Fundrise Review: Is It a Legit Company You Can Trust?

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I'm Donny. I'm a world traveler, investor, entrepreneur, and online marketing aficionado who has a big appetite to compete and disrupt big markets. I thrive on being able to create things that impact change, difficult challenges, and being able to add value in negative situations.

Fundrise is an investment platform that allows people to invest in diversified real estate portfolios for as little as $10.

Fundrise
4.5
Minimum investment: $10
Advisory fee: 0.15% annually
Management fee: 1.85% annually
Pros:
  • Invest with just $10
  • Hands-off real estate investing
  • Open to all investors
  • Easy-to-use platform
Cons:
  • Taxed on dividend income
  • Illiquid investments
  • Charges an annual fee
Promotion: Advisory fee waiver for 12 months
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This is a testimonial in partnership with Fundrise. We earn a commission from partner links on RetirementInvestments.com. All opinions are my own.

Have you ever wanted to invest in real estate but don’t have the money to buy any property?

In this Fundrise review, I will explain how Fundrise works, the types of investment accounts you can have, how much you can make on your investment and more.

What is Fundrise?

fundrise homepage
Fundrise.com website

Fundrise, which started in 2012, is a digital investing platform that allows people to invest in diversified real estate offerings.

Ben Miller founded Fundrise to provide retail, non-accredited investors with no connections the ability to start investing in real estate.

Real estate, while highly lucrative, is complicated for most investors to get into. While anyone can join a brokerage and start buying stocks, traditional real estate investing is a little more complicated.

First, most people don’t have the capital to buy apartments, land and other properties. You may be able to take out a loan if you don’t have the cash to buy a house and pay for it upfront, but getting approval can be challenging.

There are usually a lot of hoops to jump through and obstacles to overcome. Fundrise makes real estate investing as easy as stocks. Think of it as an ETF for real estate. It can also charge low fees by cutting out the middleman.

Real estate is also a pretty tricky investment for most people as the risk of property decline is significant and buying the wrong properties can ruin an investor financially.

Since Fundrise offers you a diversified portfolio, it provides greater security than a traditional real estate investment. Its primary offerings are real estate investment trusts (REITs), which usually include managed income-producing real estate, such as rental properties, office buildings or mortgages.

However, Fundrise also offers the ability to invest in buying land, building housing and then selling it. You can invest using a small amount of money.

Since there are hundreds of thousands of investors, Fundrise can gather enough money to invest in large projects. It has invested $4 billion worth of real estate in the past 10 years or so.

How Does Fundrise Work?

Fundrise investor platform
Example of Fundrise’s investors platform

Fundrise allows you to select an investment strategy and immediately start investing in real estate. If you are willing to accept a higher risk for a potentially higher return, you can choose the “Opportunistic” strategy.

Fundrise recommends investing no more than two percent of your income with this strategy. However, returns can be 10 percent or higher. If you want a lower-risk strategy, you can select the “Fixed Income” strategy.

Fundrise recommends investing up to eight percent of your income if you select this strategy. There are also strategies with other levels of risk.

One of the fantastic things about Fundrise is that once you select a strategy, it will automatically find new assets for your investment.

Fundrise will also auto-invest the dividends you earn into new acquisitions. Alternatively, you can turn that option off and withdraw your dividends to your bank account.

In your dashboard, you’ll be able to see your Fundrise returns and the past performance of your assets. Fundrise offers both general investing and IRA accounts.

While the general investing options are for long-term investments of at least five years, IRAs are if you are planning for retirement.

Fundrise Investment Options

Let’s talk a bit more about Fundrise’s portfolios. While Fundrise primarily focuses on real estate property, it now also allows investors to invest in the tech industry.

General investing

General investing is for people who want to get into the real estate market but don’t have the know-how, funds or time.

You’re supposed to commit to holding your investments for at least five years, and if you withdraw your shares early, you may face a one percent penalty.

Fundrise offers five different account levels depending on how much you’re willing to invest.

Starter

Account Features
Dividend reinvestment
Auto-invest
Create and manage Investor Goals
Registered products

You can invest with a low minimum of just $10. You’ll be able to set up recurring investments and have Fundrise reinvest your dividends into your Starter portfolio.

There is an annual advisory fee of 0.15 percent and an annual asset management fee of 0.85 percent for your Fundrise account.

In other words, total yearly costs go up to one percent. Note that this applies to all plans. You’re not going to qualify for a lower advisory fee just because you invest more money.

Fundrise has an affiliate program where you get bonus shares by referring friends. If you are on the Starter plan, the limit per referral is $25.

For most other plans, the bonus is $50 per referral.

Basic

Account Features
Dividend reinvestment
Auto-invest
Create and manage Investor Goals
Invest via IRA
Registered products
Access to Fundrise iPO

You need to invest at least $1,000 to qualify for this plan. The Basic plan allows you to set up an IRA, making it a good option if you want to start preparing for retirement.

On the Starter plan, you can’t set up an IRA. It also allows you to set investor goals. If you are on the Starter plan, you can only choose one investor goal: build wealth.

If you invest at least $1,000 and upgrade to the Basic plan, you can also select the following goals:

  • Income
  • Retirement
  • Major purchase
  • Education

The Basic plan also opens up another investment portfolio: the Fundrise internet Public Offering (iPO), which allows you to invest in Fundrise itself — instead of buying real estate shares that Fundrise is investing in, you’re investing in the company.

That’s an entirely different type of investment than real estate as you’re banking on the company’s continued performance and the popularity of digital real estate investment platforms.

However, if you’re using Fundrise to invest in real estate, chances are that you believe the company is doing a good job and is going in the right direction.

You probably also believe that real estate crowdfunding platforms are the way of the future.

Core

Account Features
Dividend reinvestment
Auto-invest
Create and manage Investor Goals
Invest via IRA
Customize portfolio strategy
Registered products
Non-registered products
Access to Fundrise iPO

You need an initial investment of $5,000 or more for this plan. With this account type, investors can customize their assets over a broader range of funds depending on their specific objectives, which include:

  • Supplemental Income: This plan is best if you want to generate additional revenue as soon as possible. Over the long run, it doesn’t have as much potential for wealth creation as the Long-Term Growth plan. However, income is consistent and steady.
  • Balanced Investing: This plan offers some early returns while also focusing on assets that will appreciate in the future and generate wealth in the long run.
  • Long-Term Growth: This plan generates low returns, if any, for the first few years. It focuses more on assets that will go up in value than income-producing assets. However, this plan will net you more money in the long run.

Let’s break this down some more.

The Supplemental Income plan generates income right away because it invests in income-producing properties. For example, Fundrise might buy a building that houses tenants.

Since tenants pay rent each month, you can start earning immediately and still earn over time. Properties include single- and multifamily homes, as well as commercial real estate and industrial properties.

Another way Fundrise generates income is by lending to developers building new buildings or improving properties. It then uses the interest from those loans to pay you dividends.

While income is more immediate, it doesn’t have that much potential for returns in the long run. Imagine you had a property but decided to rent it out forever and never sell it — the Supplemental Income plan is somewhat similar.

The Long-Term Growth plan focuses on up-and-coming neighborhoods, getting ahead of demographic and cultural shifts, building new housing in urban areas, renovating run-down buildings and more.

As such, the returns primarily come in when Fundrise sells those properties it had invested in a while back, before it renovated the building or before the neighborhood became hot.

However, you will have to wait until Fundrise sells those buildings to generate income. The Balanced Investing plan incorporates both types, but you still can’t expect as many long-term gains as the Long-Term Growth plan because less of your money is going into assets that Fundrise will sell.

Advanced

Account Features
Dividend reinvestment
Auto-invest
Create and manage Investor Goals
Invest via IRA
Customize portfolio strategy
Directly allocate to funds
Registered products
Non-registered products
Access to specialized funds
Access to Fundrise iPO

You qualify for the Advanced plan with a minimum investment of $10,000. You will have access to unique investment opportunities, such as the eFund, which focuses on last-mile distribution centers near major population centers.

Premium

Account Features
Dividend reinvestment
Auto-invest
Create and manage Investor Goals
Invest via IRA
Customize portfolio strategy
Directly allocate to funds
Priority access to Investor Relations team
Registered products
Non-registered products
Access to specialized funds
Periodic accredited offerings
Access to Fundrise iPO

Finally, with an investment of $100,000, you qualify for the Premium plan. You’ll get access to private equity funds that are only available periodically.

These funds are high-risk, high-reward. You will also get a $100 referral bonus for everyone you refer to Fundrise.

Retirement investing

For an extra $125/year, you can open a Traditional or Roth IRA. You’ll get all the benefits of Fundrise in a tax-advantaged IRA account.

You can roll over your existing account if you already have an IRA or 401(k). If you don’t, you can open a new account.

Fundrise Innovation Fund

The Fundrise Innovation Fund allows investors to invest in high-growth technology companies. Just like real estate, these companies have also been relatively inaccessible to retail investors.

Those making money by investing in tech companies have been venture capital and growth equity firms. The Fundrise Innovation Fund focuses primarily on late-stage companies but also includes some companies in their early stages.

However, since it focuses on high-growth companies, returns can vary in the short run, so be prepared for a long-term investment if you want to see profits.

Some specific types of companies the Fundrise Innovation Fund invest in include:

  • AI/Machine learning
  • FinTech
  • DevOps

Due to the focus on industries that have a likelihood of excessive growth in the next few decades, such as financial technology and artificial intelligence, treat this fund as a long-term investment.

All in all, the Fundrise Innovation Fund makes investing in private technology companies possible for retail investors.

Fundrise Interval Fund

The Fundrise Real Estate Interval Fund focuses primarily on private real estate investments. With almost 70 active properties, it focuses on generating income quickly while also seeking long-term capital appreciation.

It has at least 80 percent of its assets in private and public real estate investments, offering greater diversification while lowering costs.

A minority of its assets are in liquid securities to fulfill quarterly repurchase requirements. That way, the fund can offer quarterly liquidity with zero penalties.

The Fundrise Real Estate Interval Fund is now Fundrise’s flagship fund. If you are a new investor, Fundrise will automatically invest in this fund for you, depending on your goals.

Fundrise Fees & Investment Minimum

Advisory Fee0.15% per year
Asset Management1.85% per year
Minimum Investment$10

Fundrise Returns: Fundrise vs. REIT vs. Stocks

YearFundrisePublic REITsPublic Stocks
2022 YTD Through Q35.40%-28.34%-23.87%
202122.99%39.88%28.71%
20207.31%-5.86%18.40%
20199.16%28.07%31.49%
20188.81%-4.10%-4.38%
201710.63%9.27%21.83%

Who Should Use Fundrise?

If you’ve ever wanted to get into real estate but didn’t know where or how to start, Fundrise might be for you. You should consider investing in Fundrise’s eREITs if any of the following apply to you:

  1. You want to invest in real estate projects and increase your net worth but don’t have the money to buy property.
  2. You don’t have the time or connections to start looking into different properties, evaluating neighborhoods and making calculated real estate deals.
  3. You already invest in stocks, but you want more diversification in your portfolio in the case of a stock market crash.
  4. You want to improve your personal finance and generate a decent annual return and reinvest your dividends.

At the same time, there are some downsides to the Fundrise platform. For most funds, you must be willing to commit for at least five years.

If you cash out early, you will have to pay a one percent penalty fee. However, this fee does not apply to the Flagship Fund and Income Fund.

Fundrise’s investments are highly illiquid. Unlike stocks, you can’t just sell your shares and get the money back within a few days or immediately.

Furthermore, even when you do decide to withdraw your funds, it can take up to 90 days for Fundrise to review your request.

During COVID-19, it put a pause on withdrawals altogether due to heightened market insecurity and to protect the investor community.

Theoretically, in the event of a stock market or housing crash and mass panic, it could freeze withdrawals, preventing access to your funds.

How Does Fundrise Compare?

4.5
4.3
4.0
.85% to 1%
1% to 1.25%
0.25% to 2.50%
$10
$5,000
$25,000
4.5
.85% to 1%
$10
4.0
0.25% to 2.50%
$25,000

Getting Started with Fundrise

Fortunately, getting started with Fundrise is quite straightforward and can take as little as 5-10 minutes. Start by creating an account, and then follow these steps.

  1. Tell them about yourself. Fundrise will ask you about your income, investment goals, etc. That way, it can select an investment strategy for you.
  2. Select an account plan level. While management fees are the same across all plans, the difference is in how much you invest. If you are willing to invest more, you will enjoy more perks.
  3. Choose to invest manually or automatically. You can set up recurring investments monthly, or you can make manual investments whenever you have funds.

Fundrise Reviews

Here are customer reviews around the web from Google and Trustpilot.

“You have to know that Fundrise works with Illiquid and long-term investments (eREIT’s) and they are very open about that. It’s a great way of diversifying your investments and they are GREAT at communicating changes both in their platform and the market. I’m very satisfied so far (i’ve been with Fundrise for about 3 years).”

Lucas M. Verified Google User

Trustpilot User Review

“Fundrise is the most transparent and informative REIT based investment you will ever make. They are dedicated to their investors, very responsive and provide their investors with regular investor updates and investment justifications, as if we the individual investors were members of the board. It is very inclusive and every educational. Their market research conducted before every property purchase is very comprehensive.”

Zach W. Verified Trustpilot User

Is Fundrise a Good Investment?

Fundrise is an excellent investment. It offers lower fees than traditional real estate middlemen, allowing for a low-cost way to get into alternative investments, such as real estate.

However, it’s critical to maintain a diversified portfolio, so only invest a small percentage of your total savings into Fundrise. The rest should be in stocks, bonds and other stable investments.

Visit Fundrise.com and click on “Get Started” to start investing in real estate today. You can also sign up on the mobile app.

However, make sure to do your due diligence and review all Fundrise fees and disclaimers before you start.

Fundrise FAQs

Are you still confused about Fundrise? Here are some answers to common questions we see from our readers.

Can Fundrise be trusted?

Yes! Fundrise is a legitimate company that complies with all financial regulations. It also has an A+ rating with the BBB.

Can you really make money with Fundrise?

Yes, you can make passive income by investing in Fundrise. The exact amount you will earn depends on how much you invest and the level of risk you are willing to take.

Can you withdraw money from Fundrise?

You have to submit a liquidation request here. After a 60-day waiting period, Fundrise will review your request within a month and liquidate your shares once it approves the request.

How often does Fundrise pay dividends?

Fundrise pays dividends quarterly, and you can reinvest them or withdraw them to your bank account.

However, you will face a penalty if you withdraw your initial investment before five years, except for specific funds.

What is the Fundrise iPO?

The Fundrise iPO allows investors the opportunity to buy shares of Fundrise itself. You’ll get an ownership stake in Rise Companies Corp., Fundrise’s parent company.

Fundrise

Welcome to the future of real estate investing. Build a portfolio of private assets like real estate, private credit, and venture capital.

We earn a commission for this endorsement of Fundrise.

*The information contained herein neither constitutes an offer for nor a solicitation of interest in any securities offering; however, if an indication of interest is provided, it may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind prior to being accepted following the qualification or effectiveness of the applicable offering document, and any offer, solicitation or sale of any securities will be made only by means of an offering circular, private placement memorandum, or prospectus. No money or other consideration is hereby being solicited, and will not be accepted without such potential investor having been provided the applicable offering document. Joining the Fundrise Platform neither constitutes an indication of interest in any offering nor involves any obligation or commitment of any kind.

The publicly filed offering circulars of the issuers sponsored by Rise Companies Corp., not all of which may be currently qualified by the Securities and Exchange Commission, may be found at www.fundrise.com/oc.

Fundrise
fundrise review

Fundrise is the first investment platform to create a simple, low-cost way for anyone to access real estate's historically consistent, exceptional returns.

Product Brand: Fundrise

Editor's Rating:
4.5

I'm Donny. I'm a world traveler, investor, entrepreneur, and online marketing aficionado who has a big appetite to compete and disrupt big markets. I thrive on being able to create things that impact change, difficult challenges, and being able to add value in negative situations.

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