Investors' Favorite Apps: What Tools Do They Swear By?

Investment apps are a great way for beginner investors to start learning how to invest. They are also a useful tool for experienced investors to manage their portfolio and keep track of its performance.

Some of the best investment apps for beginners include Fidelity, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, Betterment, and Acorns. These apps offer low or no fees, a wide range of investment options, and educational resources to help new investors learn the basics of investing.

For more experienced investors, apps like IG, Xtb, and Hargreaves Lansdown offer more advanced features, such as derivatives and foreign exchange trading, and the ability to trade on a wider range of investment options.

When choosing an investment app, it's important to consider your investment goals, risk tolerance, and the amount of money you want to invest. It's also crucial to understand the potential risks and fees associated with investing through these apps.

Apps for beginners

Investing apps are a great way to manage your money and grow your wealth. Here are some of the best apps for beginners:

Fidelity:

Fidelity is one of the best-known stock trading apps, offering a wide range of services, including stock and options trading, as well as cryptocurrencies. While it may not have the most user-friendly interface, it is a trusted broker that has been around for a long time and offers excellent customer service. It also has charting features for those interested in technical analysis.

Robinhood:

Robinhood is a popular app for its smooth interface and commission-free trading. It offers trading in stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency. The app is simple to navigate, making it easy to trade on the market. It also has a feed that aggregates stories from news and investing sites to keep you informed.

Charles Schwab:

Charles Schwab is a great app for beginners as it provides tons of educational resources and research materials. It offers commission-free stock, ETF, and mutual fund trades, as well as fractional shares. It also has responsive customer service to answer your questions.

SoFi Invest:

SoFi Invest offers a self-directed investing account and a robo-advisor option. It helps investors develop a strategy based on their financial goals and risk tolerance. It also offers additional features such as tracking credit scores, finding loan rates, and consultation with a financial planner.

Acorns:

Acorns is perfect for those who want to save and invest effortlessly. It allows users to round up their spare change from purchases and invest the difference in various ETF portfolios. It also offers IRA accounts and a metal debit card.

Invstr:

Invstr is a unique app that combines a fantasy stock game with access to investors' thoughts and news. It offers commission-free trading with a $5 minimum investment. It's a great way for beginners to learn about the market and try out different strategies.

Betterment:

Betterment is a robo-advisor that provides professionally managed portfolios calibrated to your risk tolerance. It offers socially responsible portfolios and has a low management fee compared to traditional financial advisors.

Ellevest:

Ellevest is a robo-advisor focused on socially responsible investing, particularly targeting women investors. It creates investment portfolios that incorporate environmental, social, and governance practices. It offers ETFs and mutual funds, making it easy for beginners to get started.

These apps offer a range of features, from educational resources to commission-free trading, making them excellent choices for beginners to start their investment journey.

Apps for experienced investors

There are many investment apps available for experienced investors, each with its own unique features and benefits. Here are some of the top apps to consider:

• TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim app: This app is highly regarded by advanced and DIY traders due to its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features. It offers real-time market data, charts, quick trade execution, and advanced charting functions. thinkorswim also provides access to sophisticated investments like forex and allows users to monitor market news and utilise educational resources.
• Interactive Brokers' IBKR Lite app: The IBKR mobile app offers advanced trading shortcuts, over 400 data columns, option exercise and spread templates, news, research, charting, and scanners. It earns high ratings on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
• Public app: Public is a trading app that caters to new investors by combining educational content, a social feed, and the ability to trade stocks, ETFs, options, Treasury bills, and cryptocurrency. It offers no-commission trades on stocks, ETFs, and options, along with a competitive rate on its high-yield cash account. Public does not accept payment for order flow, prioritising users' interests.
• Fidelity app: The Fidelity app is suitable for both beginners and advanced traders, offering real-time quotes, multi-leg options trading, consolidated research offerings, and a notebook feature. It provides strong customer service and a wide range of investment options, including expense-ratio-free index funds. The app has high ratings on both Apple and Google Play stores.
• Charles Schwab app: Schwab's app is user-friendly and provides valuable resources for beginners, including educational content and responsive customer support. It offers commission-free stock and ETF trades, fractional shares, and a large selection of mutual funds.
• Webull app: Webull offers a user-friendly interface with advanced features for active traders, such as charts, indicators, price alerts, and voice command functionality. It provides commission-free stock, options, and ETF trades, along with a high-interest rate on uninvested cash. However, a separate app is required for crypto trading.
• Invstr app: Invstr blends learning, real-life investing, and community engagement. It offers a fantasy stock game, access to investors' insights, and the ability to trade stocks, crypto, and ETFs commission-free. The app provides a social network and news feed to source investment ideas, and top performers in the game win real cash prizes.
• Nutmeg app: Nutmeg is a robo-advice platform that takes the complexity out of investing. It helps determine your risk appetite and financial goals, creating a diversified, ready-made portfolio that can be easily managed via the app. Nutmeg's simplicity has earned it high ratings on Apple and Google Play stores.
• IG app: IG is suitable for experienced investors who trade frequently throughout the day. It offers zero commission on US shares with a minimum of three trades per month, making it a cost-effective option. While there is a foreign exchange fee, IG can still save you money if you trade regularly.

Apps for average investors

There are many investment apps available, each with its own unique features and benefits. Here is a list of some of the best investment apps for average investors:

• Fidelity Investments: This app offers a wide range of features, including investment accounts, checking accounts, IRAs, business retirement accounts, bill-paying, savings accounts, and even credit card accounts. It provides solid research on ETFs and mutual funds, as well as articles on budgeting, investing, and personal finance. Fidelity also offers responsive customer service and has no account minimum.
• Charles Schwab: This app is great for beginners as it provides tons of research and educational resources. It offers commission-free stock, ETF, and mutual fund trades, as well as fractional shares. Schwab also has more than 4,000 no-transaction-fee funds, making it a great choice for mutual fund investors.
• Robinhood: This app is best for those who want a smooth interface and no trading commissions. It allows users to trade stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency for free. The app is easy to navigate, and users can access stock pages, charts, and vital statistics with just a few taps.
• Wealthfront: This is a robo-advisor app that manages your money for a small fee. It offers hundreds of ETFs to construct your portfolio and takes into account your risk tolerance and investment goals. Wealthfront also provides a cash management account and early access to direct-deposited paychecks.
• Acorns: Acorns is a popular savings app that is easy to use. It rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the difference into ETF portfolios. Acorns offer different service tiers, including an individual retirement account (IRA), a metal debit card, and an FDIC-protected checking account.
• Betterment: This is another robo-advisor app that provides professionally managed portfolios using ETFs. It can create socially responsible portfolios focusing on climate change or social impact. Betterment has no account minimum and charges a low management fee.

Apps for saving

Saving and investing apps are often marketed as an easy way to get started with investing and saving. They can be a great way to manage your portfolio and keep track of your performance.

Acorns

Acorns is one of the most popular savings apps due to its ease of use. Once you've set it up, you don't need to pay much attention to it. Acorns offers a robo-advisor, IRAs, and a checking account. The app rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the difference into ETFs. You can also set up recurring transfers from your bank account to your Acorns investment account. The app is available for iOS and Android and has a rating of 4.7/5 stars on the Apple App Store and 4.3/5 stars on Google Play.

Betterment

Betterment is one of the largest and most popular robo-advisors. The app provides professionally managed portfolios using a selection of ETFs that are calibrated based on your risk tolerance and when you need the money. Betterment can also create socially responsible portfolios focusing on climate change or social impact. The app is available for iOS and Android.

Wealthfront

Wealthfront is one of the largest independent robo-advisors. For a small fee, it can manage your money in a taxable account or an IRA. Wealthfront offers hundreds of ETFs to construct your portfolio and takes into account your risk tolerance and investment goals. The app is available for iOS and Android and has a rating of 4.7/5 stars on the Apple App Store and 4.3/5 stars on Google Play.

Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments offers a wide range of financial products, including investment accounts, checking accounts, IRAs, business retirement accounts, savings accounts, and more. The Fidelity mobile app is easy to navigate and provides educational materials to help users make informed investment decisions. The app is available for iOS and Android and has a rating of 4.8/5 stars on the Apple App Store and 4.5/5 stars on Google Play.

Robinhood

Robinhood was the first investing app to offer commission-free trading on stocks, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. The app provides users with free rein to build their own portfolios, so it is a good choice for active stock traders who have done their research. Robinhood also offers IPO and fractional shares. The app is available for iOS and Android and has a rating of 4.1/5 stars on the Apple App Store and 3.8/5 stars on Google Play.

Webull

Webull offers commission-free trading on stocks, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies, similar to Robinhood. The app also provides access to IRAs (traditional, Roth, and rollover) so users can manage their retirement funds and stocks in one place. Webull offers extended trading hours before and after the market closes. The app is available for iOS and Android and has a rating of 4.7/5 stars on the Apple App Store and 4.4/5 stars on Google Play.

Apps for portfolio management

There are many apps available to help investors manage their portfolios. Here is a selection of some of the best apps for portfolio management:

Empower (formerly Personal Capital)

This app has over 3 million users and offers a range of free tools, including a Personal Dashboard, Investment Checkup, Net Worth Calculator, and Retirement Calculator. It allows users to add all their financial accounts in one place, including credit cards, savings, investments, and retirement accounts. Empower also provides insights and recommendations to help users better suit their investment needs. The app is available on iOS and Android.

SigFig Wealth Management

SigFig offers a free portfolio tracker and a fee-based version that allows investors to create a personalized plan. The free version automatically pulls investment data and provides a real-time view of stocks, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds. It can connect with over 50 brokerages and offers reporting and alerting features. The fee-based version charges 0.25% per year, but the first $10,000 is managed for free.

Sharesight

Sharesight is a portfolio tracker that can monitor the performance of investments using data from 60 stock exchanges. It can automatically track the price and performance of stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, cryptocurrencies, real estate, private equity, and fixed-income investments. Sharesight offers a free version for up to 10 holdings and a fee-based service with additional reporting features. It is available on iOS and Android.

Yahoo Finance

The Yahoo Finance app offers an easy-to-use design, allowing users to track stocks, commodities, bonds, and currencies. It provides real-time stock and investment information, personalized alerts, multiple watchlists, and full-screen interactive charting. Users can also access business news, market movements, and notifications for news, earnings reports, and financial information.

Morningstar Investor

Morningstar Investor is a platform that offers investment research resources and portfolio management tools. It allows users to link savings, checking, investment, and other accounts to keep track of their finances and investments. It includes the Morningstar X-Ray tool, which evaluates a portfolio's asset allocation, sector concentration, geographic holdings, and equity styles. Morningstar Investor offers a free seven-day trial.

Quicken Classic Premier

Quicken Classic Premier is a well-known portfolio management software that allows users to connect investments, banking, loans, retirement accounts, assets, and private holdings in one dashboard. It provides analysis tools, such as Morningstar Portfolio X-Ray and investing activity reports, and offers customization options for views and reports. Quicken also has features for budgeting, bill management, and tax reporting.

Stock Rover

Stock Rover is a web-based portfolio tracking app that offers stock screeners, stock comparison tools, earnings calendars, advanced charting, and analyst ratings. It includes a Brokerage Connect feature to sync portfolios from multiple brokerages and provides detailed portfolio analysis and alerting capabilities. Stock Rover has a free version and premium plans with additional features.

Ziggma

Ziggma is a portfolio tracking app that provides insights into portfolio quality, risk management, and investment income. It offers an Aggregate Portfolio view to see all holdings in one place and a Portfolio Simulator to visualize the impact of trades. Ziggma has a free version and a premium plan with additional features such as Model Portfolios and Top 50 Stock Lists.

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