One of the best ways for new investors to invest in stocks is to download investment or stock apps. Many experienced investors have been turning to investment apps too. This is because they can build upon their portfolios, while saving money.
Sure, you can make a call to a stockbroker to place a trade, but that costs money. Commissions can easily add up. Nowadays, you can pick your phone up, press your screen a few times to make trades. In most cases, it will be completely free or it’ll cost a low price.
Whether you’ve been trading for years or you’re brand new, there are a few apps you’ll want to know about. We’ve put together a list of the best. The apps that made it onto our list are:
- Robinhood: The Best App For Free Trades
Robin Hood is a famous character who stole from the rich and gave those stolen belongings to the poor. Do you like the thought of having the power to access financial markets, regardless of who you are? If so, then Robinhood is for you.
The app lets traders make a free stock trade. Trades come with zero commission, and all you have to do is download Robinhood and then fund your account via your bank account. You can upgrade to a Robinhood Gold account if you want to have a margin account and if you want access to extended trading hours.
Think of Robinhood as a stock brokerage, but without the frills. They don’t have multiple offices around the globe, which means they operate with a lower overhead and the savings are passed onto investors, like yourself. Robinhood Gold costs money, and that is how the company earns their money. They also earn interest on cash balances in accounts.
- Acorns: Automated Investing
If you don’t really want to put too much thought into investing, but you want to do it on a regular basis, then look no further than Acorns. Simply link your credit or debit card to the app. Acorns round up your transaction to the next dollar, and then the spare change is deposited into your Acorns account, where it’ll be invested.
Your funds are invested for you in one of the five ETF portfolios. If your account has a balance under $5,000, then you’ll pay a dollar per month. If your account has more than that, then you’ll pay a 0.25% fee. College students who have an edu. email, will be able to use the app for free. However, they’ll be able to do that for four years from the day they registered.
With Acorns, you can easily diversify your investments. Best of all, you don’t need a large amount of capital to get started. Believe it or not, but throwing in a few dollars every now and then eventually adds up. Before you know it, your portfolio will be impressive.
- Stash: Best App To Learn
Stash’s pricing is similar to Acorns, which means you can build a diverse portfolio without spending a lot of money. Acorns invests your money for you, but Stash is a bit different. They let you make the decisions for you.
Stash has educational content that is tailored to your investment preferences. You can choose portfolios that allow you to focus on investing themes or you can build your portfolio in a custom way. There is an auto-stash plan that allows you to add funds whenever you wish or for recurring investments.
If you’re a beginner investor, then you’ll quickly be overwhelmed with how much info is out there. This includes learning about the phrases and terms of the investment world, but with Stash this doesn’t matter. It doesn’t provide you with extensive info on companies, but they don’t overwhelm you. This is why it’s great for those who are looking to get their feet wet.
- Vault: Excellent Retirement App
If you work for yourself, then you won’t be receiving a 401K plan. You’ll have to throw together your own retirement plan. There are many different ways and options to do this, and one of the top ones is Vault.
Vault lets anyone open up an SEP IRA account, IRA account or Roth IRA account. An SEP is an IRA retirement account, but specifically designed for those who are self-employed. It doesn’t matter what kind of IRA account you want, Vault will allow you to invest based on a percentage of your income.
When your funds are deposited via a freelance job, you’ll receive a notification that they approved the deposit, and you can double check to make sure you want the funds deposited. Whether you want to invest automatically or manually, Vault allows it. The app uses the same pricing model as the Stash app and Acorns app.
- Stockpile: Great App For Stock Gifting
This app is unique because it allows investors to buy fractional shares in virtually any company. You can fund your account using a stock gift card. This allows recipients to receive stock shares that are worth five dollars.
Furthermore, you don’t pay monthly fees and all you pay for trades is ninety-ninety cents. If you’re looking to get your kids into investing, then this is the app to use. You can give your kids $20 of the stock you are the biggest fan of. Who knows, they may take a huge interest in investing.
As of now, there are over 1,000 investments available through Stockpile, and there are single stocks you can buy and there are ETFs. For instance, you can gift shares of a stock such as Apple or Disney, or you can give a basket of stocks into another company, such as Vanguard according toUltimateStockAlerts. Another option is to give physical gift cards or you can fund your account via a bank transfer. Doing this will pay dividends.