How to Open an Account on Public for Trading Stocks

Opening a brokerage account with Public.com is really quick and easy. It takes only minutes to get your account open, funded, and ready to invest. Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to get an account open with Public so you can begin your investing journey without delay.

Why Use Public for Investing?

Public is a free investment app that offers a no-commission stock trading platform. You can also purchase fractional shares (or stock “slices”) through Public which is great for anyone wanting to invest in big companies with just a little money. With Public, you can own any stock for as little as $1. The platform is designed for people with no investing experience and it’s very user-friendly. If you’re brand new to investing, don’t want to invest huge amounts of money, need a free investing platform, and want an easy and quick platform, then Public may be the choice for you.

How to Open an Account and Start Investing Today

Public offers a bonus for new accounts in the form of a stock slice. Get a fractional share of stock as a bonus by opening an account today using this referral link. This is a great way to get started with investing even if you don’t have much money to spare. Now that investing in the stock market has become so accessible, there’s really no reason not to start investing if it’s something you’ve been wanting to get into.

The account opening process is very straightforward and only takes a few minutes. You’ll start by adding some basic information and creating a username that will become your handle for Public’s social media posting. The app is not only an investing app, but it also contains news feeds and allows you to follow other people to get news, updates, and tips. If you want to enable notifications from Public, this is where you’ll do that, too.

After your profile is all set up, it’s time to submit your application so you can begin investing. Currently, Public is only available to residents of the United States. The application is very easy and requires your legal name, address, phone number, and social security number for tax purposes. You can enter your information manually, or take a picture of your photo ID to fast track your investment application.

Entering your information manually only takes a minute or two as not much is required. Either route is very quick.

Once you submit your application, you’ll need to indicate how much investing experience you have. Answering “none” does not disqualify you for an account so you should just answer honestly. All brokerages need to know what level of experience their customers have so they can make sure they are providing access to products that require advanced experience. Next, it is time to fund your account so you can start investing.

A unique and convenient feature of Public is the ability to fund your account using a debit card. Most other brokerages don’t offer this option. My personal preference is to use the Bank Link option since you can both deposit and withdraw funds quickly.

Once you initiate a deposit to your new Public investment account, you’ll see a notice that tells you it may take up to 5 days for your deposit to settle. Even though your deposit needs time to settle, Public will grant you instant access to begin buying stock.

You’ll have instant buying power when you initiate your deposit.

You do not have to wait until your deposit on Public settles to begin exploring potential investments.

Additionally, if you have another brokerage account somewhere, Public makes transferring your existing portfolio really easy. You need to answer some questions about the account you want to transfer over to Public. This is great if you’re using another platform that you are not happy with.

Now you are all set up and ready to begin investing with Public!

Your feed is customizable and you can begin selecting your investment interests. Public has categories of stocks organized by themes that can help you find companies to invest in that match your personal ideals. So explore the app, and start investing today!