M1 - Chicago, Illinois

Steven

Overall, I'm pleased with M1 though I've not tried to make a withdrawal. My big issue is their statements are a mess. They use a proprietary character set so users can't copy and paste from them. Also missing is the ability to download transactions as a csv or Excel File. Missing basic tools like *all* other financial institutions provide makes tracking and managing investments difficult.

Eugene A.

I had a terrible experience with M1 Finance that I feel compelled to share to warn others. This company is incredibly unreliable, and their lack of professionalism has been nothing short of shocking. I’ve been trying to complete a $27,000 transaction since last week, and it’s still unresolved because of their so-called "technical issues." The worst part? Their customer support is beyond terrible.

First off, they don’t even seem to understand the problem, and every time I try to explain it, they just repeat generic, canned responses. It's like they don’t actually listen to what the customer is saying. I have spoken to multiple agents, and not a single one of them was able to provide any real help. It feels like they don't even care about their customers. The lack of empathy and urgency is staggering, especially when it comes to handling large sums of money.

It’s as if they don’t even have U.S.-based personnel who understand how to handle these issues. The entire operation feels shady and unreliable. They keep blaming some "technical issue" without providing any timeline for when it will be fixed or offering any alternatives. It's unacceptable to have to wait over a week for such an important transaction with no clear resolution in sight.

If you’re thinking of trusting M1 Finance with your money, don’t. They clearly don’t have their act together, and their support team is completely useless. Save yourself the headache and go with a more reputable company that actually values its customers. The way M1 Finance operates is completely unprofessional, and their lack of transparency is a major red flag. Stay far, far away from this company!

Lucas T.

Fun app, great portfolio balancing, but good luck getting your money back. I lost out on multiple investment opportunities because they ignored transfer requests. I eventually had to take a hit on withdrawing a portion of my IRA early because there was no other way to claw my funds back. Customer response is nonexistent.

Tirzo G.

One year update:

The app has had many improvements that have made it easier to use as it lacked many basic functions.

The pie invest function is the best M1 feature and the reason why I kept using M1. It's been a very successful experience for me.

A major selling point is the 5% HYSA and the rewards credit card.

Another major reason I got M1 was for its "all in one" financial services. Out of the blue it decided to stop offering a checking account and closed all checking accounts. They did give plenty of time to make arrangements, but people felt let down and so did I.

No plans of moving out of M1 in 2024 yet but I fear it will be messy when I do. I'm not confident on the customer service.

I'm keeping my 3 star rating due to the checking account issue and still many improvements it needs to make to the app and customer services.

No regrets with M1, just been a rocky, and risky road.
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The idea of M1 is very promising, but the execution of setting up an account is questionable, and not transparent. I got very excited over this set up, portfolio (multiple pies, shares, ETFs, etc), checking account, credit card, and in the future savings account. Sounds great, but the execution is slow, and nerve racking. It's been weeks and I'm still not fully set up. Don't expect a customer service chat/rep to help you either, its all through email tickets that you can never figure out what they are as the emails are vague and they lack reference.

With only two weeks+ in, and the frustration is enough for me to write this and warn new users. One of my brokerage accounts has been on hold, and the transfers, and the cash tied to it for some verification technicality that's taken over a week to sort out (I think it's sorted out).

The transfers, internal, and external, are extremely slow. I have missed out on some many trades during buy periods because of this process. They ask to leave a review on their main page, so this is it. I will however, for the sake of giving it a second chance (it has so much promise), give it a little more time and wait for the dust to settle since I will consider myself a long term investor.

Although, there shouldn't be so much dust when setting up a new account, it's supposed to be exciting, and new users shouldn't be wondering what is going on, with no transparency, or help.

I probably will update in a month, if I don't actually settle for another brokerage, and end up closing my account before 2023. If you have the patience, and see the long term potential, try it out. If you want to move funds and execute trades quickly, look elsewhere. I really hope they improve.

Jason K.

The platform is hard to use, transferring money is difficult at best and the customer service is slow, hard to contact, and they seem to need to go through multiple hoops to get anything resolve, which take them days if not longer. A lot depends on if you get a person who knows what they are doing or not. They always try to refer your problem to some other department to fix and they seem not to be able to answer or fix an issue immediately. it like they outsourced their own tech people.

Sanjit M.

After watching many YouTube videos about M1 Finance and seeing how you can buy slices, auto invest into your pie, create different pies; lots of customization - decided to try it. It has been 6 months and I'm enjoying it.

Cons: Wish you could DRIP your dividends right back into the same security and wish you could add more than one bank account.

Jin Z.

The customer service is terrible. Every time I call, I get the same answer. I opened a Crypto account four months ago, provided all verification documents, and spoke with customer representatives three times. However, the account still shows as pending and not opened. The same thing is happening with my Savings account. It has been three weeks since I provided the verification documents, yet it is still not opened. The customer service is not helpful, and the holding time is long, ranging from 20 to 40 minutes. Overall, it has been a bad experience.

Avinash R.

One of worst decisions I've ever made to go with M1 finance as they've liquidated my account because I had to constantly show them my US address proof even though I've been in living in the US for more than 10 years. Due to some emergency I didn't have access to my email for more than 1 month and during this time they liquidated my account without my consent and had to take a huge loss on my brokerage account. I have accounts with multiple major brokerages in the US and I haven't had this issue with them. They should have atleast tried to reach out to me on my phone rather than a spammy follow up emails. Wish I would have an option to leave a zero stars. Very worst brokerage and I wouldn't look at them again.