Vested Finance review (2026): fees, features, and who it's best for

Vested Finance launched in 2020 and was one of the first platforms to make US stock investing genuinely accessible to Indian retail investors. It pioneered fractional shares for Indian LRS investors and built a content-heavy approach around educating users on US equity.

This review covers Vested's current offering in 2026: fees, platform features, the DriveWealth backend, tax document quality, and how it compares to competitors INDmoney and Rovia.

Vested at a glance

Attribute	Details
Founded	2020
US broker backend	DriveWealth LLC (FINRA-registered broker-dealer)
Account type	US brokerage account (LRS route)
SEBI registration	Not SEBI-registered; regulated as LRS remittance platform
Fractional shares	Yes — buy fractional shares of expensive US stocks
Minimum investment	$1 (via fractional shares)
Trading hours	US market hours (pre-market, regular, after-hours on some plans)
Headquarters	San Francisco, CA (US entity) + India operations

Fees and charges

Brokerage on trades

Vested charges on a subscription model rather than per-trade commissions:

Plan	Price	Features
Free	₹0/month	Limited features; delayed quotes; basic order types
Vested Plus	~₹299/month (or ₹2,499/year)	Real-time quotes; extended hours; more order types; Stack access

Brokerage per trade: Vested does not charge per-trade commissions on its paid plan. The subscription fee covers unlimited trading. On the free plan, some features are restricted.

FX conversion

When you fund your Vested account via LRS (remitting INR from an Indian bank to USD), the bank charges a forex spread. Vested itself may also charge a conversion fee if using their in-app LRS service.

Typical FX cost: 0.5–1.5% over the spot rate, depending on the bank and whether you use Vested's conversion service or your own bank's LRS transfer.

Account fees

• No account opening fee
• No annual maintenance fee on the US brokerage account
• Withdrawal fees: check Vested's current pricing for transferring back to India

Other costs

• DriveWealth custody fee: Passed through; typically minimal ($0 for Vested customers per their platform pricing)
• SEC and FINRA regulatory fees: Negligible per trade; standard US market fees

DriveWealth as the backend

Vested uses DriveWealth LLC as its US broker-dealer backend. DriveWealth is a FINRA-regulated broker-dealer that provides the infrastructure for several fintech platforms globally.

Implications for investors:

• Your securities are held by DriveWealth (not Vested) — this is what you disclose in Schedule FA (Institution: DriveWealth LLC)
• SIPC coverage applies (DriveWealth is SIPC member): up to $500,000 in securities protection per account (including $250,000 for cash claims) against broker failure
• If Vested ceases operations, your assets remain with DriveWealth and can be accessed or transferred

DriveWealth account number: This is your US account number for Schedule FA and ACATS transfer purposes. Find it in Vested's app under account settings or profile.

Key features

Fractional shares

Vested's most differentiated feature at launch. Buy 0.001 of an Amazon share, 0.1 of a NVIDIA share. This matters for Indian investors who want to hold expensive individual stocks without committing large amounts.

The fractional share feature is now common across Indian US-investing platforms, but Vested remains well-implemented.

Stacks

Vested's proprietary "Stack" portfolios are curated baskets of US stocks and ETFs grouped by theme (e.g., "Artificial Intelligence", "Electric Vehicles", "Dividend Aristocrats"). They function like a managed portfolio that you can buy as a unit.

Key features of Stacks:

• Curated by Vested's team
• Auto-rebalancing (you choose frequency)
• Fractional allocation across all holdings in the Stack
• Subscription plan required for Stack access (Vested Plus)

Assessment: Stacks are useful for investors who want exposure to a theme without researching individual stocks. The expense of managing the Stack is your time (rebalancing triggers may create taxable events) vs. holding a single ETF. For Indian tax purposes, each rebalancing is a sell event for the exited positions — STCG at slab rate for lots < 24 months.

Research and content

Vested invests heavily in educational content: comparisons, tax guides, blog posts about specific stocks. This makes it approachable for new investors. The in-app stock research is reasonable for basic fundamental data.

Order types

On Vested Plus: market orders, limit orders, stop-loss orders. After-hours trading for eligible stocks. Options trading was not available as of 2026 (Vested focuses on equities and ETFs).

LRS process on Vested

1. Remittance: LRS transfer from your Indian bank to Vested's designated US account. Either initiated through Vested's in-app LRS flow (which partners with Indian banks) or manually via your bank's net banking LRS section (Purpose Code S0001).
2. Processing time: Typically 1–3 business days for the USD to appear in your Vested account.
3. TCS: If cumulative LRS remittances for the year exceed ₹10 lakh, your bank collects 20% TCS on the excess. Vested's remittance flow shows this before you confirm.
4. Investing: Once funded, buy stocks or ETFs from within the app.

Tax documents

Vested provides tax documents in the app:

• Annual transaction statement: All buys, sells, dividends for the calendar year
• Form 1042-S: For dividend withholding (available by mid-February for prior year)
• Capital gains summary: Some plans include a consolidated capital gains summary useful for ITR-2

For Schedule FA: Vested provides account details (DriveWealth account number, institution name) to put in Schedule FA. Some users need to contact support to confirm the exact DriveWealth account number vs. Vested's internal account ID.

Gap: As of 2026, Vested does not have a dedicated Schedule FA generator or ITR-2 report in the format needed for direct filing. You'll need to manually convert their transaction data into the ITR-2 format (or use a CA). Rovia's purpose-built Schedule FA generator is more useful for this specific task.

Customer support

Vested's support is primarily through:

• In-app chat (response times vary)
• Email support
• Help center articles

Common complaints from users:

• LRS processing delays (typically bank-side, not Vested-side, but support can be slow to clarify)
• Account verification issues during KYC
• Support response times for complex tax queries

Who Vested is best for

Best suited for:

• Indian investors new to US stocks who want educational guidance and curated Stacks
• Investors who want fractional shares to build diversified US portfolios with small amounts
• Casual investors who prefer a simple, mobile-first app over professional trading tools

Consider alternatives if:

• You primarily want to hold broad-market ETFs (VOO, CSPX) — a simpler platform with lower cost may suffice
• You need sophisticated order types, options, or margin
• You want a dedicated ITR-2/Schedule FA reporting tool — Rovia has a better purpose-built solution
• You want GIFT City route access — INDmoney is the only platform with this currently (Vested does not offer GIFT City)

How Vested compares

Feature	Vested	INDmoney	Rovia
US broker backend	DriveWealth	DriveWealth / Alpaca	Alpaca Securities
GIFT City route	No	Yes (IFSCA licence)	No
Fractional shares	Yes	Yes	Yes
Stacks / curated portfolios	Yes (Stacks)	Yes (Collections)	No
Options trading	No	No	No
Schedule FA generator	No	Partial	Yes (dedicated)
Subscription fee	~₹299/month (Plus)	Similar	Competitive
Brokerage per trade	0 (Plus plan)	0 (on plan)	0.15% per trade (no subscription)
Tax document quality	Moderate	Moderate	Higher (more India-specific)

Should you use Vested in 2026?

Vested is a solid, reliable platform — it's not the cheapest, not the most feature-rich, but it's well-known, has an established track record, and works. For investors already on Vested, there's no compelling reason to switch unless you have a specific need (GIFT City, better tax documents, lower per-trade cost for active trading).

For new investors: compare Vested's subscription cost against Rovia's per-trade model based on your expected trading frequency. If you trade fewer than 2–3 times per month, Rovia's 0.15% model may cost less than Vested Plus. If you trade more frequently, Vested Plus's unlimited trading wins.

Related reading

• Best US stock platform for India 2026 — full platform comparison
• LRS vs GIFT City for US stocks — route comparison (Vested is LRS only)
• How to buy S&P 500 from India — step-by-step with platform selection
• Schedule FA field-by-field guide — DriveWealth institution details for Schedule FA