Custom Pies are one of M1’s most powerful features, allowing you to personalize, structure, and manage your investment portfolio in a way that fits your unique goals and preferences.
With Custom Pies, you have total control over which stocks, ETFs, or cryptocurrencies you select and how you want to allocate your money among them.
Custom Pies help you organize your investments by themes (like sectors, strategies, or asset types) and automate your ongoing investing using M1’s dynamic trading technology.
Benefits of Custom Pies
Personalization: Build portfolios that reflect your specific interests or strategies.
Organization: Group similar assets together, create thematic or goal-based slices.
Automation: Let M1’s system manage deposits and reinvestments using your chosen allocations.
How to Create a Custom Pie
Navigate to the Research tab in your M1 dashboard.
Select My Pies
Select Build a stock-and-fund Pie or Build a crypto Pie.
Provide a name and an optional description for your Pie.
Add your desired stocks and ETFs.
Assign a target percentage to each selection (see below for how this works).
Review your Pie and click Save.
Custom Pies are created separately from your main portfolio, allowing you to experiment and design new investment approaches without impacting your current allocation until you’re ready.
Note: Cryptocurrency and equities cannot be combined into a single Pie. Crypto assets will be held in a separate account. Learn more about opening a Crypto account.
Understanding Target Percentages
What Are Target Percentages?
The target percentage is how much of your Pie’s value you want each holding to represent. For example, if you assign 20% to Stock A and 80% to Stock B, M1 will aim to keep your Pie at those proportions.
How Are They Used?
Every deposit, withdrawal, and auto-investment will be allocated to your holdings according to these percentages. When editing your Pie, all holdings’ percentages must add up to 100%.
Significance:
Target percentages guide how new money is invested and how dividends are reinvested, but do not trigger trades unless your Pie goes out of alignment due to price movement or manual changes.
Adding Your Custom Pie to Your Portfolio
A Custom Pie is not automatically invested after creation. To begin investing in it:
Go to your Portfolio.
Click Edit (on mobile, swipe up from the bottom to access “Edit”).
Click Add Slice.
Switch to the My Pies tab and select the Custom Pie you want.
Adjust target percentages for all holdings (existing slices plus your new Pie) so the total is 100%.
Click Save.
Your Custom Pie will be included in your next trading window and all future investment activity.
Editing an Existing Custom Pie
To edit a Custom Pie:
Select the Research Tab
Go to My Pies.
Select the Pie you want to change.
Click Edit Pie (pencil icon).
Add or remove holdings, change target percentages, or update the Pie name/description.
Click Save.
Whenever you update a Pie that’s part of your portfolio, your portfolio edit will not take effect until you review and confirm the changes.
Practical Examples: Custom Pie Strategies
Sector Pie: Group several energy stocks, tech stocks, or other sector-specific funds for targeted exposure.
Dividend Growth Pie: Combine multiple dividend-paying stocks and funds for a consistent income theme.
ESG or Socially Responsible Pie: Select holdings screened for environmental, social, or governance factors.
Core-Satellite Pie: Build a “core” index fund slice with smaller slices for higher-risk “satellite” investments.
Best Practices for Custom Pie Creation
Keep it manageable: Limit the number of slices to keep tracking simple and allocations meaningful (e.g., 5–20 slices).
Be intentional with percentages: Make sure allocations reflect your priorities and risk tolerance.
Label clearly: Use descriptive names and notes for your Custom Pies for easy future reference.
Review annually: Adjust your holdings or percentages as your goals or the markets change.
Be mindful of overlap: Know that you can have the same stock or ETF in multiple Pies; just be aware this can concentrate exposure unintentionally.
Troubleshooting Common Custom Pie Issues
Custom Pie not showing in ‘Add Slice’:
Ensure it was saved successfully in your My Pies section.
Try refreshing the website/app or logging out and back in.
Target percentages won’t add to 100%:
Check for small rounding errors or forgotten slices.
Adjust percentages until the total equals exactly 100%; the system won't allow you to save otherwise.
Unable to add certain assets:
Only supported, tradable stocks and ETFs can be added.
Crypto assets are held separately from equities in a crypto account.
Some securities may not be available on the platform.
Edits not reflected in main portfolio:
Remember, changes must be saved and confirmed, and you may need to review portfolio updates before changes go live.
All examples above are for informational purposes and should not be considered an offer to buy or sell certain securities. M1 does not provide investment advice.
Brokerage accounts on the M1 platform are either fully disclosed to APEX Clearing or cleared through M1 Finance LLC. Please look at your account statement to determine how your account is cleared.
All investing involves risk, including the risk of losing the money you invest. Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Using margin can add to these risks. Users utilizing APEX cleared margin accounts should review the APEX margin account risk disclosure before borrowing. Users utilizing M1 cleared margin accounts should review the M1 margin account risk disclosure before borrowing. 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.
Brokerage products and services are offered by M1 Finance LLC, Member FINRA / SIPC, and a wholly owned subsidiary of M1 Holdings, Inc.
This content was generated using artificial intelligence and is intended for informational and educational purposes only. While reasonable efforts are made to ensure accuracy, AI-generated outputs may omit key context; and should not be construed as financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Users should independently verify all information and consult a qualified professional before making any financial decisions.
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