With an investment app, you no longer need to pick up your phone and call your stockbroker to make a trade. All you have to do is to push a few buttons on your mobile device and you can grow your investment portfolio to large sums.
When compared with relying on stockbrokers to make trades, you’ll save a lot by choosing to invest with investment apps. Stockbrokers usually request for steep commissions to make trades. Investment apps, on the other hand, could do it for you free or at a relatively low cost.
Whether you’re new to investing or an experienced investor, these investment apps will surely get you on track, handle financial tasks, manage your investment portfolio and track your spending.
1. Bettement
Betterment is the largest independent online financial advisor in the U.S. As of 2019, the investment company has over $16.4 billion in assets under management which makes it one of the most attractive online investment companies in the U.S.
Betterment investment app provides you professionally managed portfolios under a selection of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The ETFs in your portfolio is based on your investment goals and risk tolerance. The more risk you can tolerate the higher the returns that will be added to your portfolio.
You can also select from three other portfolio options based on your investing goals.
- Betterment SRI (social responsible portfolio strategy)
- Goldman Sachs Smart Beta (factor-based portfolio strategy)
- BlackRock Target Income Portfolios (offers five different bond portfolios based on cash income)
Betterment allows you to sit back and relax while the pros do all the hardwork for you for an affordable fee. The app charges you a management fee of 0.25% per year of your investment to pay the traditional financial advisor that will handle your investment portfolio. This means you’ll pay $25 per year for every $10,000 you invest.
Also, Betterment offers a premium plan for investors who want more in-depth advice on higher balances. This plan is billed at 0.40% per year on your balance.
Compared to what other investment apps are offering, this is pretty decent.
2. Acorns
Acorns is one of the best investment apps for new and experienced investors looking to save for retirement. When you sign up, the app immediately recommends an IRA that is adjusted to your investment goals. This makes it easier for you to get the desired results.
With this app, you can invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The app diversifies your investment to help smoothen out any bumps due to market fluctuations. Your investment is diversified over 7,000 stocks and bonds which consist of real estate stock, small company stocks, large-company stocks, government bonds, and corporate bonds.
Acorns is the best app for you if you’re looking for a platform that can make automatic, profitable investments without the need for supervision. Everything in this app is automatic and based on a proven strategy that will keep your investments on track.
When it comes to fees, Acorns remains one of the best investment apps to go for. It offers three pricing plans that are billed at $1, $2, and $3 per month. The app changes its pricing services when your investments reach over $1 million.
While all its plans are should keep your investments in order, you should always consider going for plans that will make smarter investments and earn you more money.
3. Stockpile
On Stockpile, you get to trade more than 1,500 stocks, ETFs, and ADRs with a basic trading fee of only $0.99 (we add “only” because it is about the lowest trading fee available in the brokerage industry).
Stockpile offer two services; the brokerage service and the stock gift card service. With the app, you can invest in their stock options and gift stocks to your family and friends through a gift card that is redeemable for stock.
Another reason why stockpile is one of the best investment apps is that it offers investors with a limited budget a chance to invest in a stock. If you’re an investor seeking to buy an expensive tech stock, Stockpile allows you to buy a half or a third of it if you won’t be able to afford the entire stock.
4. Stash
Stash is another investment app to consider if other options fail to meet your expectations. Just like other apps, Stash allows you to invest in stocks and low-cost ETFs as provided by the company. Stash offer s you a chance to invest in companies with the largest and most profitable stocks. You also get stock market advice and analysis that will help you make smarter investments.
With Stash, you can invest as little as $5 on any of the investment options provided to you.
What’s more, Stash charges one of the most affordable fees you will ever get in the brokerage industry. As a new user, you will get a 30-day free trial period to try out all the features of the app. After that, you’ll be required to pay $1 per month.
Once your account gets to $5,000, Stash charges you 0.25% per year of your balance per year.
5. M1 Finance
M1 Finance is quite different from the investment apps we’ve listed above. While other apps provide you with pre-selected portfolios based on your investment goals, M1 allows you to choose from any stock or ETF of your choice.
You can also opt for automated investing which takes the hardwork off your hands. To build your custom portfolio, you will be provided with more than 80 expert portfolios, and 6,000 stocks and funds. You can choose as many as like based on your investment goals.
M1 also allows you to borrow up to 35% of your portfolio and payback on a flexible schedule. The main downside of this app is that you get only1 trading window daily.
M1 allows you to trade, create your portfolio, and apply for loans without charging you a dime. But if you want additional features like 1% cashback, 1.50% checking APY, and 2 daily trading windows, you will have to opt for its premium plan, M1 Plus. At $100/year, you get all the premium features including better trading options.
6. Personal Capital
Personal Capital is an investment app that provides you with the necessary strategies needed to reach your investment goals. The service offers financial planning tools and a financial advisory team to investors seeking to make huge profits on their investments.
Presently, Personal Capital has more than $10 billion in assets under management with over 21,000 investment clients in the United States. This speaks volumes of how effective the app is in helping investors make a profit.
Depending on the plan you opt for, the app offers you financial advisors, access to specialists and investment committee, wealth planning, portfolio monitoring, and rebalancing, and portfolio customization.
You get to trade in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), individual stocks, and individual bonds and private equity investments.
Personal Capital offers more features to investors who have more than 1M in investment assets. Still, you should be able to get actionable strategies that will help you meet your investment goals if you have less than that amount.
7. Wealth Simple
With Wealth Simple, you get expert financial advisors to help you meet your goals, zero-maintenance portfolios, and low management fees that will help you save on investments but earn huge returns.
Wealth Simple offer three risk levels; Conservative, Balanced and Growth. The Growth level is for investors who are more willing to risk it big in their investments. At this risk level, you’ll earn better returns than an investor that plays things safe.
With $5 billion in assets under management and positive ratings from top financial websites as one of the best Robo-Advisors in the U.S, Wealth Simple might be what you need to hit it big.
Wealth Simple offers three pricing plans: Basic, Black, and Generation. Each plan is tailored to meet the needs of every investor and they offer just about the right features that should make investing easier. With its Basic plan, you’ll be charged a management fee of 0.5% and provided with access to expert financial advice and a personalized portfolio.
Its Black plan offers better features like tax efficient funds, financial planning sessions, and a reduced 0.4% management fee.
Things get even better with its Generation pricing plan. You get in-depth financial planning, personalized financial reports, 50% off Medcan health plan, and individualized portfolios.
These plans are all based on how much you are able to deposit as your first investment.
8. Ally Invest
Ally Invest is the right investment app for seasoned professionals who want to make more off their investments. However, Ally Invest charges your commissions based on your trades. Ally Invest offers various plans based on your investment goals.
You get either choose self-directed trading where you handle all the investment on your own or take up a robo-advisor that will manage your investment portfolio and help; you attain your investment objectives.
If you choose to go for the self-direct trading option, you will be provided with a wide selection of stocks and ETFs to choose from. You also get fees attached to every stock you buy. For example, if you pay $4.95 on a certain option, Ally Invest will charge you 65 cents on that trade.
Fortunately, new users get 90 days of commission-free trades and 500+ commission-free ETFs.
If you allow Ally Invest to manage your investment portfolio and make all the investment decisions for you based on your investment goals, you’ll get better features that exclude advisory fees, annual charges and rebalancing fees. Ally Invest will help you build a professional portfolio based on your financial target, risk tolerance, and timezone.
9. TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is a top investment service that allows you to invest in a wide selection of resources. They have many plans that suit all investors; whether new or experienced.
TD Ameritrade allows you to invest in stocks, options ETFs, Bonds, and CDs, Mutual Funds, Futures, Annuities, and Forex. The service will also handle your investment portfolio and provide you with the best investment options based on your financial needs.
Like all other apps, TD Ameritrade Mobile Trading allows you to trade right from your phone. You get to view real-time quotes, monitor your account, explore integrated charts with indicators, access watch lists, and set up price alerts all with the click of a button.
If you own an iPhone, you can sync with your Apple Watch, and get detailed stock quotes, track the market and customized your watch lists anywhere, anytime.
TD Ameritrade doesn’t require you to have a minimum in your account or charge platform fees. Also, you don’t it doesn’t have any trade minimums, however, you’ll be charged $6.95 per online equity trade. The charge increases to $34.99 if you’re using an interactive voice response (IVR) phone system, and to $49.99 if you want the assistance of a broker.
10. Clink
Clink is a saving and investing app that lets you make the best out of your investment. With the app, you can easily save and invest a portion of your money into a diversified investment portfolio and get huge returns. Just like most investing apps, Clink allows you to invest in stocks and ETFs. The app uses an algorithm to select a low-risk portfolio that will provide you with huge returns.
Depending on your investment goals you could opt for high-risk investment opportunities and make more money.
Clink charges you $1 a month for account maintenance. When your account gets to $5,000, you’ll be charged $0.25% per year of your total balance.
Wrapping Up
Most of these investment apps have similar features and charges, however, not all of them will be suitable for all investors. You can keep trying the free versions or use up the free trial period of these apps until you find the one that will help you meet your investment objectives.
If you hope to make better investments and reach your investment goals faster, then you’ll need some expert advice. Whether you are a beginner or pro-investor, you can get expert advice from Investment books and stock trading books written by top investors.
