Investing As A Student

If I had a dollar for everytime one of my friends asks me for investing help (as if I somehow know what I’m talking about), I’d probably have $10. That being said, I’ve looked into a few active and passive ways of investing, specifically central to a student. Let me define what I mean before we continue. Low income, irregular income, not a lot of savings, not wanting to spend much, not wanting to lose money, not wanting to spend a lot of time reviewing financial reports or reading an analysis. If this sounds like you then welcome to the club, you are a regular human being.

Today we will explore passive investing and my biases. I’m just an average Joe and I want my money to work for me. But I find it hard to get involved in funds with the barrier to entry being so expensive. The hardest part about investing for people like us is saving. You need to start with something to put into an investment. If you don’t have much, your reward won’t be as beneficial once you find your investment.

The other part is that people get attached to their investments, don’t be like them. It’s easier said than done though. That’s where passive investing comes in handy. Raiz is a platform I use, previously known as Acorns. But I don’t use it in the conventional way. I take 5% of my monthly income, and auto transfer it into the Raiz account monthly using their lump sum feature. I don’t bother with the round-ups, they’re way too small for me to get much value from it. They definitely add value for other people, I just don’t use it.

The fee involved is relatively small too, check out their website for a breakdown. My account is under $5000 so I pay $1.25 a month. But, it’s a good passive investment because you can’t see your pile of investments and you can choose 1 of 6 portfolios, ranging from conservative to aggressive, you get a lot of choices. There is also a socially responsible portfolio, the ‘Emerald Portfolio’ filled with socially responsible stocks and bonds. These portfolios are diversified by a variety of industry ETFs (exchange-traded funds) from the Australian Stock Exchange. I haven’t had a problem so far, which is why I chose Raiz to passively invest, and I like that they have a socially responsible portfolio available.

This was my opinion on passive investing, using what I and plenty of other students already use

If you would like to use my referral code, please click the link below as it gives us both a bonus $2.50. https://app.raizinvest.com.au/invite/2GTMR3

Author: Declan Cavanagh, UQ Student

Full Article: https://medium.com/@theWLTHteam/investing-as-a-student-96003415c5cf