M1 Finance & the Merriman Pies — Paul Merriman

M1 Finance · Affiliate Partner

M1 Finance & the Merriman Pies.

Paul Merriman's recommended Sound Investing portfolios — prebuilt as M1 Finance "Pies" you can clone to your own account in minutes. Two complete sections: All-Avantis and All-DFA.

Updated

May 2026

Minimum

$100 Brokerage · $500 Retirement

Commission-Free

Yes ³

Total Pies

44 Portfolios

Affiliate disclosure. If you create an account at M1 Finance via our affiliate link — which offers direct access to our recommended portfolios — The Merriman Financial Education Foundation may receive a small fee for accounts over $1,000. This costs you nothing extra and helps support our free financial education work. Thank you. Through this link, M1 may also offer limited-time higher rates on Cash Accounts ¹ and/or reduced margin loan ² rates.

What is M1 Finance?

A MODERN, AUTOMATED BROKERAGE FOR ALLOCATION-BASED INVESTING.

M1 Finance is an innovative, commission-free ³ , automated online brokerage designed to help you build wealth by investing in a target allocation. You can buy Paul Merriman's recommended Sound Investing portfolios starting with as little as $100 — and because M1 uses fractional share investing and automatically puts any cash balance over $10 to work, dividends and new contributions immediately go where they belong.

Put your investments on autopilot with scheduled transfers and automatic investing. Rebalance with new contributions — or at the click of a button. And if you sign up through our affiliate link, you'll be helping sustain the Foundation's work at no extra cost to you.

01 / AUTOPILOT

Scheduled transfers & investing

Remove the emotion and nuisance of manual steps. Every scheduled contribution goes straight to your target allocation.

02 / SMART REBALANCING

Contributions nudge you back

M1 applies new contributions to under-target assets first — so every deposit brings your portfolio closer to your target mix.

03 / PREBUILT PIES

One-click setup

Clone Paul's recommended portfolios directly into your account. Pick a Pie, click "Add to Portfolio," set your allocation, save.

How to Use the Pies

GET STARTED IN SEVEN STEPS.

Create an M1 account

Use our affiliate link to support the Foundation.

Sign in & pick a Pie

While signed into your M1 account, click any Pie link below.

Explore in M1

When the new window opens, click "Explore this Pie in M1."

Add to Portfolio

On the next page, click "Add to Portfolio."

Adjust to 100%

Set the allocation so all Pies in your portfolio total 100%, then click "Save."

Repeat & fine-tune

Add additional Pies as needed. For an "in-between" target-date age, blend the two closest Pies (e.g., 80% of "10 Years" + 20% of "15 Years" ≈ an 11-year allocation).

Fund & invest

Set up your funding and deposit schedule — and let M1 do the rest.

The Pies

TWO SECTIONS. ONE CLICK EACH.

We've built complete Pie sections using two best-in-class fund providers — Avantis and DFA — so you can choose which section you want to invest with. Each section includes Ultimate Buy & Hold, 4-Fund Combo, All-Value, All-Small-Cap-Value, and the Merriman Aggressive Target Date Glide Path. Tap any category to expand.

Section 01

The Avantis Pies

22 Portfolios

4F Avantis WW 4-Fund 50|50 US|Int'l → 4F Avantis WW 4-Fund 70|30 US|Int'l → US Avantis US 4-Fund →

V Avantis WW All-Value 50|50 US|Int'l → V Avantis WW All-Value 70|30 US|Int'l → V Avantis US All-Value →

SCV Avantis WW All-SCV 50|50 US|Int'l → SCV Avantis WW All-SCV 70|30 US|Int'l → SCV Avantis US All-SCV →

40+ Avantis 40+ Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 35 Avantis 35 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 30 Avantis 30 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 25 Avantis 25 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 20 Avantis 20 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 15 Avantis 15 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 10 Avantis 10 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 5 Avantis 5 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 0 Avantis 0 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred →

About the Glide Path Pies: We named these Pies by years until retirement rather than target year so allocations don't need periodic updating. As you age, trade from longer time-to-retirement Pies to shorter ones. For a smoother asset-allocation curve year-by-year, use the Custom Merriman TDF Allocation Calculator.

Section 02

The DFA Pies

22 Portfolios

4F DFA WW 4-Fund 50|50 US|Int'l → 4F DFA WW 4-Fund 70|30 US|Int'l → US DFA US 4-Fund →

V DFA WW All-Value 50|50 US|Int'l → V DFA WW All-Value 70|30 US|Int'l → V DFA US All-Value →

SCV DFA WW All-SCV 50|50 US|Int'l → SCV DFA WW All-SCV 70|30 US|Int'l → SCV DFA US All-SCV →

40+ DFA 40+ Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 35 DFA 35 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 30 DFA 30 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 25 DFA 25 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 20 DFA 20 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 15 DFA 15 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 10 DFA 10 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 5 DFA 5 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred → 0 DFA 0 Years to Retirement — Tax-Deferred →

Good to Know

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT M1 FINANCE.

M1 is commission-free ³ and convenient, but it has some limitations worth understanding before you open an account.

Customer Support

Less responsive than full-service brokerages — plan to handle most things yourself.

Account Minimums

$100 to open a brokerage account; $500 to open a retirement account.

Order Types

M1 only accepts market orders. No limit or stop-loss orders.

Trade Windows

Trades happen in two daily windows on NYSE trading days — around 9:30 AM ET and 3:00 PM ET. Accounts with $25,000+ in equity can use both; smaller accounts pick one.

Auto-Invest Cash

M1 automatically invests cash anytime your balance exceeds $10 — so dividends and contributions don't sit idle.

Pies Don't Drift

Your portfolio's top-level Pie targets stay stable. They don't drift with market values like traditional allocations do.

Pies Are a Shortcut

Our Merriman Pies are a setup shortcut, not a subscription. If we change recommended ETFs or allocations, you'll need to come back and re-sync manually.

Custodial Accounts

Can now be opened directly on the M1 platform — no paper forms required.

M1-Related Disclosures

This web page was updated on May 12, 2026. All information is subject to change. The opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of M1. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any security in any account. They are also not research reports and are not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. Prior to making any investment decision, you are encouraged to consult your personal investment, legal, and tax advisors.

M1 is a technology company offering a range of financial products and services. "M1" refers to M1 Holdings Inc., and its wholly-owned, separate affiliates M1 Finance LLC, M1 Spend LLC, and M1 Digital LLC.

If you choose to transfer your account to another broker-dealer, only the full shares are guaranteed to transfer. Fractional shares may need to be liquidated and transferred as cash.

All examples above are hypothetical, do not reflect any specific investments, are for informational purposes only, and should not be considered an offer to buy or sell any products. All investing involves risk, including the risk of losing the money you invest. Brokerage products and services are offered by M1 Finance LLC, Member FINRA / SIPC, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of M1 Holdings, Inc. M1 does not provide investment advice, and this is not an offer or solicitation of an offer, or advice to buy or sell any security. You are encouraged to consult your personal investment, legal, and tax advisors. M1 is not recommending or endorsing this investment by making it available to its customers.

¹ M1 High-Yield Cash Account(s) is an investment product offered by M1 Finance, LLC, an SEC registered broker-dealer, Member FINRA / SIPC. M1 is not a bank and M1 High-Yield Cash Accounts are not a checking or savings account. The purpose of this account is to earn interest on securities not actively invested. An open M1 Investment account is required to participate in the M1 High-Yield Cash Account. All investing involves risk, including the risk of losing the money you invest.

² M1 is not a bank. M1 Personal Loans are furnished by B2 Bank NA, Member FDIC and Equal Opportunity Lender, and serviced by M1 Spend LLC. Margin trading entails greater risk, including risk of loss and incurrence of margin interest debt, and is not suitable for all investors. Please assess your financial circumstances and risk tolerance before trading on margin. If the market value of securities in your margin account declines, you may be required to deposit more money or securities. If you are unable to do so, M1 may be required to sell all or a portion of your pledged assets. M1 Margin Loans are available on margin accounts with at least $2,000 invested per account. Not available for Retirement or Custodial accounts. Margin rates may vary.

³ M1 Finance, LLC does not charge commission, trading, or management fees for self-directed brokerage accounts. You may still be charged other fees such as M1's platform fee, regulatory fees, account closure fees, or ADR fees. For a complete list of fees M1 may charge, visit M1's Fee Schedule.