Broker profile
Public Holdings · US · since 2019
Public, with an AI that reads it and buys on your OK.
What Public is, what its own AI tools do, what it costs, and how Walnut reads every Public account you connect and places the basket buys you approve, previewed first.
- Reads every account
- Buys what you approve
- Login stays at Public
Your Public, in Walnut
ConnectedBuy $200 of my AI basket at Public.
Here is the preview: five buys, from $30 to $50 each, all above Public's $5 minimum. Confirm once and they go to Public.
Pricing and fees, checked October 2026
How much does Public cost?
- Commission on US stocks and ETFs
- $0
- Minimum to open an account
- $0
- Smallest fractional buy
- $5
- Public Reserve membership
- $20/mo
- IRA match, Core / Reserve
- 1% / 4%
- Fee to transfer your account out
- $100
AI features
What Public's own AI does
Public ships three AI products. Each one works on Public accounts, inside Public or through its own connector.
Alpha
Public's AI research assistant in the app. It answers questions about stocks and markets, and Public labels it experimental.
Agents
Investing plans you write in plain English and approve once. The Agent then follows the plan inside your Public account.
Public MCP
A hosted connector that lets Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Grok read a Public account and place real orders in it.
Where Walnut fits
Public's tools see Public. Walnut reads it next to Fidelity, Vanguard or any other broker you connect, puts every holding against the S&P 500, and turns a basket you design into buys at Public that you approve.
Pricing
What Public costs
Public's published prices and rates, checked October 2026. Walnut charges nothing extra to connect Public.
With Walnut
What you can do with Public here
- Read every Public accountEach account you connect, at live prices
- Each holding against the S&P 500As a one-year price return, with momentum
- Buy what you approvePreviewed first, then confirmed once by you
- Recurring buys into a basketWeekly or monthly, from cash already at Public
- Sell from WalnutWalnut places buys only. Sell in the Public app
- Move money into PublicNo. Walnut never holds or moves money
Everything else people ask about Public, answered plainly.
Short answer
Yes, for buying US stocks and ETFs in small amounts. Public has no account minimum, charges no commission on stock and ETF trades, and sells fractional shares from $5, or from $1 inside an Investment Plan. Its free Alpha assistant answers market questions in the app.
Public also offers options, bonds, Treasury accounts and crypto from the same app, so a beginner sees more than stocks. Crypto is held by a separate company, zerohash, and is not covered by SIPC.
What the app does not show is how your holdings add up across brokers. A Public account next to a 401(k) rollover at Fidelity reads as two separate pictures until something puts them together.
Read the full guide: The best investing apps for beginnersShort answer
Public Investing is a registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA and SIPC, so securities in your account are protected up to $500,000 if the firm fails. SIPC does not cover market losses, and crypto held at Public is not SIPC protected.
Connecting Public to Walnut uses a secure connection, and you sign in at Public. Walnut never sees or stores the password and never holds or moves money. You can disconnect from Walnut's Brokerage screen at any time.
$500K
SIPC protection for securities
FINRA
Public Investing is a member
2019
The year Public launched
Short answer
Yes. Public hosts its own connector, Public MCP, for Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Meta Muse, Perplexity and Grok; it covers Public accounts and can place real orders. Walnut also connects Public, reads it next to your other brokers, and buys only what you approve.
Walnut adds what a single-broker connector cannot: Public beside Fidelity, Vanguard or Robinhood, each holding framed against the S&P 500, and baskets built around an idea, which Walnut can buy at Public in one approved set of orders.
Read the full guide: How to connect Public to an AI assistantShort answer
You choose an amount for a basket, Walnut shows a preview of each order, and nothing goes to Public until you confirm. Every fractional leg must be at least $5, which is Public's minimum outside its Investment Plans.
A recurring investment works the same way on a schedule. Walnut spends cash that is already in your Public account; if the cash is short, the buy is skipped, retried and you are told. Walnut never pulls money from your bank.
Read the full guide: How placing orders through Walnut worksPublic and Robinhood are the two brokers Walnut buys through. Fidelity reads in full and stays view-only.
Quick answers
- Does Public charge fees?
- No commission on US stocks and ETFs. Reserve costs $20 a month, and moving your account to another broker costs $100.
- What is Public Reserve?
- Public's $20 a month membership ($200 a year), with a 4% IRA match up to $300 a year and a higher rate on cash.
- What is Public's Alpha?
- Public's AI research assistant, free for every Public investor. Public labels it experimental, and it works inside the Public app.
- Can Walnut buy stocks in my Public account?
- Yes. Walnut previews each order and places only the buys you confirm. Walnut places buys only, so sell in the Public app.
- Is there a minimum order at Public?
- Yes. Public accepts fractional buys from $5, or from $1 inside an Investment Plan, so each leg of a basket needs at least $5.
- Is connecting Public to Walnut free?
- Yes. Connecting is free, and so is the assistant up to a per-session allowance. Walnut Unlimited, $9.99 a month on the web, lifts that limit.
Everything we have written about Public
Keep reading
Sources, checked October 2026
- Public fee schedule (updated October 2026): trades, Reserve, transfers
- Public Reserve: price, IRA match, cash APY
- Public fractional shares disclosure ($5 minimum, $1 in Investment Plans)
- Public: about us (launched 2019, FINRA and SIPC, account types)
- Who can create an account? (no minimum)
- What is Alpha? (free for all Public investors)
- Agents: The Basics (web, waitlist rollout)
- AI Agents for investing
- Public hosted MCP for Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Meta Muse, Perplexity, Grok (places real orders)
- Robinhood fractional shares ($1 minimum)
- Fidelity commissions ($0 online stock and ETF trades)
- Fidelity fractional shares ($1 minimum)
Walnut is an AI financial advisor app; it is not a registered investment adviser. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell a security. Broker fees, products and availability change, so check the current terms with the broker.
See your Public the way an analyst would.
Connect in about a minute. Your login stays at Public.