Having emergency money set aside in a savings account offers a cushion for whatever life throws your way. Even though you’d probably want that money to earn interest, the reality is, many banks don’t offer a significant way to grow your savings.
Saving money is always a good idea, so putting it into an account that offers a significant APY is an even better idea.
Joinsave.com, or Save, offers the best of both worlds—a relatively high yield with the freedom to access your funds whenever you need it.
Quick Summary
- Save offers FDIC-insured³ savings accounts and potential for relatively high returns
- Can make investments on your behalf
- You get to enjoy higher returns while still having access to your money
Save Details | |
|---|---|
Product Name | Market Savings |
Min Deposit | $1,000 |
Fees | 0.35% Management Fee |
APY on Market Savings | 9.84% for 1-year term 9.49% for 5-year term |
Promotions | None |
What Is Save?
Save is a financial platform with a focus on helping you make the most of your money. Plus, the company makes an effort to choose investments that protect the environment.
The team behind Save has a wide range of experience in several fields, including insurance, banking, investment banking, fund management, and advisory assets. With this combination, Save is working to provide wider access to sophisticated investment strategies without too much risk.
The end result is a new segment of financial products that combine the best of two worlds: savings and investing.
What Does It Offer?
If you are looking to make the most of your savings, Save offers several options to consider.
Market Savings
Market Savings presents a spectacular opportunity for savers. Essentially, this product allows you to tap into a better way to store your savings. You’ll still have the access you need without giving up substantial returns.
As of October 2023, Market Savings offers APYs* ranging from 9.49% to 9.84%. In order to tap into these relatively high APYs*, sign up for specific lengths of time. Here’s the breakdown:
- 1-year term: 9.84% APY*
- 5-year term: 9.49% APY*
Compared to other online savings accounts, these APYs* are impressive. But there is a catch. The future performance of the market is obviously unpredictable. If the market doesn’t meet Save’s expectations, the actual APY* you see in your account will be higher or lower.
If you want to open an account with a one-year term, you’ll need a minimum deposit of at least $1,000. If you want to open one with a five-year term you need a minimum balance of $5,000.
Easy Withdrawals
When you work with Market Savings, you’ll have the ability to withdraw your funds at any time. However, withdrawing the funds can come with an added withdrawal cost.
For example, if you need to withdraw the funds from your 5-year Market Savings early, you could forfeit the potential returns your account might have earned. With this additional cost, Market Savings feels more like a CD than a savings account.
Save Wealth Card
Save does not currently offer Save Wealth Card accounts.
Are There Any Fees?
When you work with Save, they’ll help you invest your money. In return for this service, the platform takes a 0.35% management fee for Save Market Savings. Regardless of how high your returns climb, Save will take this standard percentage. But if your returns are less than 0.35%, Save won’t charge a fee at all. This fee and is charged annually from the investment account before returns are deposited into your account.
This is the only fee to worry about because there aren’t monthly fees or set-up fees to work with Save.
If you do withdrawal early, you may also be subject to early withdrawal fees. These fees can be significant depending on the product you selected.
For example, if you have a 1-year product, they could charge you the Fed Funds Rate + 0.50% + 0.35% all prorated against the remaining time on your product. The current Fed Funds Rate is 4.75%. Meaning you could see a fee upwards of 5.6%. Given the 1-year term product might not be returning much more than that, and early withdrawal could wipe out all of your gains.
However, if you keep the deposit for the full term, you won't pay any early withdrawal costs.
How Do I Contact Save?
If you need to get in touch with Save, you can shoot an email to support@joinsave.com.
Customer service was difficult to gauge, as the company currently only has one Trustpilot review.
How Does Join Save Compare?
When it comes to getting the most bang for your savings buck, high-yield savings accounts are usually the way to go. Save is offering a unique product that combines a CD-style term with an investment strategy behind the scenes.
If you want a high-yield savings product you can access at any time, without a penalty, Save’s Market Savings are not a good fit. Instead, a more traditional high-yield savings account through UFB Direct or American First Credit Union might be a better fit.
Header | |  |  |
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Rating | |||
APY | Up to 9.84%* Variable | 5.25% | 4.35% |
Monthly Fees | $0, however, a 0.35% investment management fee only when the return above 0.35% | $0 | $0 |
Min Deposit | $1,000 | $0 | $0 |
FDIC Insured | |||
Cell |
How Do I Open An Account?
When you join Save, you’ll have the ability to apply for the Market Savings term of your choice. Be prepared to provide some personal information, details about your investment goals, and funding information to finalize the account setup.
Based on the length of the application, it should take around 10 minutes to apply.
You can get started opening an account here >>
Is It Safe And Secure?
The funds held in your Market Savings program are FDIC-insured³, which means that up to $250,000 of the funds are protected.¹
When Save invests on your behalf, those investments are SIPC protected, which means invested funds aren’t protected against market downturns. Regardless of market fluctuation, your initial deposit is always FDIC insured³ and never used for investing in the market.
In grandma's words: If you deposit $10,000, it is always FDIC insured and you’re guaranteed to get that $10,000 after your term is complete. At at the end of the term, the customer gets the gains, if any, back with their initial deposit ($10,000 in this example). If the gains are greater than our fee of 0.35%, then we collect our fee, but if not, we don’t collect our fee.
Is It Worth It?
Save is offering the chance to put your money to work for you through bank deposits with the growth potential of the market.
However, when the funds are invested on your behalf, you may not earn as much as the advertised yield. And you might have to pay a fee to access your funds before the term ends. While your initial deposit is always safe, your end result might not have exceeded that of a traditional savings account or CD.
Depending on your situation, you might be happy with this tradeoff. But if you are looking for more liquidity in your savings and the chance to maximize your investment returns, then consider sticking to a separate savings account and brokerage account.
Join Save Features
Account Type | Market Savings |
Minimum Deposit | 1-year: $1,000 5-year: $5,000 |
APY* | 1-year: 8.84% 5-year: 9.49% |
Fees | 0.35% if returns are 0.35% and higher. If it is lower, you will not get charged a fee. |
Branches | None |
ATM Availability | No |
Customer Service Email | support@joinsave.com |
Customer Service Number | 844-940-Save Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST |
Bill Pay | No |
FDIC Certificate | 18221 via Webster Bank |
Mobile Availability | |
Promotions | None |
1. The deposit account portion of the Save Market Savings product and service is provided by Webster Bank, N.A., Member FDIC. Customer funds provided will be deposited into non-interest-bearing accounts at Webster Bank, N.A. The investment portion of the Save Market Savings product and service is provided by Save. Save Advisers, LLC, nor its investment affiliates, are a bank.
* Generally, an APY (or annual percentage yield) is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. Save Market Savings is a hybrid product and service that includes a deposit account linked to an investment product. The deposit account portion of the Save Market Savings product and service is provided by Webster Bank, N.A., Member FDIC; and is non-interest bearing with a 0% APY. The investment portion of the Save Market Savings product and service offers the potential to earn an APY with a variable rate (Variable APY). The Variable APY, if any, is derived from the investments made by Save on behalf of the customer within Save’s portfolio of strategies over the duration of the term length selected by the customer. The Variable APY, if any, will be equal to the cumulative return for the investments selected for you by Save for the term selected on the applicable maturity date. The Variable APY may be 0% but will never be less than the Minimum Variable APY of 0% per annum. Assuming a minimum Variable APY of 0% per annum, if the Variable APY applicable to a particular maturity date is less than or equal to the Minimum 0%, the customer will not receive any Variable APY return for that investment upon maturity. Variable APYs are subject to change at any time. Variable APYs are not guaranteed. The Variable APY presented is hypothetical in nature and reflects the potential growth that could accrue if the investment is held for the entire term selected. The Variable APY advertised and presented for the Market Savings Program is based on historical performance in the S&P 500 Risk-Controlled Portfolio from 2009 to present and reflects the potential growth that could accrue if the investment is held for the entire term selected. All other Save portfolios (Non-S&P 500) present a Variable APY which is hypothetical in nature, based on hypothetical back-tested performance, and reflects the potential growth that could accrue if the investment is held for the entire term selected. All back-test statistics are hypothetical and have been designed with the benefit of hindsight. For more detailed information please see Hypothetical Back-testing. Variable APYs presented for all portfolios are shown net of fees. Both Historical performance and Hypothetical back-tested performance are no guarantee of future performance and actual results will vary.
The minimum deposit amount for Market Savings is $1,000 for the 1-year term and $5,000 for the 5-year term. Deposits are FDIC-insured up to the maximum allowed by law, $250,000 per depositor, per bank. Management Fees associated with the investments may reduce earnings on the account. Customer withdrawal prior to maturity could result in additional associated costs.
3. To obtain FDIC insurance coverage, customer funds provided will be deposited into non-interest-bearing accounts at Webster Bank. FDIC insurance coverage for funds deposited at Webster Bank is limited to not more than $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category. Actual deposit insurance coverage may be lower if you have other funds deposited at Webster Bank, N.A. Customers are responsible for determining the amount deposited in each account at Webster Bank, N.A., and for monitoring the total amount of their deposits at Webster Bank, N.A., to determine the extent of available FDIC insurance coverage in accordance with FDIC rules. Learn more at www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits. Only the funds customers provide and deposit with Webster Bank, N.A. will be eligible for FDIC insurance. Webster Bank is not providing any investment advice or responsible for the purchase or performance of any investment contracts. The funds held in the Apex Clearing Corporation accounts are not FDIC-insured, are not bank guaranteed, and may lose value with a minimum return of zero. Maximum balance and transfer limits apply. Neither Save Advisers, LLC, nor its affiliates, are a bank. Apex Clearing Corporation is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”), formed by Congress to protect “customers” of broker-dealers and to promote public confidence in the U.S. securities markets. Customers of a SIPC Member that fails financially are afforded certain benefits under the Securities Investor Protection Act (“SIPA”). These benefits are relevant only if the broker-dealer that “carries” a customer’s account fails and is liquidated under SIPA. At Apex Clearing Corporation, your investments are protected by SIPC up to a maximum of $500,000 total, including $250,000 in cash balances. Coverage limitations apply. To learn more about SIPC coverage, visit the SIPC website at www.sipc.org.
Join Save Review: A New Way To Grow Your Money
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Summary
Join Save, also known as Save, provides you with wider access to sophisticated investment strategies.
Pros
- Potential for high variable APYs
- Combines deposits and investing into one product
- Platform focuses on ESG investments
Cons
- 0.35% management fee
- APY tied to market performance (if the market does poorly, you might not earn returns)
Sarah Sharkey is a personal finance writer covering banking, insurance, credit cards, mortgages and student loans. She has written for numerous finance publications, including MagnifyMoney, Business Insider and ChooseFI. Her blog, Adventurous Adulting, helps young adults get a handle on their finances.
Editor: Claire Tak Reviewed by: Robert Farrington
