How to Get Started With Stash | Stash Learn

How to Get Started With Stash

Published: Aug 22, 2024

Why Stash is the right choice for you

At Stash, we’re a registered financial advisor, and we’re committed—and required by law—to act in your best interest. Here’s more about what we believe and our promise to you and millions of other Stash subscribers:

Everyone can feel confident about money. That includes you. We want to give you financial confidence and enable security and peace of mind, so you can go about your day and enjoy your life with family and friends, knowing that together, we have your money covered.
Our advice and products make it easier for you to put your money to work. The U.S. stock market is the greatest generator of wealth ever invented. We are here to help you participate in the market, so your money can work just as hard as you do to make it.
Follow The Stash Way ® . Invest regularly into a simple, mixed portfolio for the long term. The Stash Way is the best way to make your money grow. It’s proven that trading individual stocks and securities and timing the market doesn’t work as well as investing in a diversified portfolio for the long term. We’ll show you how to do this.

How to grow your Stash the right way

By signing up for Stash, you’re joining millions of people who have embarked on their financial journey, and this guide is here to help you take your first steps.

Building good habits puts goals within reach. Smart investing is all about consistency. We’ll show you how to put your investing and saving on an automatic schedule, so you don’t even have to think about it.

Learn by doing—even if that’s just setting aside a few dollars at a time. The best habits are the ones that make your life better. It doesn’t matter how much you invest, just that you get in the habit of doing it and paying yourself first.

Link your bank

The first thing you need to do to get started is to link your bank. It’s easy to do this and is the crucial first step to getting started. You’ll want to Login to the Stash app, tap your initials (iOS) or hamburger icon (Android) in the upper-left corner, tap Manage external bank account, tap Connect a different account, and then follow the prompts to link your external bank account.

Customers set aside about $115 in their first month on Stash, on average, which comes to around $30 every week. If that’s too much of a stretch, that’s okay! Plenty of people start investing with just $5. The point is simply to get started on the journey.

Automatic savings with Auto-Stash

Consistency is key when it comes to investing, and Auto-Stash is a powerful tool to help you maintain that consistency by automatically investing on a schedule.

Auto-Stash allows you to take advantage of dollar-cost averaging, or periodically buying certain stocks or other assets using a set amount of money on a schedule. You’ll buy assets when the price is low and when it’s high without being driven by emotion. You can Auto-Stash with as little as $1; though the average is about $30.

To say it differently, rather than trying to time the market with a lump sum of money and guess the best time to invest, you invest a smaller amount on a regular schedule, such as monthly or bi-weekly.

Subscribers who Auto-Stash set aside 40% more than customers who don’t after one year. For those who Auto-Stash $30 a week, assuming an 8% rate of return and a first investment of $150, they’d hit almost $10,000 in five years.

This calculation is a hypothetical estimate of how much an investment could grow over time. It is based on a weekly contribution of $30, a five year time horizon, no other account deposits, investments, or dividend reinvestment, no withdrawals taken from this account, and a theoretical 8% rate of return, compounded annually. Changes in these variables and factors like market fluctuations and volatility, taxes and fees, and your Stash subscription fee can affect portfolio performance. This projection is for informational purposes only and is not the actual performance of any client or Stash portfolio. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal.

The importance of diversification

Your portfolio is the sum of all your stocks, bonds, ETFs, and cash. Diversification means not putting all of your eggs in one basket.

The lesson is pretty simple: If all your eggs are in one basket and you happen to drop it, all the eggs will break. The same goes for investing. If you concentrate too much of your holdings in one stock, one fund, or even one sector of the economy, it can increase your risk substantially because investments can decrease in value. And you don’t want all your eggs in one basket.

A diversified portfolio is ideal for long-term security and growth. In your portfolio, you want a variety of investments with different risks to reduce your risk of loss and reduce swings in your account value.

We created a Diversification calculator that provides a portfolio diversification analysis. Portfolio diversification analysis is available to any Stash customer with an investment account, and it can help you take small steps to craft a more diversified portfolio. We take three pieces of information to analyze your portfolio and calculate a diversification score These are: (1) your risk profile, (2) the appropriate asset allocation given your risk level, and (3) your current portfolio.

Think of your diversification analysis as an investing report card for your portfolio. It will show you a bar that ranges from “Less balanced” to “More balanced.” This score is dynamic, and it reveals your portfolio at the current time. If your score appears as “Less balanced,” don’t be discouraged, you can take steps to improve it. We are here to guide you, and we’ll show you how! It’s that easy.

Stash’s promise to you

At Stash, we’re dedicated to helping you achieve your financial goals through a commitment to transparency, simplicity, and partnership:

Transparency: We’re committed to showing you what you have and where you can go. Our subscription plans provide value and rewards without hidden fees.
Simple, automated solutions: Stash is designed to give you the access you need to build a secure future through investing.
Ongoing partnership and a path forward: We guarantee timely education, expert advice, and clear next steps that help you feel confident, grow your money, and achieve lifelong goals.

Your financial journey with Stash is just beginning. By following these strategies—investing regularly, using Auto-Stash, and staying diversified—you’re setting yourself up for success. Remember, consistency and patience are key. Start small, learn as you go, and watch your investments grow over time. With Stash’s tools and guidance, you are well-equipped to take control of your financial future. Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. Investing involves risk and investments may lose value.