DIY.FUND and new investors
Talking about Wall Street feels intimidating, but DIY.FUND’s Wendy and Eric Nissan, who have both worked on Wall Street, are here to help you get started with investing.
Who is DIY.FUND?
We met Wendy and Eric Nissan at FinCon in San Diego in 2016. Both Wendy and Eric had careers on Wall Street, where they learned the ins and outs of the world. The Nissans came to Queer Money to break down investing into simple terms to help you get started. One day you could be a DIY.FUND customer. Listen to this first Queer money to learn everything you need to start investing today.
Listen Queer money™ with DIY.FUND:
Who are Wendy and Eric Nissan?
After moving from New York to Florida, Wendy began asking questions about managing her own portfolio, and Eric began writing programs to answer her questions. Finally, they thought, “Everyone should have these tools!” and they created DIY.FUND, an online portfolio management system that gives individual investors access to the same management tools that professionals use.
Wendy and Eric’s fintech startup was accepted into Starter Studio, Orlando’s premier tech accelerator. Since then they have won countless awards.
DIY.FUND will be fully operational in the next two months. Today, the Nissans share their philosophy on online investing tools and offer their advice for new investors. They explain how advisor commissions affect returns over time and the advantages of using DIY.FUND as an alternative.
Ultimately, most financial advisors use software to make decisions about your portfolio. What if you had access to the same tools? What if you could invest in the stock market with confidence – without handing over a large portion of your returns to a broker?
Topics covered
The impetus for founding DIY.FUND
• Belief that individuals should have the same tools as large institutions
• Created for yourself, share with the world
Nissan’s online investment philosophy
• Should help balance the account
• Maintain the right investment strategy
Nissan’s advice for newbies
• Pay off debts first
• Start with a small amount of money
• Learn the ups and downs of the market
• Consider a commission-free platform like Robinhood
• Overcome the fear of getting started
The mechanics of investing for newbies
• Buy an ETF (basket of stocks) to learn trading
• Specialization (e.g. tech ETF)
• Diverse portfolio of individual stocks
How advisor commission affects returns over time
• Take 1-2%, win or lose
• Almost half of the revenue was lost over 20 years
• $100,000 over 30 years, $1 million loss in fees ($7,000 vs. $1.7 million)
The advantages of DIY.FUND (versus an advisor)
• Access to software consultants could have been used
• Restore balance at the optimal time
• Higher returns (no advisor fees)
• Learn from the DIY experience
Wendy and Eric’s goals
• Promote responsible investing
• Providing tools that professionals use
• Provide advice based on risk tolerance
• Send notifications regarding correct weight
• Provide a holistic view of the portfolio
• Import current inventory information, compare with model portfolio
The benefits of a business relationship with your partner
• Strengthens the relationship
• Complementary skills
• Easy communication