How to Create an Account with Acorns

If you’ve decided you want to open an Acorns investing account, here are all the steps you’ll take to get started. It’s pretty simple and only takes around 5 minutes!

Step 1: Go to the Acorns website and click “Sign Up”

You’ll need to decide whether you’d like to sign up for a Personal or Family account. Once you decide on your account type, you’ll be asked to enter your preferred email address and create a password.

You can also do this on the Acorns app, which you can download in the Google Play Store or Apple Apps Store.

Step 2: Connect your bank account

You’ll need to enter your bank login information and details about the credit or debit card you’d like to link. That way, the Acorns can connect to your linked account and begin withdrawing the spare change from your purchases. You can also use your linked bank account to add funds to your investment account. 

Step 3: Add your personal and contact information

Next, you’ll be asked to enter your:

• Legal first and last name
• Date of birth
• Social security number
• U.S. citizenship status
• Address
• Phone number

Step 4: Verify your phone number

Next, you’ll need to verify the phone number you shared during step 3. You’ll be sent a verification code by text message.

Step 5: Protect your account with security questions

After that, you’ll be asked to create security questions. These will be used to verify your identity if you ever need to reset your password.

Step 6: Answer questions about your investing goals and risk tolerance

Now, you’ll need to answer some questions about your current financial situation, investment goals, and risk tolerance. This will help Acorns get to know you and make a better investment recommendation for you.

Step 7: Answer questions about your familiarity with investing

Next, you’ll be asked if you are any of the following:

• Affiliated with a broker-dealer
• A 10% shareholder or director of a publicly traded company
• Subject to backup withholding by the IRS  

If your answer is ‘no’, you’ll just click “None of these apply to me.”

Step 8: Review your investment recommendation

Based on the information you’ve entered, Acorns will recommend a portfolio of ETFs that are aligned with your goals.  You can decide to override this recommendation after the registration process if you wish.

Step 9: Accept the referral disclosure

The final step is to sign and accept the referral disclosure. This lets you know that another account may receive compensation if you sign up for the app using a referral link.

And that’s it! You’ve now successfully set up your Acorns account and can start investing. Of course, you still may be wondering…

How to Start Investing with Acorns

Now that you’ve set up your account, it’s time to start thinking about how to make your first investment. There are a few options. And, if you’ve never invested before, it can be confusing. So, let’s go through the two basic steps to help you get started! 

Deposit money into your account

When you first open your account, your balance will be $0. So, the first step is transferring funds from your linked bank account.

To do that, you’ll click on the button that says “One-Time” at the top of the app. Then, you can choose how much money want to invest, with a minimum of $5. 

It may take 1-3 business days for the money to appear in your Acorns account. You can also choose to set up a recurring deposit so that money regularly transfers from your bank account to your Acorns investment account.