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Frequently Asked
Questions

General For investors For parents Subscription

What is Bloom?

Bloom is an app for learning to invest. Bloom charges a subscription fee for access to an investing account (including UTMA/UGMA custodial brokerage accounts for teens 13-17), 200+ interactive financial lessons, and stock rewards for learning.

Who do you partner or work with?

Our brokerage services are provided by Alpaca Securities LLC ("Alpaca"), member FINRA/SIPC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc. Our banking integration is securely done through Plaid, which provides the highest industry standard for security with banking.

We are backed by Y Combinator, the accelerator that launched Stripe, DoorDash, AirBnB, Coinbase and countless other tech start-ups.

How much money do I need to use Bloom?

Bloom does not have a minimum required account balance. However, please note that deposits and stock orders must be at least $1.

Is Bloom a safe investing app?

Yes, Bloom is a safe and legitimate investing app! Bloom uses bank-level security and SSL to ensure your information is fully protected. Your funds are also insured up to $250k in securities.
Bloom also offers 300+ interactive lessons, safety controls for parents and advanced charting.

Where does the charting technology and economic calendar come from?

The charting technology is provided by TradingView, a platform with advanced charting tools where people driven by markets can chat, chart, and prepare for trades. TradingView offers market data and advanced charting tools such as the Economic calendar that helps track major upcoming events.

Is Bloom available on Android?

Yes! As of July 2024, Bloom is now available on Android. If you'd like to be part of our beta, you can download our app on the Google Play store here.

How old do I have to be to use Bloom?

Anyone 13 years or older can open an account! You’ll just need a parent or guardian to sponsor your account if you're under 18.

Can I use Bloom if I'm over 18?

Yes, absolutely! If you're over 18, you don't need a parent to start investing on Bloom, and can access all of our financial lessons to learn about investing and money. Now is the best time to get smart about money!

How / when do I link a bank account?

After your parent signs up for Bloom, they can link their bank account and deposit funds. They can also allow you to link your own bank account instead (see next question).

As a teen, can I link my own bank account?

Yes, absolutely! When your parent signs up for Bloom, they can select whose bank account should be linked. If they select yours, you will be prompted to link your bank account and make a deposit in the app.

How do a link a bank account that is not listed on Plaid?

1. Once you're in the Plaid modal, type in "manual" to the search bar.

2. Below "No results found" select the button that says "Link with account numbers".

3. Enter your bank credentials in the Plaid window to connect your bank and click "continue".

4. Next, type in the name of your bank institution followed by the account type (must be Checking).

5. Complete the connection process by selecting the account type (must be Personal).

6. On the next screen, enter your routing number and then continue to the final screen where you'll enter your account number. Plaid handles this data with bank-grade encryption.

7. Plaid will send 2 micro-deposits (between $0.01 and $0.99) to your bank account, once you receive these micro-deposits, which can take 1-2 business days to arrive, you'll need to verify their amounts in Bloom.

8. After verifying the amounts, you can authorize a deposit!

I'm a teen, why do I need a sponsor/parent to sign up?

In the United States, you can’t legally have your own investment account until you reach the age of majority (18 to 25, depending on the state), but your parent can help you open a custodial brokerage account.

How do I invite my parent to Bloom?

Two ways: you can do it 1) when you first onboard onto the app (you will be prompted during the sign up process) or 2) go to the Account tab and tap Invite Parent.

You'll be prompted to enter your parent's phone #, and you can send them an invite right from the Bloom app!

What can I invest in?

You can currently buy & sell 5,000+ U.S. stocks and ETFs. We will never allow users to trade options or on margin. We value the safety of our end users, and we believe offering these instruments is unsafe.

Who can be my sponsor?

You just need a legal adult over the age of majority to act as your sponsor.

Your sponsor will have their own Bloom account and have some visibility until you reach the age of majority. We recommend picking a parent or guardian, or someone who you trust to help manage your money.

What is a custodial account?

Custodial accounts are investing accounts set up by guardians (sponsors) for the benefit of minors under the age of majority. The sponsor owns the account but must use the account for the benefit of the teen.

When the minor comes of age (usually 18-25, depending on the state), they will gain full ownership of the account.

What controls do I have as a sponsor?

You can fund your teen's account through deposits, as well as make withdrawals.

If you choose, you also have the authority to approve or deny your teen's stock trades, as well as set limitations on what types of securities they can trade.

What education features does Bloom offer?

Bloom has 200+ financial education lessons, styled like Instagram Stories to help teens become financially savvy effortlessly. The lessons cover all four fundamental finance concepts and beyond. Teens can learn about personal finance, investing, the basics of economics, crypto and even famous investors and CEOs.

Why do I need a U.S. Social Security Number or a Tax Identification Number?

This is a requirement by the FINRA/SIPC to open a brokerage account in the United States. More specified here.

‍We do not store this information in our servers, and only ask for purposes of compliance through our partner Alpaca Securities LLC and FINRA/SIPC.

I’m a parent but have an Android phone, can I still use Bloom?

Yes! We offer a parent web portal that you can access by clicking here.

How can I, or my teen, withdraw funds?

In the Funding page of the Bloom parent portal, you should see a "Withdraw" button, assuming a bank account has been linked. Clicking this will lead you to the withdraw page, where you can withdraw funds to the bank account linked. Deposited funds may take up to 6 business days before they are available for withdrawal. Please note that due to regulatory reasons, only parents can withdraw funds at this time.

Do I need to pay to use Bloom?

Bloom charges a subscription fee for access to our custodial and individual investing accounts, as well as our premium interactive financial lessons. However, users can always access our basic investing lessons for free, as well as stock data and our games and rewards on Oink Hub.

We currently offer two subscription plans: an annual plan at $120 / year, and a monthly plan at $15 / month.

Why does Bloom charge a subscription fee?

Unlike other investing apps, we do not make any money off of users' trades, withdrawals or data, so while they may incentivize to encourage users to trade risky assets like options and certain cryptocurrencies in order to rake in trading fees and sell customers' order volume to hedge funds, our mission is to help our customers achieve long term financial success, so we chose not to monetize trading volume.

We also give out a large amount of free stock rewards to users in exchange for learning.

In turn, in order to cover the cost of stock rewards as well as our own costs, we need to charge a subscription fee for access to our services. We believe this is the best way to align incentives between us and our customers, and enable us to continue providing a premium product for our clients.

How can I cancel my subscription?

If you're a parent of a teen, or a teen account with a parent, the parent can cancel their subscription at anytime, by going to Settings > Subscription > Unsubscribe from the parent portal.

Canceling the subscription cancels all future charges, but does not automatically refund past charges.

If you're over 18 and subscribed by yourself, you can cancel the subscription from the Bloom app directly by going to Settings > Subscription > Unsubscribe.

The app will walk you through collecting all funds as well.

What is your refund policy?

Bloom does not and cannot charge without consent. Subscriptions are only initiated when a user selects a subscription plan, clicks continue, and enters payment method.

A customer can manage their subscription at anytime by going to Settings > Subscription from the parent portal.

We cannot issue refunds to anyone who used the product. This includes our app lessons, rewards and or investing.

Please contact [email protected] for direct refunds if you do not recognize the service, were unable to sign up or have a special inquiry. Investing accounts are optional and an incomplete investing account does not mean you have an incomplete Bloom account.

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Advisory services are offered through Bloom Investment Advisers, LLC ("Bloom"), an SEC registered investment adviser. Bloom's investment advisory services are available only to residents of the United States. Brokerage accounts for Bloom clients are established at Alpaca Securities, LLC (“Alpaca”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc. Technology and a third-party SEC registered broker-dealer that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (www.finra.org) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (www.sipc.org).

Bloom Investment Advisors LLC and Alpaca Securities LLC are not affiliated and none are responsible for the liabilities of the other. Alpaca provides clearing and execution services and serves as qualified custodian for advisory assets of Bloom clients. All accounts and trade executions are powered by Alpaca's technology. View Alpaca's disclosures at: https://alpaca.markets/disclosures.Alpaca does not make recommendations with regard to fractional share trading, whether to use fractional shares at all, or whether to invest in any specific security. A security’s eligibility on the list of fractional shares available for trading is not an endorsement of any of the securities, nor is it intended to convey that such stocks have low risk. Fractional share transactions are executed either on a principal or risks principal basis, and can only be bought or sold with market orders during normal market hours.

This is not an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities, or open a brokerage account in any jurisdiction where Alpaca is not registered (Alpaca is registered only in the United States). Any projections or forecasts are hypothetical in nature and may not reflect actual future performance. By using this website, you accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We do not provide or offer any financial planning or tax advice. You should consult with a tax advisor. You acknowledge that you are responsible for your own financial decisions.The content on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a comprehensive description of Bloom Investment Advisor's services. Certain investments are not suitable for all investors. Before investing, consider your investment objectives. The rate of return on investments can vary widely over time, especially for long term investments. Investment losses are possible, including the potential loss of all amounts invested. Factual statements provided through Bloom’s products or services, are made as of the date stated and are subject to change without notice. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products or services will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Frequently AskedQuestions

What is Bloom?

Who do you partner or work with?

How much money do I need to use Bloom?

Is Bloom a safe investing app?

Where does the charting technology and economic calendar come from?

Is Bloom available on Android?

How old do I have to be to use Bloom?

Can I use Bloom if I'm over 18?

How / when do I link a bank account?

As a teen, can I link my own bank account?

How do a link a bank account that is not listed on Plaid?

I'm a teen, why do I need a sponsor/parent to sign up?

How do I invite my parent to Bloom?

What can I invest in?

Who can be my sponsor?

What is a custodial account?

What controls do I have as a sponsor?

What education features does Bloom offer?

Why do I need a U.S. Social Security Number or a Tax Identification Number?

I’m a parent but have an Android phone, can I still use Bloom?

How can I, or my teen, withdraw funds?

Do I need to pay to use Bloom?

Why does Bloom charge a subscription fee?

How can I cancel my subscription?

What is your refund policy?

Frequently Asked
Questions