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Fundrise is one of the best real estate investing apps for non-accredited investors looking to make long-term investments in real estate and venture capital funds. The platform accepts clients regardless of annual income or net worth.
You'll simply need to meet the minimum balance requirements and be able to pay account fees. Prospective users should note, however, that its investments are intended for those with a time horizon of at least five years.
Fundrise
On Fundrise's website
Insider’s Rating
4.53/5
Perks
Fundrise allows you to invest in commercial real estate projects across the US, Fundrise IPOs, and venture funds.
Account Minimum
$10
Fees
1% (additional $125 for IRAs)
Pros
- Available to non-accredited investors
- Low minimum account size requirements
- Five different account levels to choose from
- Highly diversified investments
- Great for passive investing
Cons
- Investments are illiquid; can't sell or cash out your investments as easily as you could with liquid assets such as stocks and mutual funds
- Complex fee schedule
- Not for short-term investments
Insider’s Take
Fundrise is one of the best real estate investing apps for non-accredited investors looking to make long-term investments in real estate and venture funds. The platform accepts clients regardless of annual income or net worth.
Product Details
- Consider it if: You're looking for an easy and inexpensive way to start investing in real estate.
- App store rating: 4.8 iOS/ 4.7 Android
- Awards: Listed in Forbes Fintech 50 list twice
Fundrise Review
Fundrise is an investing platform that lets you invest in commercial real estate projects across the US, Fundrise IPOs, and venture funds. It has an investment team that works directly with real estate developers, manages client portfolios, and handles real estate deals.
Headquartered in Washington, DC, Fundrise offers investors access to real estate projects throughout all 50 states. The platform also provides desktop and mobile access, allowing users to monitor asset growth and review market trends and project alerts.
As mentioned above, one thing to look out for is that — although you can cash out at any time — Fundrise's investments are designed for those with a minimum time horizon of five years. If you're looking for short-term investing, this isn't the platform for you.
The Fundrise mobile app is available on iOS and Android devices.
Is Fundrise Right For You?
Fundrise is available to both accredited and nonaccredited investors looking for the flexibility to cash out at any time. The platform is best for long-term investments with a five-year minimum. It's also great for investors wanting to diversify their investment portfolios with Fundrise IPOs and venture funds.
Moreover, the platform is suitable for both passive and active investors looking for access to either personally customize their own investment plans, or to benefit from Fundrise's automated investing features. You only need a $10 minimum to start investing.
Fundrise: Overall Rating
| Features | Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Fees | 4.50 |
| Investment selection | 4.75 |
| Liquidity | 4.00 |
| Ethics | 5.00 |
| Access | 4.88 |
| Customer service | 4.00 |
| Overall score | 4.53 |
Fundrise Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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With Fundrise you can cash out at any point even if you don't reach the five-year minimum. Many other real estate investing platforms will either charge you a penalty fee for cashing out early or restrict you from doing so. DiversyFund, for example, doesn't allow users to sell shares early.
Is Fundrise Trustworthy?
Fundrise has received an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. BBB ratings range from A+ to F, so Fundrise's A+ indicates that the company interacts well with its customers, promptly acknowledges and settles customer complaints, and exhibits trustworthy business practices.
The BBB assigns its ratings by assessing company information from business and public data sources and reviewing any customer complaints filed against the company.These ratings tend to vary per investment app.
Fundrise hasn't elicited any major lawsuits or public scandals since its founding.
How to Invest With Fundrise
Fundriseoffers individual accounts, joint accounts, entity accounts, IRA accounts, and trust accounts. It doesn't offer custodial accounts nor support 401(k)s.
Fundrise-directed Plans
Fundrise offers automatic investing features so your money can be automatically invested in real estate projects and venture capital funds based on your current investment goals, risk tolerance, and other preferences. Fundrise-directed plans are best for hands-off or passive investors.
You can choose one of the three portfolio options:
- Supplemental income: Utilizes a larger percentage of income-focused assets rather than growth-focused assets.
- Balanced investing: Employs an equal blend of both income-focused assets and growth-focused assets.
- Long-Term Growth: Utilizes a larger percentage of growth-focused assets rather than income-focused assets.
Fundrise's growth-focused assets direct more attention to appreciation and pay less attention to dividends. For instance, for Long-Term Growth plans, Fundrise primarily uses growth eREITs and another asset called eREIT XIV.
All three plans also offer IRAs, auto-invest and dividend reinvestment, and discounts for referrals.
Depending on your goals, risk tolerance, and timing of expected returns you can choose one of Fundrise's real estate strategies to build a diverse, resilient portfolio.
Fundrise Pro
Fundrise Pro is best for hands-on investors looking to personally customize their own investment plans. Pro members can directly invest in specific funds, pick and choose their ideal allocations, and update their portfolios as their goals change over time.
As a Pro member, you can also access expert-level data from Basis™ — Fundrise's proprietary property management data warehouse — and leading market research from John Burns Research and Consulting. Moreover, Pro members can access selective paywalled content from leading news sites like the Wall Street Journal.
Now is a great time to take advantage of Fundrise's new exclusive offer and try Fundrise Pro free for the first 30 days.
Self-directed IRAs
Fundrise partners with Millennium Trust Company to provide IRAs and digital investing solutions. You'll need to transfer an existing IRA in order to invest in real estate funds. Once you set up your account, you'll be able to invest in commercial real estate with eREIT products.
It's also important to note that Fundrise's IRAs are currently only eligible to invest in eREITs, not eFunds.
Investment Types
Fundrise lets you invest in real-estate dividends, Fundrise IPOs, real estate trusts, and venture capital. With Fundrise's Innovation Fund, retail investors can now invest in venture capital from high-growth private tech companies with a focus on modern data infrastructure.
With a Fundrise-directed account, you'll be investing in an equally allocated blend of the company's Growth eREITs and Income eREIT II. You'll earn returns through quarterly dividends and appreciation of share value.
Fundrise offers another investment option – itself. You can purchase shares of the company as long as you've got a Basic account level or higher. The firm says it plans to make its IPO available to account holders within their first year of investing.
Since Fundrise has a parent company, Rise Companies Corp., you'll be purchasing a stake in both Fundrise and Rise.
Fundrise Fees
As for fees, you'll pay an annual advisory fee of 0.15%, which means you would pay $1.50 for every $1,000 invested. This is low compared to similar platforms like Yieldstreet, which charges a 1% management fee and up to 0.5% annual administrative expense.
There's a Fundrise minimum to start investing. To be a Pro member, you'll be charged $10/monthly (or $99/yearly). However, to invest in Fundrise IPO, there's a $500 investment minimum.
There's also an annual 0.85% management fee for Fundrise's real estate funds, which means you'll pay $8.50 for every $1,000 invested.To invest in the Innovation Fund, you'll pay an annual flat 1.85% management fee (you'll pay $18.50 for every $1,000 invested).Self-directed IRA accounts charge a 1% annual fee and $125 fee to Millennium Trust Company.
If you redeem any eREIT or eFund investment within a five-year period, you'll be subject to a 1% penalty fee (no fee in the first 90 days). There's a 0% to 2% acquisition fee when Fundrise purchases a new asset.
Fundrise — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do you really make money with Fundrise?
Fundrise says users may start earning dividends immediately after they make an investment. It usually distributes dividends quarterly (although dividends may not always be guaranteed). It distributes these in the middle of the month after quarter-end, according to its website. In other words, you can expect to receive dividends in April, July, October, and January.
Is Fundrise better than a public REIT?
Usually, real estate investments (REITs) are often publically traded and can be easily liquidated through a brokerage platform. Fundrise REITs are privately traded or publicly non-traded investments and can take a much longer time to sell.
There's only a $10 investment minimum with Fundrise, which is cheaper than most publicly traded REITs. But Fundrise's fee may be higher overall.
How do I get my money out of Fundrise?
You can your money out of Fundrise by placing a standard liquidation request on the Fundrise platform with your account. Once the liquidation request is processed, you can get your funds sent back automatically.
How Fundrise Compares
Fundrise vs. CrowdStreet
Fundriseand CrowdStreet are both popular platforms for real estate assets. But the investing platforms vary when it comes to fees and investment choices.
If you're looking for a low-cost, automated platform that offers REITs, other inexpensive real estate funds, private credit, and venture capital, then Fundrise is a good choice. CrowdStreet has a much higher minimum of $25,000 (up to $250,000 for some offerings), but it offers an array of real estate funds, with the option of managed portfolios. But CrowdStreet is only available to accredited investors — i.e., individuals with a $1 million net worth or $200,000 annual salary ($300,000 for couples).
Fundrise vs. Yieldstreet
Compared to Fundrise, Yieldstreet is a better choice for alternative investments. Besides real estate investments, Yieldstreet also offers fine art, short-term assets, and multi-asset class funds. Yieldstreet isn't the best choice for investors solely focused on automated REIT investing and has a $500 minimum, which is significantly higher than Fundrise. Fundrise is the best choice for low fees, REITs, and automated investing.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Fundrise
Fundrise was reviewed using Personal Finance Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms to examine the different account types offered, pricing, access, ethics, security, and overall customer experience. Investing platforms are given a rating between 0 and 5.
Real estate investing apps generally offer user-friendly sites for education and market access. Some investing platforms are generally better for beginners or passive investors, while others are best for experienced and active traders. Fundrise was evaluated based on how well it performed in each category.
Senior Wealth-Building Reporter
Rickie Houston was a senior wealth-building reporter for Business Insider, tasked with covering brokerage products, investment apps, online advisor services, cryptocurrency exchanges, and other wealth-building financial products. Before Insider, Rickie worked as a personal finance writer at SmartAsset, focusing on retirement, investing, taxes, and banking topics. He's contributed to stories published in the Boston Globe, and his work has also been featured in Yahoo News. He graduated from Boston University, where he contributed as a staff writer and sports editor for Boston University News Service.
Junior Investing Reporter
Tessa Campbell is a Junior Investing Reporter for Personal Finance Insider. She reports on investing-related topics like cryptocurrency, the stock market, and retirement savings accounts. She originally joined the PFI team as a Personal Finance Reviews Fellow in 2022. Her love of books, research, crochet, and coffee enriches her day-to-day life.
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As an experienced expert in the field of real estate investing, I bring a wealth of knowledge and firsthand expertise to the table. Having closely followed the industry trends and developments, I aim to provide valuable insights into Fundrise, one of the notable real estate investing platforms.
Fundrise stands out as an excellent choice for non-accredited investors seeking long-term investments in real estate and venture capital funds. The platform's inclusivity, accepting clients regardless of annual income or net worth, sets it apart. Here are key concepts from the provided article:
1. Overview of Fundrise:
- Fundrise is an investing platform focusing on commercial real estate projects across the US, Fundrise IPOs, and venture funds.
- Headquarters: Washington, DC.
- Offers both desktop and mobile access for monitoring asset growth, reviewing market trends, and receiving project alerts.
2. Investment Requirements and Features:
- Minimum account balance: $10.
- Fees: 1% (additional $125 for IRAs).
- Investments tailored for a minimum time horizon of five years.
- Diversified options, including commercial real estate projects, Fundrise IPOs, and venture funds.
- Available to both accredited and non-accredited investors.
3. Pros and Cons:
- Pros: Low minimum investment, available to a broad range of investors, multiple account options, cash-out flexibility.
- Cons: Illiquid investments, complex fee structure, not ideal for short-term investing.
4. Fundrise Ratings:
- Insider’s Rating: 4.53/5 based on factors like fees, investment selection, liquidity, ethics, and customer service.
5. Trustworthiness:
- A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
- No major lawsuits or scandals reported.
6. Fundrise Plans:
- Fundrise-directed plans for automated investing based on goals and risk tolerance.
- Three portfolio options: Supplemental income, Balanced investing, Long-Term Growth.
7. Fundrise Pro:
- Best for hands-on investors.
- Allows customization of investment plans with access to expert-level data and market research.
8. Self-directed IRAs:
- Partners with Millennium Trust Company for IRAs.
- Limited to investing in eREITs, not eFunds.
9. Investment Types and Fees:
- Offers real-estate dividends, Fundrise IPOs, real estate trusts, venture capital, and an Innovation Fund.
- Various fees, including an annual advisory fee of 0.15% and management fees for different investment options.
10. Fundrise FAQs:
- Users may start earning dividends immediately after investment.
- Fundrise REITs are privately traded, potentially taking longer to sell than publicly traded REITs.
- Withdraw funds through a standard liquidation request on the Fundrise platform.
11. Fundrise vs. Other Platforms:
- Compared to CrowdStreet and Yieldstreet, Fundrise offers lower minimums and a diverse range of investment options.
In conclusion, Fundrise emerges as a reputable and accessible platform for real estate investing, catering to both passive and active investors. Its transparency, ratings, and diverse investment options contribute to its appeal in the market.
