Whatever your investment preferences may be–stocks, funds or crypto–there’s an app out there designed for you. The top investment apps provide intuitive experiences and minimal trading fees – the ideal combination for successful investing.
Robinhood app is an ideal starting point for beginners due to its user-friendly interface and commission-free trading across various asset classes, including cryptocurrency. Furthermore, they also provide an automated investing service known as Betterment.
Robinhood
Robinhood is a commission-free brokerage app designed for mobile-first users that lets you trade stocks, options and funds. Its mobile-first interface appeals to millennial and Gen Z investors; there’s no minimum deposit requirement and instant verification with most major banks; however it lacks research tools; some users even complain it gamifies trading.
Robinhood co-founders Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt established their company, Robinhood, with the intention of democratizing finance by eliminating fees associated with stock trading. Through its low fee model and smooth trading experience they managed to attract new investors and grow the platform’s user base quickly.
Wealthfront
Wealthfront is an automated investing service with fully automated accounts, goal setting tools and intelligent money management features. Through their questionnaire they determine your risk tolerance before creating an investment portfolio tailored specifically for you.
Path is a free financial planning tool offered by the company that connects to your accounts to offer insights. It helps you prepare for contingencies like saving for a down payment or taking an extended sabbatical vacation, with its insights providing insight on saving enough for down payments or planning ahead for such expenses.
Wealthfront charges a lower advisory fee of 0.25% than Betterment or other robo-advisors. Furthermore, Wealthfront also offers tax-saving strategies and socially responsible investing solutions.
SoFi Invest
SoFi Invest offers a broad range of investment tools for new investors, including free management and financial planning advice. It also has low account minimums and commission-free trading. Its automated investing portfolios are managed by certified financial planners and include access to SoFi Money, a high-interest savings account. In addition, SoFi Invest offers Stock Bits fractional investing, which is ideal for beginner investors who want to start with a smaller amount of money.
Investors can trade stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and IPOs on the SoFi app or website. However, its options trading capabilities are limited and its charts are basic. It also lacks in-depth technical analysis tools, which may be a problem for experienced traders.
Stash
Stash offers retirement, brokerage and custodial accounts with a flat monthly fee. It offers a hands-on DIY experience or you can choose to automatically invest with its Smart Portfolio, which is built based on your risk level. In addition to stocks, Stash offers a selection of ETFs and cryptocurrencies. It also provides “Curated Collections” or bundles of investments such as health care and technology.
Stash has a variety of micro-investing options such as round-ups and its Stock-Back debit card, which can boost your savings by investing the spare change from purchases. It also provides educational content that’s geared toward beginner investors. Its app also offers the ability to deposit direct deposits from your bank account.
Invstr
Invstr is a unique investment app that offers a variety of features for beginner investors. It provides access to stocks, ETFs, and American depositary receipts, as well as fractional share investing. The app also has social gamification elements and an educational component called Invstr Academy.
The Invstr academy includes modules, market blogs, and podcasts that can improve your financial literacy. It also offers a virtual $1 million portfolio, which allows users to test the waters without risking their real money.
Moreover, Invstr offers commission-free trading on US stocks and cryptocurrencies. In addition, it offers brokerage accounts in partnership with DriveWealth LLC and a digital bank with FDIC-insured deposits through Vast Bank.
Betterment
Betterment is an online robo-advisor offering low fees and simple personalization of investment portfolios, using exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to diversify users’ investments. Furthermore, Betterment features tax loss harvesting as well as tax impact preview features for added ease in tax filings and analysis. Lastly, Betterment connects retirement, banking and brokerage accounts together so customers can view an overview of their finances all at one time.
Digital planning tools from Finicity take into account your initial deposit and goal timeline before providing odds analysis on meeting them. They also factor risk using Modern Portfolio Theory; all this comes under regulation by top-tier financial authorities like SEC and FINRA.