabis industry.

There are 6 options with Medium to High Risk.

How To Invest In An Expert Pie

You can add an Expert Pie to your portfolio in just a few minutes. After reviewing a pie's data, then you can add the pie.

How to add an Expert Pie to your portfolio:^[1]

1. Select Research in the top menu
   
2. Select Expert Pies
   
3. Select the Category you want and choose View Pies
   
4. Click the Pie you're interested in
   
5. Review the pie's investment data
   
6. If the data looks good, then select Add To Your Portfolio

It's as simple as that.

How To Invest In A Custom Pie

M1 Finance offers many options for creating pies. You can create pies with up to 100 stocks, funds, ETFs, or even add other pies.

To build a Custom Pie:^[2]

1. Select Research from the top menu
   
2. Select My Pies
   
3. Select Create New Pie
   
4. Name your Pie
   
5. Select Add Slice
   
6. Choose stocks, bonds, or ETFs you want to add
   
7. Select Add
   
8. When you've selected all your investments, choose the Target Percentage of each investment. It must all add up to 100%.
   
9. Select Create Pie

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a pie in M1 Finance?
A pie is what M1 Finance calls a part of your portfolio. It can be made up of stocks, bonds, and funds. Each investment is called a slice. You can make Custom Pies or invest in pre-selected Expert Pies.

How many pies can you have in M1 Finance?
You can hold as many as 500 individual positions at M1 Finance. Each pie can hold as many as 100 slices.

How do I create a pie in M1 Finance?
You can create a pie in M1 Finance:

1. Go to the Research tab along the top menu
   
2. Select My Pies
   
3. Select Create New Pie
   
4. Select stocks and funds from over 6,200 options

How do I get rid of a pie in M1 Finance?
You can remove a pie in M1 Finance by:

1. Select the Invest tab from the top menu
   
2. Select Portfolio
   
3. Select Manage Pie
   
4. Select Edit Pie
   
5. Lower the percentage of this pie to 0%
   
6. Adjust the percentage investment in your remaining pies to 100%
   
7. Select Save

How do I sell my M1 pie?
To sell your M1 Finance pie

1. Select the Invest tab from the top menu
   
2. Select Portfolio
   
3. Select the Slice you would like to Sell
   
4. Select Buy/Sell

You'll have the option to choose Buy or Sell, select Sell.* Type in the dollar amount you would like to sell. You'll then see the dollar amount you are selling, the stock, and when it will sell. If it looks good, select Confirm Sell.

*If you Auto-Invest in this pie, then you'll be prompted to Update Auto-Invest first. Select Update. Turn off Auto-Invest.

Bottom Line

The best M1 Finance pie for you will depend on your investment goals and timelines. You can review the data on each investment and consider the number of holdings, the amount of risk, the dividend yield, and much more.

M1 Finance's pies make investing easy and there are no fees. It's a great investment app for beginners and intermediate traders looking for a balance of passive and active investments.

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