Jeff and Walter Cruttenden founded Acorns to simplify investing for the millions that have trouble getting started or continuing to invest.
Jeff noticed that most of his college classmates had an interest in investing yet couldn't come up with a lump sum. Those students that managed to put together a few hundred dollars were usually discouraged by expensive commissions. Finally, those remaining that were willing to pay the commissions were left to select an investment from thousands of stocks, bonds, and ETFs.
Acorns allows anybody to invest small amounts of money, frequently, without commissions or minimum balances. People can sign up on their smartphone in minutes, round up and invest the change from credit or debit card purchases, invest on the fly, and track their investments in real time. Further, Acorns has teamed up with Nobel Laureate, Dr. Harry Markowitz, to construct optimized portfolios for its clients.
