M1 Finance is the 601st largest bank in the nation. It was established in 1902 and as of June of 2023, it had grown to 395 employees. M1 Finance's savings rates are 3X the national average, and it has a B+ health rating.
High Yield Savings
M1 Finance has just introduced a new High Yield Savings account that pays 5.00% APY. The deposits are actually held by B2 Bank National Association, formerly First National Bank of Buhl. The only caveat to this account is that the higher APY requires a membership to M1+, which costs $125/year. That may be a deal breaker for folks with lower balances. Set up was super easy and my initial deposit was also easy to setup. Customer service at M1 is not always the fastest around but they always get back to you and I have found them helpful and professional over the years. This is a great new product worth a try if you have a higher balance you want to stash away at a high rate.
What I've Figured Out So Far
I opened an M1 using the link for bonus of $500 for depositing 50k.
- By accepting a Plus upgrade you get 1% on Spend1 account (it's a savings account). You can open it after you've funded your account. (The link may be by swiping right under the Spend menu.)
- By accepting Plus upgrade using the bonus, the first year's $125 fee is waved.
- You can link to one and only one external account. I asked, & that's not an accident.
- It looks like you can NOT move that 50k or deposit for bonus, into the Spend1 during the time waiting until the bonus payout. (On Jan1 or Aug1 depending on when you opened.)
- Lots of interesting, different setups from the usual. Might encourage investing and rebalancing. Might have some good portfolio layouts. It's not the usual view of your money, which can be good.
- It's all through Lincoln bank for the bank items. It's SIPC insured for the invested and spend1 held items. So there is insurance.
- Phone help answered questions. Online emailing uses autotools, or persons, who don't even come close to replying to your topic. Phone number is on their site but I found it by googling M1 Finance Phone, and that's where I saw the link's on their site.
Checking Account Rate Is Now 1.7%
The interest rate on M1 Checking Accounts will be changing for M1 Plus members. As of July 28, 2022, all balances will earn 1.70%1 annual percentage yield (APY), instead of 1.30% APY.
As a current M1 Plus member with Checking, you’re all set to take advantage of this new rate when it changes
Deposit Account Not Worth The Effort
M1’s high deposit account interest rate (1% as of 29MAR22) wasn’t worth the effort. They require you to open and fund an investment account prior to opening the deposit account. Linking an external account to this investment account requires a PDF of a current statement, in addition to confirming micro deposits. In the case of a brokerage account, are you comfortable sending a statement which likely includes all your holdings, transactions, account balances, etc.? There are less intrusive ways to securely link an external account in my opinion. Received an unrequested phone call from an M1 sales rep shortly after opening the investment account. In my case the 1 year annual fee was waived, but it’s another hoop. Feel like I dodged a bullet by closing this account before I waded in too far.
Requires Yearly Fee
The 1% APY requires membership to their Plus membership which costs $125/yr, you also get 1% Cash Back
Probably not worth it unless you're into their investment platform offering
Not There Yet...
Their not quite ready for prime time. No beneficiaries for their 1% (Spend) accounts. Supposedly bene's for the Invest accounts (0% interest), but it's been a month with no response. No mailing addresses...it's 2021 right?
Response time from CSR's Is somewhere between very slow to non-existemt.
They might be better off turning the entire operation over to their robots.
Data as of Q2 2023
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 14207 |
| Year Established | 1902 |
| Employees | 395 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.09% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 1.09% |
| Annual Interest Income | $43.2MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $1.88B$1.62B |
| Loans | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $1.39B$1.19B |
| Deposits | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $1.58B$1.41B |
| Equity Capital | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $157.4MM$149.1MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $21.9MM$17.4MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $20.9MM$10.1MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $0$1,000.00K |