Recently, I came across an online investment firm and bank that I think you all should know about.
Aspiration is an online investment firm made for the average person like you and me. They have products that allow everyday investors to open high-yield checking accounts as well as allowing people to easily invest in mutual funds.
They are quite affordable and they are currently one of the fastest growing online financial firms.
Below are some of the different things that I believe sets Aspiration and their services apart from their competition.
The Aspiration Summit Account.
The Aspiration Summit Account is Aspiration's high-yield checking account that has some pretty nice benefits you should be aware of.
Aspiration's high-yield checking account has no ATM fees, no monthly fees, and an interest rate up to 1.00% APY. All you need to do is to deposit a minimum of $10 and then you can start experiencing Aspiration's many wonderful benefits.
1.00% APY means that the Summit Account offers up to 100 times the interest rate provided on checking accounts at most banks out there. You will receive 0.25% APY on balances up to $2,499.99 and 1.00% APY on the entirety of balances of $2,500 or more.
That's an awesome interest rate for a checking account!
The Aspiration Redwood Fund.
Aspiration also has another great fund that is relatively new. Below is some information on it:
- It’s the first sustainable investment of its kind.
- The fund is fossil fuel-free and comprised of companies that have committed to sustainable business practices – for example in terms of how they treat the environment and their employees.
- Research has shown that companies that take steps to become more sustainable have outperformed companies that haven’t done so.
- You can learn a bit more about the fund here.
- And here are some recent press articles about the product: http://bit.ly/1HZv6kL
& http://sfchron.cl/1HZv6Bg
Aspiration is different from other banks in a great way.
One thing I noticed when I did my research on Aspiration is that they are the only financial firm that donates a dime of every dollar it makes to charities. The charities that Aspiration donates to are those that help low-income Americans start businesses and build better lives.
That is amazing, right?! I've never heard of a financial firm to do this. It's nice to know that this is a part of their business.
Investing with Aspiration.
In case you are also looking for an investment firm, I do want to include a quick review of Aspiration's other main service that they provide. You can also invest with Aspiration and they make it very easy to do so.
Their mutual fund ASPFX has a $500 minimum that is open to new investors.
One interesting aspect of investing with Aspiration is that YOU decide what you want to pay them.
At Aspiration, you decide what to pay us. No, we’re not joking. And we’re not crazy (we hope).
We don't make a cent from you other than what you choose to pay. And then we hold down, negotiate down, and subsidize any expenses or fees to third-parties.
We’re betting that if we bring you good value, and act on good values, you’ll pay us fairly – and respect us for respecting you. Besides, if we ask you to trust us with your money, shouldn’t we trust you too?
And shouldn't the question really be: why doesn’t everyone else?
Yes, that means that customers get to choose what to pay them, sort of like tipping.
What do I think of Aspiration?
To me, Aspiration seems like one heck of a deal. Free banking, a great yield on a checking account, free ATMs anywhere in the world, plus they donate 10% of the money they earn?
Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
You can check out Aspiration and their services here.
How does your current investment firm compare to Aspiration?
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The “Pay What You Want” model is an interesting one and I’m sure a first in this space. I will be curious to see if it stays that way after a year when the initial press dies down. The free publicity that I’m sure these ideas are bringing can help keep their costs low now but at some point, they will need to generate enough revenue to remain profitable and unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there that see “free” when they hear about a “pay what you want plan”. I am intrigued to see how it works because if they can make it work, it will be a game changed.
Wow, pay what you want? Like Thias said, it’ll be really interesting to see how that holds up over the next year or two. It’s a great idea in terms of making investing more accessible for the average person.
Very interesting. thank you for sharing. My number one point of interest is the free ATM – worldwide. Now that we live in South America but earn US dollars, we pull cash from ATM’s all the time. We have one account that has no fees on ATM’s. I would love to have an alternative account just in case something happens. Are the transactions free of fees?