This App Helps You Invest Like a Hedge Fund (You Can Start with $500)

A woman looks at an app on her phone.
Carmen Mandato/ The Penny Hoarder
Some of the links in this post are from our sponsors. We provide you with accurate, reliable information. Learn more about how we make money and select our advertising partners.

You’ve heard of robo-investing, right? That’s when online financial firms manage your investments with software.

And you’ve heard of robo-advisors. That’s when apps automate your savings and investments for you.

Ah, but have you heard of the app that’s built like a “robo hedge fund?” Have you? It’s an innovative new twist.

You’ve heard of hedge funds — the rich guy’s investment vehicle. Because you have to invest at least $250,000 to join most hedge funds, they act as exclusive clubs for the wealthy, with a velvet rope keeping out everyday investors like you or me. Hedge funds are considered to be elite, aggressive, strategic and sophisticated — and out of reach for most of us.

Titan says you can still get in on the action, even if you don’t have a spare quarter-million dollars sitting around. In fact, all you need to get started is $500.

Titan is a simple, user-friendly investment app that mirrors the financial moves of top hedge funds. Here’s what it does:

  • It analyzes the quarterly regulatory filings of the leading, most prestigious hedge funds as soon as each filing becomes public.
  • Its software mines the data to determine which stocks were most popular among all those funds. These hedge funds use sophisticated strategies to choose stocks and sometimes borrow money to buy more stock.
  • Titan puts its investors’ money into a portfolio of the top 20 stocks, based on what all those hedge funds have been buying. Titan believes these stocks have the best prospects for long-term growth.
  • Portfolios are automatically updated on a quarterly basis.

Titan earns a 1% annual fee on what you invest.

Oh, and there’s this: All three of Titan’s co-founders are former hedge fund guys who are now heavily invested in their Titan portfolios — the same stocks they’d be investing your savings in.

Your Own Money Manager in Your Pocket

On the iPhone’s App Store, users rate Titan’s app at 4.5 out of 5 stars, with users praising the app as intuitive and user-friendly. “It truly feels like your own personal hedge fund in your pocket,” commented one user.

Despite its high reviews, Titan has inevitably drawn some online criticism — like just about every app does. Some naysayers accuse it of relying on outdated data from regulatory filings. Titan’s response is that the stock-trading data it uses is fresh enough to be useful in crafting a long-term investment strategy. Titan believes that it and the hedge funds it’s tracking are all following long-term plans for growth.

And the proof is in the pudding:

As of May 31, 2019, Titan’s portfolio for an aggressive client had increased by 17% so far in 2019, outperforming the S&P 500, which rose 10.7%.*

Built Like a Hedge Fund

When Titan made its debut in 2018, it sometimes got called a hedge fund, or at least it got compared to one.

“Here Come the Robo Hedge Funds,” reads a headline on WealthManagement.com. And the website TechCrunch announced that Titan “isn’t technically a hedge fund, but it’s built like one.”

Just to be clear, Titan isn’t actually a hedge fund. Investors in a hedge fund pool their money together into a fund, while with Titan, your money is kept in your own separate account.

Seeking to set itself apart, Titan also posts lots of educational videos aimed at beginning investors. Sometimes these videos will take a deep dive on particular stocks, like Amazon, that are in Titan’s portfolio. Basically, they’ll tell you why they’re investing your money in it.

Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He really needs to invest more.

*This article is a paid partnership with Titan Invest (“Titan”). All opinions are our own. This is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a comprehensive description of Titan’s investment advisory services. Titan uses a proprietary algorithmic strategy in selecting recommendations to advisory clients. Please see Titan’s website (https://www.titanvest.com/) and the Program Brochure (available on the website) for more information. Certain investments are not suitable for all investors. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and Titan’s fees. 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. Titan’s registration as an SEC registered investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training and no inference to the contrary should be made. Nothing here should be considered as an offer, solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell securities. The above content is for illustrative purposes only to demonstrate products, services and information available from Titan. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns, expected returns, or probability projections, are hypothetical in nature and may not reflect actual future performance. All Titan performance results include the use of a personalized hedge for a hypothetical client with an “Aggressive” risk profile; clients with “Moderate” or “Conservative” risk profiles would have experienced lower returns. Please visit https://support.titanvest.com/investment-process/hedging for full disclosures on our hedging process. 2019 YTD results are from 1/1/19 through 5/31/19 and represent performance of a hypothetical account created on Titan’s inception date of 2/20/18 using Titan’s investment process for an aggressive portfolio, not an actual account. Performance results are net of fees and include dividends and other adjustments. See Titan’s website for full performance disclosures.