When it comes to brokers, DEGIRO, Brand New Day, Saxo & Peaks often come up. But there is a (relatively) new fish in town: Semmie. Semmie was set up in 2015 in Amsterdam. Their slogan is, “Especially easy investing,” and they live up to that. They are completely focused on making investing accessible because they believe that everyone should be able to invest, not just professionals. For example, there are no hidden costs, they work with long-term goals, they have a risk-averse policy, and therefore you can count on a reliable annual return. Moreover, they pride themselves on investing only in sustainable funds; that is, funds that score well on environmental, human and good governance issues. Read more about investing at Semmie here.
Investing at Semmie: for investors who want an easy way in. Why?
A small overview:
| Semmie | |
| Easy to open account? | Yes (they claim it can be done within 5 min) |
| Queue to open account? | No |
| Focused on short-term or long-term investing? | Long-term |
| For investing in individual stocks? | No |
| For start-up investors? | Yes |
| Choose funds yourself? | No |
| Dividend funds present? | Yes, dividends are directly reinvested, not paid out. |
| Good online customer service? | Yes, the website allows you to chat directly or request a callback. Available daily until 10 p.m. |
| Can I withdraw my deposit and return whenever I want? | The account can be cancelled daily. |
| Minimum deposit amount for deposits? | N/A. |
| Minimum deposit amount for setting up monthly direct debit? | First deposit is 50 euros, then you can top up from 10 euros. |
| One-time deposit possible? | Yes, sending payment requests is even possible. |
| Risk profile? | You can choose between Defensive, Neutral or Offensive. |
| Cost? | 0.7% per year + 0.24% fund fees |
| Efficiency? | Defensive: 16.3% since inception
Neutral: 22.95% since inception Offensive: 29.35% since inception |
| Interest on counter/savings account? | N/A. |
How does investing at Semmie work?
Semmie chooses to invest with a broad spread in sustainable equity and bond funds. The site provides regular info on sustainable and responsible investing. In the future, they also want impact investing (e.g., investing in a microcredit fund that supports entrepreneurs in developing countries to start or grow a business).
At Semmie, you invest protected through a deposit guarantee scheme. That means you get an account at Saxo (one of their partners) that is in your own name. You can divide your investments in the dashboard into pots, such as “First House” or “My Daughter’s/Son’s Study,” to which you can attach a target amount.
Semmie invests for you through 3 types of model portfolios; you just have to pick which portfolio you want (Defensive, Neutral or Offensive) and Semmie does the rest. You can easily change this later. And you can track everything through your dashboard, both through the site on your PC and the mobile app. In the app you can send payment requests, which is a cool extra gadget though. On the dashboard, you can see how your investments are doing at any time, read more about the funds Semmie chooses for you or learn more about investing through their knowledge videos.
What does investing at Semmie cost?
The initial deposit is 50 euros but monthly you can add as little as 10 euros. They are clear about costs: a fee of 0.7% per year and on top of that, 0.24% fund fees. They have no minimums, no cancellation fees, no performance fee, no transaction fees and no deposit or withdrawal fees.
In addition to a “regular” account, you can also get a Premium account at Semmie. You automatically become a Premium member if you invest more than EUR 25,000. In addition to the basic requirements, you then also get your own contact person and benefit from their extra low Premium fee of 0.5% per year.
What is Semmie’s customer service like?
Via chat, they are available for your questions 7 days a week, until 10 p.m. no less. I have already spoken to them (via chat). Super prompt and super friendly they were!
Conclusion
Semmie can best be seen as Robeco’s little brother. The system is almost the same, except that with Semmie you can only have your money invested and not invest it yourself. Moreover, Semmie is completely focused on sustainable funds. In terms of efficiency, it is absolutely stable and reliable, but don’t expect anything grandiose either. Just building steady power. So really for the long term. If you want faster (and more) cash, you’re not in the right place here. If you are a novice investor, Semmie may be a good online broker to start with. Approachable, with a simple and user-friendly app and with lots of support from the sidelines.
