Episode 4 in my quest to evaluate all of the free investing apps: Public.com. As always, this is just my opinion based on my personal experience and findings. This is not professional advice.
Public.com is a relative newcomer on the FinTech scene, especially when you consider that Robinhood has been on the scene since 2013 followed by the likes of M1 Finance in 2015, Webull in 2017, and SoFi in 2018. So Public came in riding the back end of a wave in 2019. However, just because they're new, that doesn't mean they didn't come to the table with some fresh, albeit, odd ideas.
Public brought a social media spin to the democratized investing space. Whereas Robinhood may show you recommendations based on what's popular in people's portfolios, and SoFi may let you browse the portfolios of popular, high profile investors, and Webull has a commentary section on their stock quotes allowing you to gauge investor sentiment, Public cranks that up to 11.
Everything about Public is geared towards social interaction. If you invest in a stock of fund, they will make you post about it on your feed.
You don't have to go all out, but you'll be mandated to post *something*.
You can see how much I partake in the social aspects...
The effect of this is to crowdsource your investing advice. It's not exactly the most advisable way to seek investor knowledge and education, but it can offer a new investor a place to start. If you want to get into investing and have no clue where to start, Public may very well be a good fit. Indeed, that is Public's target audience, and their stated mission and purpose: to make investing achievable to everyone. Personally, I think they're accomplished that mission.
None of this is to say that they don't provide investors with legitimate research. While their user interface is rather simplistic (and this is one of the complaints against the app), their stock research is somewhat detailed and easily digestible for the someone who has no experience.
All in all, the stock research appears fairly comparable to Robinhood as far as my personal feelings go, which is to say that it isn't detailed, but it is presented in a novice friendly manner. However, it is worth noting that more professional people, like Brokerage Review, happen to think much higher of Public's than Robinhood's. Which brings us back around to the social dynamic. The crowdsourcing mechanic to stock research does add a bit of a competitive edge. Complete with thematic hashtag searches, you can dig in to see what other investors are saying.
Public also categorizes stocks into "themes" to make it easy to dig through and find stocks that align with your ideals and/or goals.
Staying true to accessibility, Public claims that they pioneered the fractional share investing. Now, I have no way to corroborate that, and I'm not about to put in that level of research. Suffice it to say, they allow Fractional Share Investing, thus making owning more expensive stocks more achievable for the average joe, and they allow you to invest with as little as $1. I reiterate that this is can be a make it or break it deal for cash-strapped individuals that are living paycheck to paycheck and don't feel like they have any options to start saving towards retirement or an emergency. $1 a week into a properly researched fund or stock can start paying off down the line when you're in desperate need of cash flow. You won't be retiring a millionaire, but you'll still have a little something tucked away for a rainy day, which can buy you some peace of mind. As a father of three young kids, peace of mind cannot be overvalued.
Now, the browser app is new to Public. They were initially mobile only. I tell you that to say: the mobile app is where you'll start to feel the most polished interface.
Your portfolio, again, gives you a simplified overview of the stocks you hold. However, I found something rather unique that intrigued me in my portfolio summary.
Public allows you to separate out investments into your regular portfolio, or long term holdings. Being an investor, I hold my shares for the long term (at least 1 year and 1 day, because that transitions from short-term capital gains to long-term capital gains which is taxed at a lower rate). I differentiate myself as an investor from traders: the guys trying to time the market and flip shares for quick profits.
The biggest problem with that, from everything I've tried, read, and heard, is that being a Trader is hard. If you don't know what you're doing, you end up losing. Investing is much more my speed. Put the money in, sit back, and watch the roller coaster ride.
Still, if you're looking to do a little of both, Public makes it rather simple to keep your trades separate from your investments.
Now, all of that being said, I wanted to save this particular feature for last. Public still isn't done bringing the fresh ideas to the table, and making informed investing accessible to the everyman.
Public allows you to tune in to live calls wherein they interview various professionals, or allow them to answer your (pre-submitted) questions.
This is probably the unique feature that caught my attention the most.
I've yet to see an option as streamlined as Public's for accessing information straight from the horse's mouth, as it were. Getting up to date speculations, valuations, and insights from professionals, whether they're FinTech writers, fund managers, CFOs/COOs,(all of which have been on the few calls I've tuned into) you're getting real access to a wealth of experience and information.
I would say that I was pleasantly surprised by Public's app. I don't enjoy the social media aspect to the app. I truly don't. However, the Public Live calls have been worth keeping the app on my phone, in case one pops up that intrigues me. Otherwise, there's nothing that really makes it stand out from the others. Still, they say they want to make investing easy and accessible, and they have very readily accomplished that.
I would again like to reiterate, if you're one of the 39% of Americans that can't afford a $400 emergency, I urge you to start digging into these apps that have made investing easier and more accessible than it ever has been. Again, even $1 a week invested in a quality stock or fund can pay some huge dividends (pun intended?) down the road. If you're one of the 55% that has $5000 or less in savings, this is equally important to you as you start nearing your golden years. Congress keeps stealing away Social Security funds, and they're now talking about raising the age threshold into your 70s. I don't know about you, but I'm a far cry away from being able to withdraw as it is, and I just don't feel like it's reliable enough to bet the welfare of myself and my bride on.
Reach out! Comment! Share your own experiences! Ask questions! I'm here to learn as much as I am to share what I'm learning. If you'd like resources, I can help you find some free resources to start you on the path to financial literacy.
As always, if you use my referral link here, I receive some free stock and you receive some free stock. It is appreciated, but it isn't required.
You can find my article on Robinhood here.
You can find my article on Webull here.
You can find my article on SoFi here.
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