SoFi Blog

Who doesn’t love a great deal? Whether shopping for new shoes or an automobile, it seems like humans have an inherent desire to get the most bang for their buck. And when it comes down to it, shopping around can be a great way to protect yourself as a consumer, even when finding good stocks to buy.

For a novice investor, it can be difficult to decide where to put your money. There are so many options, it can be hard to answer the question, “what company should I invest in?”

If you’re a fan of a specific company—whether that’s Apple, Amazon, or Coca Cola, you may be wondering if you should invest in those. After all, putting your money behind a company you actually believe in seems intuitive.

Choosing companies you actually like to invest in is certainly a different approach than giving your money to a financial advisor who makes your investment decisions for you. But that doesn’t mean it’s not the right call. Let’s look at the pros and cons of investing in a company you really like.

There’s a growing consensus these days that millennials are behind their Gen X and Boomer counterparts when it comes to investing trends. But is it true? Depending on which study you read, the answer is yes … and no.

While some millennials appear to be saving early and often, with their eyes on a seven-figure prize, others say they struggle on the daily just to pay the bills. But even for millennials who have money to bank, a hesitation to invest in stocks has left them a little behind the curve.

We can’t really blame them for being wary. The oldest millennials were in their late 20s and just starting their careers when the market crashed and burned in 2008. And if they had invested in the stock market up to that point, watching their portfolios disappear while corporations received billion-dollar government bailouts certainly gave them a reason to distrust Wall Street.

Does it feel like everywhere you turn, people are stressing the importance of saving for retirement? Here at SoFi, we’re guilty as charged. We believe that building up a nest egg is important because we all want to be able to afford (and enjoy!) our retirement dreams.

But we also believe that all saving and no spending is no fun. So we’re here with some motivation to save money for tomorrow without suffering from FOMO today. It just takes a little creativity, a lot of diligence, and a “you got this!” attitude. (Because really, you got this.)

The Rise of the Activist Investor

If you’ve been keeping up on the news, you may have heard about SoFi’s latest hands-on way to put your money to work through Active Investing. But are you familiar with the class of investors bearing a similar-sounding title, who are driving dramatic change in the market?

For the uninitiated, activist investors are individuals who buy shares at a public company with the intent of gaining a seat on the board and affecting major change.