The general answer is “as much as you can” and while this is true we know it’s not very helpful, so here is our, more nuanced, answer:
First, before you even think about investing, make sure you have a handle on your budget. Any money you invest should be money you have saved. Do not go into debt to invest when you are just starting out.
Next, you want to build an emergency fund which has enough money to cover 3-6 months of expenses. You should hold this in a liquid and low-risk place like a high yield savings account so you can access the money whenever you need it.
Once you have a plan in place for your budget, then you can figure out how much to invest. No amount is too little, though we do suggest you start with at least $100 so you can buy a diversified portfolio of stocks.
Remember, the earlier you start investing, the better. When you invest for the long term, compounding grows your money exponentially. For example, by the time you’re 60, the money you invest in your 20s will likely be worth as much as the money you invest in your 30s, 40s, and 50s combined.
No matter how much you decide to invest, congratulations for getting started!
Portfolios are generated using Pave’s proprietary technology, which has been optimized over the course of 20 years and used to manage billions of dollars. The system works in the following way:
Pave automatically updates your portfolio to keep you well positioned as stock scores change in accordance with shifting financial and economic conditions. If you decide to change your preferences or buy additional stocks, no worries, Pave will build you a new portfolio that fits your current situation.
Yes, Pave can automatically place trades on your behalf. However, we don’t require that Pave trade for you. Your finances are deeply personal, and we want to ensure that you have complete control over how your money is managed. As a result, we offer two trading methods:
We suggest that you use Autopilot as it saves time and removes the risk of missing a trade recommendation.
Your Pave portfolio is typically updated monthly. Pave may suggest updates as frequently as weekly if the market circumstances require it, but this is rare. We have found over decades of using Pave’s system that this approach strikes the right balance of adapting to changes in the market without overreacting to its whims.
In our view, daily updates can be cumbersome and counterproductive to long-term investing. On the other end, holding indefinitely or only rebalancing quarterly can cause you to miss out on profit. We view our monthly approach as the best of both worlds where short-term and long-term trends can be captured.
The S&P 500, oftentimes used to represent the U.S. stock market, has returned an average of 9.90% per year from its inception in 1928 through the end of 2023. However, annual returns vary significantly year to year. For example, in 2021 the S&P 500 returned 26.89% and then lost 19.44% the following year.
Pave invests you in the stock market, which means you can expect a similar range of annual returns. However, the performance of your specific investments will depend on your investment preferences.
Pave aims to manage the risk of your portfolio to your financial goals. If you are more aggressive you may see larger returns and larger fluctuation in portfolio value. If you are more moderate you may see smaller returns and smaller fluctuations in portfolio value.
Pave also aims to outperform the market and has done so historically, but past performance is not indicative of future results.
Pave does not charge an account service fee for users who invest less than $10,000. Once you grow to an investment account over $10,000, Pave charges $10/month. Our goal is to make investing as approachable as possible. That’s why we only ask you to pay when you have a solid investment foundation.
If you open an investing account with Pave you will pay a trade commission of $0.015 per share of stock bought. For context, buying $10,000.00 worth of shares* through Pave will cost you $0.82. If you are linking an existing investing account to Pave, you will pay that broker’s stated trading fee.
Pave has decided to charge trade commissions to protect your data and keep pricing transparent. Though some companies offer $0.00 commission trading, this trading is rarely free. These companies either sell your data, mark up share prices, charge hidden fees, or all of the above.
*Figure calculated based on the average share price of securities in the S&P 500 at market close on July 5th, 2023, which was $181.88.
Our team combines over 200 years of experience at financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, HSBC, and numerous hedge funds as well as technology companies such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Wealthfront, DriveWealth, and E-Trade.
Unfortunately, Pave is only available in the U.S. for the time being. We’re working hard to expand internationally as soon as possible.