IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Updated April 10, 2023
The Acorns application and website are operated by Acorns Advisers, LLC (“Acorns Advisers”), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Brokerage and custody services are provided to clients of Acorns Advisers by Acorns Securities, LLC (“Acorns Securities”), a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”). Acorns Pay, LLC (“Acorns Pay”) manages Acorns’ demand deposit and other banking products in partnership with Lincoln Savings Bank or nbkc Bank, members FDIC. Acorns Advisers, Acorns Securities, and Acorns Pay are subsidiaries of Acorns Grow Incorporated (collectively “Acorns”) and Acorns is solely responsible for the application and website content.
Acorns Advisers is federally-registered investment adviser and qualified to conduct investment advisory business in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Acorns Application and website, and related investment advisory services, are only offered to United States legal residents or citizens that currently reside in the United States. Exceptions are made for active Armed Services personnel that maintain a U.S. address and are temporarily overseas in connection with their service. Investment services are offered only to persons within its respective jurisdiction and are not available to persons where provision of such products or services is unauthorized. Any information provided on this site and within the application is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use is contrary to local law or regulation.
Acorns’ demand deposit bank accounts are established with Lincoln Savings Bank or nbkc Bank. Each Acorns demand deposit bank account includes an Acorns Visa™ debit card, which is issued by Lincoln Savings Bank or nbkc Bank. Application for and use of Acorns demand deposit bank accounts is subject to the approval of Lincoln Savings Bank or nbkc Bank, and subject to certain disclosures, terms, and conditions of Lincoln Savings Bank or nbkc Bank.
Non-Deposit Products:
Investments described on this website are NOT FDIC INSURED nor are they insured by any other governmental agency or instrumentality. Investments described on this website MAY LOSE VALUE and they are not obligations, guarantees and are NOT BANK GUARANTEED.
Investment Risks:
All investments involve risk, including loss of principal. Any references to past performance, regarding financial markets or otherwise, do not indicate or guarantee future results. Forward-looking statements, including without limitations investment outcomes and projections, are hypothetical and educational in nature. The results of any hypothetical projections can and may differ from actual investment results.
Investing in the bond market is subject to risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, inflation risk, and liquidity risk. The value of most bonds and bond strategies are impacted by changes in interest rates. Bonds and bond strategies with longer durations tend to be more sensitive and volatile than those with shorter durations; bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise, and the current low interest rate environment increases this risk. Current reductions in bond counterparty capacity may contribute to decreased market liquidity and increased price volatility. Bond investments may be worth more or less than the original cost when redeemed. Investing in the bond market is subject to certain risks including the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates; the risk that fund shares could trade at prices other than the net asset value; and the risk that the manager's investment decisions might not produce the desired results.
Investing in equities is subject to risk including decline in value due to both real and perceived general market, economic, and industry conditions; the risk that fund shares could trade at prices other than the net asset value; and the risk that the manager's investment decisions might not produce the desired results.
Investing in foreign-denominated and/or -domiciled securities may involve heightened risk due to currency fluctuations, and economic and political risks, which may be enhanced in emerging markets.
Investing in ETFs containing Bitcoin Futures is considered a high-risk investment. Bitcoin and bitcoin futures are relatively new investments. They are subject to unique and substantial risks, and historically, have been subject to significant price volatility. Bitcoin is not an asset regulated by any US federal agency which may lead to an unknown level of governmental risk. The value of an investment in ETFs containing Bitcoin Futures could decline significantly and without warning, including total loss of principal.
Disclosures Related to Exchange Traded Funds:
Exchange Traded Funds (“ETF”) are afforded certain exemptions from the Investment Company Act. The exemptions allow, among other things, for individual shares to trade on the secondary market. Individual shares cannot be directly purchased from or redeemed by the ETF. Purchases and redemptions directly with ETFs are only accomplished through creation unit aggregations or “baskets” of shares. Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (not Net Asset Value, “NAV”).
Acorns portfolios are subject to market risk since the value of the holdings composing the portfolio are subject to change at any time. An investment in an ETF, the securities composing the portfolios, involves risk, including the loss of principal. Investment return, price, yield, and NAV will fluctuate with changes in market, political, and other economic conditions. Investments may be worth more or less than the original cost when redeemed. ETFs are subject to secondary market trading risks.
Portfolio Themes:
Acorns offers investors the opportunity to invest in one of two separate themes of portfolios of ETFs: The Acorns Core Portfolios (“Core”) or Acorns ESG Portfolios comprising Environmental, Societal and Governance ETFs (“ESG”).
The ESG portfolios include ETFs which hold companies that fall within the ESG rules-based methodology used by MSCI, the benchmark index, to identify industry leaders and laggards. ESG investing involves the inclusion of certain non-financial elements - such as a company’s sustainability and ethics record - into investment criteria. Investing in an Acorns ESG portfolio provides an opportunity to invest in ETFs that hold companies focused on environmental, social or governance factors. By way of example, common factors accounted for within ESG focused ETFs include focusing on companies that may be recognized in the following categories, among others: (Environmental) Greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, pollution; (Social) working conditions, animal welfare, human rights; (Governance) corruption, board composition, executive pay.
Optional Invest Account modifications elected outside of the Acorns ESG Portfolios may not meet the MSCI rating criteria for ESG investing.
Both the Core and Sustainable portfolios have target allocations of various equity and/or fixed income ETFs, the allocation of each depends on the risk profile associated with each portfolio underlying the Core and ESG themes.
Upon opening an Invest, Early, or Later account, a customer will be recommended a Core portfolio that corresponds with their investor profile. Existing account holders may, in most circumstances, choose to switch from a Core Portfolio to an ESG Portfolio. Importantly, there could be positive or negative tax implications for switching: 1) to other portfolios that have more or less risk within the Core Portfolios; 2) to other portfolios that have more or less risk within the ESG Portfolios; 3) from the Core Portfolio to the ESG Portfolio; 4) from the ESG Portfolio to the Core Portfolio, among other changes. Acorns strongly recommends that you consult with a tax adviser before switching portfolios so as to identify potential tax implications prior to making changes to your portfolio.
Optional Portfolio Modifications:
Custom Portfolios -
Investors are able to customize their Invest Account with an Acorns Custom Portfolio. Custom Portfolios are non-discretionary investment advisory accounts, managed by the investor. The percentage available to be allocated to a Custom Portfolio is determined by their most recent investor profile. Conservative profiles are capped at 10%, Moderately Conservative at 20%, Moderate at 30%, Moderately Aggressive at 40%, and Aggressive at 50%. Investment types that are able to be allocated towards Custom Portfolios are limited to Round-Ups®, Real-Time Round-Ups®, One-Time investments, and recurring investments. Custom Portfolios may be removed by the investor at any time.
Custom Portfolios are not instant trading. Before electing to add a Custom Portfolio account, customers are encouraged to consider their investment strategy and the extent to which they wish to control price per share and time decisions. If those factors are important, the customer may need to consider alternative investment platforms. There may be additional trade execution timing risk as Acorns places aggregate orders to buy and sell securities on the behalf of all clients during distinct trading windows, during normal market trading hours. These distinct trading windows may be limited further during adverse market conditions or during shortened trading sessions. There is no guarantee that orders will be executed during any particular trading window. Acorns and Custom Portfolios are not designed to support real-time trading. Any delays in placing or executing transactions could reduce, perhaps materially, any profit earned in your account or could cause a material loss.
Custom Portfolios add stock-specific concentration risk. Equities may decline in value due to both real and perceived general market, economic and industry conditions. A security issued by a particular issuer may be impacted by factors that are unique to that issuer and thus may cause that security’s return to differ from that of the market. Unlike your other Acorns accounts that include ETFs diversified across many sectors and industries, Acorns Custom portfolios may be concentrated to as few as one stock. Concentration of investments in a relatively small number of securities, sectors or industries, or geographical regions may significantly affect performance. In addition, the value of your account may vary considerably in response to changes in the market value of individual securities, industries or sectors and lead to higher volatility.
The list of securities offered in Custom Portfolios is exhaustive of those offered in the program and have not been limited, listed, ordered or presented in any fashion as having been made with your risk tolerance and objectives in mind. Nothing about the selection of securities being provided should be construed as advice or a recommendation of an investment strategy.
BITO –
Investors are able to elect a percentage of their portfolio into BITO. Acorns selected BITO, Proshares Bitcoin Strategy Fund, to provide clients the ability to add Bitcoin exposure to their portfolio. The Fund does not invest in, or seek direct exposure to, the current “spot” or cash price of bitcoin, instead it utilizes Bitcoin futures contracts for price exposure. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider a different investment. The election is based on the risk profile of each individual investor. Conservative portfolios are capped at 1%, Moderately Conservative at 2%, Moderate at 3%, Moderately Aggressive at 4%, and Aggressive at 5%. By electing to add BITO to your portfolio you are modifying the suggested portfolios created by Acorns in either the Core or Sustainable portfolios. BITO may be removed by the investor at any time. Changes to the suggested portfolios may add additional risk.
Investing in this ETF is considered a high-risk investment. Investments linked to bitcoin can be highly volatile compared to investments in traditional securities and the Fund may experience sudden and large losses. The markets for Bitcoin and bitcoin futures may become illiquid. These markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events, wars, acts of terrorism, natural disasters (including disease, epidemics, and pandemics) and changes in interest rates or inflation rates. An investor should be prepared to lose the full principal value of their investment suddenly and without warning. Investments in Bitcoin ETFs may not be appropriate for all investors. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the fund carefully before investing. Investment policies, management fees and other information can be found in the individual ETF’s prospectus. Please read the relative prospectus, linked below, carefully before you invest.
Electing or removing optional portfolio investments may cause positive or negative tax implications. Acorns strongly recommends that you consult with a tax adviser before making changes to your portfolios to identify potential tax implications.
Risk Profiles:
Both the Core and Sustainable themes have portfolios that match various risk profiles. The Core Portfolios are available at the following levels of risk tolerance: Conservative, Moderately Conservative, Moderate, Moderately Aggressive, and Aggressive. The Sustainable Portfolios do not offer a Conservative portfolio, but do offer the Moderately Conservative, Moderate, Moderately Aggressive, and Aggressive portfolios. Acorns will recommend a Portfolio based on information that you provide through your completed investor suitability questionnaire. Please ensure this information is always kept current so that Acorns may allocate your investments accordingly. We do not offer any investments other than the Core and Sustainable Portfolios. Acorns also does not permit customers to invest in the Core and Sustainable portfolios at the same time. It is solely at the discretion of the customer to elect between the Core and Sustainable portfolios that correspond with their personal risk profile. Shares of an ETF within the Core and Sustainable portfolios may trade on an exchange at prices at, above, or below their most recent net asset value (“NAV”). The NAV represents the value of each share’s portion of the ETF’s underlying assets and cash at the end of the trading day. The trading prices of an ETF's shares fluctuate continuously throughout the trading day based on market supply and demand, which may not correlate to NAV. The trading prices of an ETF's shares may differ significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility, which may, among other factors, lead to the ETF’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.
Investment policies, management fees and other information can be found in the individual ETF’s prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.
Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of each fund carefully before investing. This and other information are contained in each Fund’s prospectus, which may be obtained by clicking on the links below. Please read each prospectus carefully before you invest.
Core Portfolios May Contain the Following ETFs:
(symbol: IJH) |
|
(symbol: IJR) |
|
(symbol: IXUS) |
|
(symbol: VOO) |
|
(symbol: AGG) |
|
(symbol: ISTB) |
|
(symbol: BIL) |
|
(symbol: GBIL) |
|
(symbol: ICSH) |
|
(symbol: JPST) |
|
(symbol: SHV) |
ESG Portfolios May Contain the Following ETFs:
(symbol: ESGU) |
|
(symbol: EAGG) |
|
(symbol: ESGE) |
|
(symbol: ESML) |
|
(symbol: SUSB) |
|
(symbol: ESGD) |
|
(symbol: SHY) |
|
(symbol: SUSA) |
|
(symbol: GOVT) |
|
(symbol: MBB) |
|
(symbol: SUSC) |
Optional ETF Additions to Portfolio:
ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF *as of March 22, 2022 |
(symbol: BITO) |
New Product or Software Risk:
Acorns delivers its investment advisory services entirely through software. Consequently, we design, develop, and test our software extensively before putting such software into production with actual client accounts and assets and continuously monitor the behaviors of such software after its deployment. Notwithstanding this rigorous design, development, testing and monitoring, it is possible that such software may not always perform exactly as intended or as intended, especially in certain combinations of unusual circumstances. Acorns continuously strives to monitor, detect, and correct any software that does not perform as expected or as disclosed.
No Offer or Solicitation:
The contents of the website are provided for information purposes and do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. The information provided herein is not directed to any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information about our products and services and to otherwise provide general investment education. No information contained herein should be regarded as a suggestion to engage in or refrain from any investment-related course of action as Acorns is not providing investment advice or giving advice in a fiduciary capacity. Acorns is not engaged in rendering any tax, legal, or accounting advice. Please consult with a qualified professional for this type of advice. References to specific securities and their issuers or other investments are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase, sell or hold such securities or other investments.
Website Subject to Change:
Acorns reserves the right to amend or revise any information or documents contained on this website at any time without notice. The information and documents contained on this website relate only to the dates indicated therein and may not be accurate as of any subsequent date. Acorns does not undertake any obligation or assume any responsibility to update any such information.
No Liability
In no event shall Acorns, its respective affiliates, directors, officers, registered representatives, or employees, be liable for any damages of any kind (including, without limitation, special, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages) on any theory of liability arising out of or in connection with the use of any information on this website.
See Acorns Social Media Terms and Conditions for additional information.
Please contact support@acorns.com for questions.
Check the background of Acorns Securities, LLC on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.
© 2023 Acorns Grow Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.