Investing Platforms: Beginner's Guide To Choosing The Right One

As a beginner investor, choosing the right platform is crucial. Online stock brokers can provide a solid foundation, offering guidance, advice, and investment analysis as your skills and portfolio develop. When selecting a platform, consider factors such as ease of use, account fees, customer service, mobile app availability, and investment selection. Here are some of the best platforms for beginner investors:

- Robinhood: Best for beginner crypto investors due to its user-friendly interface and crypto trading options.

- Webull: Best mobile investing app for beginners with a sleek, intuitive platform and high-interest rates on uninvested cash.

- Charles Schwab: Best trading platform for beginners, offering paper trading, four free trading platforms, and a wide range of investment options.

- J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing: Best for in-person customer support, with a large network of branches providing face-to-face support.

- E-Trade: Best for educational content, featuring a comprehensive library of videos, articles, and webinars for beginner investors.

- Fidelity: Offers an innovative Youth Account for teens, making it a great choice for parents and guardians.

- Plus500: Recognised for its simplicity and user-friendly interface, allowing beginners to quickly grasp the platform and start trading.

Apps with low fees and access to different account types and investment products

When choosing an investment app as a beginner, it is important to consider your needs and preferences. Here are some key factors to keep in mind:

• Low fees: As a beginner, you should look for apps with low fees to minimize your costs while you learn the ropes of investing. This includes account fees, trading fees, and management fees.
• Access to different account types: Look for apps that offer a variety of account types, such as taxable brokerage accounts, retirement accounts (IRAs), and education savings accounts. This will give you flexibility in choosing the type of account that aligns with your financial goals.
• Investment products: Consider the range of investment products available on the app. Some common options include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and options. Choose an app that offers a diverse selection of investment products to explore various investment strategies.
• Educational resources: As a beginner, you may want to opt for apps that provide educational resources, such as guides, tutorials, webinars, and market analysis tools. This can help you improve your investment knowledge and make more informed decisions.
• Fidelity: Fidelity is a well-known investment app that offers a wide range of investment options, including stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and retirement accounts. They provide excellent research and educational tools, making it a great choice for beginners. Fidelity also has a user-friendly mobile app, making it convenient to manage your investments on the go.
• Charles Schwab: Schwab is a reputable brokerage firm that offers versatile trading platforms suitable for beginners and experienced investors. They provide commission-free trading for select stocks and ETFs, along with a rich array of educational resources. Schwab's user-friendly mobile app allows you to manage your investments and access real-time market data anywhere.
• ETRADE: ETRADE is a popular online broker that offers a user-friendly platform and a wide range of investment options. They provide commission-free trading and have a large library of educational resources, making it a great choice for beginners. ETRADE also offers regular market-focused webcasts and webinars to help you stay informed.
• Robinhood: Robinhood is known for its user-friendly interface and commission-free trading. It offers stocks, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrency trading. Robinhood also provides a streamlined mobile app, making it easy for beginners to access the markets and manage their investments on the go.
• Webull: Webull is a mobile-first investment app that stands out for its sleek and intuitive platform. It offers commission-free trading for stocks, options, ETFs, crypto, commodities, and futures. While Webull does not offer mutual funds, it provides a high interest rate on uninvested cash, making it a unique option for beginners.

Platforms with educational resources and tools for beginners

When it comes to choosing a platform for investing as a beginner, it's important to look for one that offers educational resources and tools to help you get started on your investment journey. Here are some platforms that provide informative content, intuitive features, and low fees to support new investors:

• Fidelity Investments: Offers a wide range of educational resources, including in-person workshops, immersive curriculums, articles, videos, and webcasts. They also provide excellent customer service and an intuitive trading platform called thinkorswim, which includes a learning centre.
• TD Ameritrade: Provides an extensive range of educational content, such as the TD Ameritrade Network, webcasts, and immersive courses. They also offer the thinkorswim platform, which has a built-in learning centre and chat rooms for connecting with other beginners and experts.
• E-Trade: Features two mobile apps—E-Trade and Power E-Trade. E-Trade allows for basic trading and easy navigation, while Power E-Trade offers more advanced tools for options and futures trading. E-Trade also provides educational content, including videos, articles, and live education sessions.
• Charles Schwab: Combines competitive fees with educational materials and a user-friendly platform. They offer stock reports, Morningstar reports, news from Reuters, and an ETF screener. Schwab also provides excellent customer support and a mobile app that mirrors the functionality of the desktop platform.
• Ally Invest: Known for its excellent customer service, Ally Invest offers a resource centre with informative and engaging content. It integrates seamlessly with Ally Bank, making it a good choice for those who already bank with Ally.
• SoFi Active Investing: SoFi is a one-stop shop for various financial products, including brokerage and banking services. They offer educational resources to help clients understand the fundamentals and the ability to buy fractional shares.
• Robinhood: Appeals to beginners with its commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies. Robinhood offers an easy-to-use mobile app and has improved its customer support with 24/7 chat and phone assistance.
• Webull: Provides commission-free trades on stocks, ETFs, and options, as well as cryptocurrency trading. Webull offers fractional shares trading and educational content for beginners.
• Betterment: A robo-advisor platform that creates a portfolio based on your risk tolerance and time horizon. Betterment offers low-cost trading, account flexibility, and access to Certified Financial Planners (CFPs).
• Mobile Investment Apps: Stash and Acorns are beginner-friendly apps that allow you to learn and invest in sectors and industries that interest you. These apps provide an easy way to get started with investing and offer educational resources.

User-friendly interfaces

When it comes to choosing a trading platform, beginners should look for an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and allows them to make informed investment decisions without feeling overwhelmed. Here are some key considerations for selecting a platform with a user-friendly interface:

• Simplicity and Ease of Use: Opt for a platform with a clean and straightforward interface that is easy to understand and navigate. Avoid platforms that are overly complex or cluttered with unnecessary features.
• Educational Resources: Look for platforms that offer a comprehensive library of educational content, including guides, tutorials, videos, and webinars. This will help you improve your trading skills and make more informed investment decisions.
• Paper Trading or Demo Accounts: Choose a platform that offers paper trading or demo accounts, which allow you to practice trading without risking real money. This is an excellent way to build your confidence and gain experience in a risk-free environment.
• Risk Management Tools: Select a platform that provides risk management tools such as stop-loss and take-profit orders. These tools will help you manage your trades effectively and minimize potential losses.
• Regulatory Compliance and Security: Ensure that the platform is regulated and compliant with industry standards. This provides legitimacy and ensures the safety of your investments.
• Customer Support: Look for a platform that offers reliable and responsive customer support. As a beginner, you may have questions or need guidance while using the platform, so easy access to customer service is crucial.
• EToro: Renowned for its user-friendly design, eToro allows beginners to navigate the platform and execute trades without feeling overwhelmed. It also offers a "social trading" feature, which lets you learn from experienced traders by mirroring their trades.
• Plus500: Recognized for its simplicity and intuitive interface, Plus500 enables newcomers to quickly grasp the platform and start trading. It offers a demo account for risk-free practice and a diverse range of tradable instruments.
• IG Group: IG Group provides a user-friendly platform with educational resources to aid beginners in their trading journey. They may also offer a demo account for risk-free learning.
• Charles Schwab: Schwab's user-friendly web-based platform, StreetSmart Edge, offers a range of assets with competitive fees. They also provide educational resources and a beginner-friendly mobile app for on-the-go management.
• Fidelity: Fidelity offers an innovative Youth Account for teens, making it an excellent choice for young investors. Their mobile apps are beginner-friendly and offer fractional shares, simplifying portfolio management for new investors.
• ETRADE: ETRADE has an intuitive platform and easy-to-use mobile apps, making it a great choice for beginner traders. They also offer paper trading and note-taking features for practice.
• Robinhood: Known for its simplicity and ease of use, Robinhood is a popular platform for beginners, especially for stock and cryptocurrency trading.

Apps with low minimum deposit requirements

When it comes to investing apps with low minimum deposit requirements, there are several options available. Here are some of the best apps in this category:

• Webull: Webull is a trading app that offers a sleek and intuitive platform, making it a good choice for beginner investors who prefer using their phones for trading. It provides commission-free trading in stocks, options, ETFs, crypto, commodities, and futures. Webull has high app store ratings of 4.7 on the Apple store and 4.3 on Google Play.
• Charles Schwab: Charles Schwab is a well-known investment app that offers a wide range of features, including commission-free trading, five different trading platforms, access to thinkorswim platforms, extensive research offerings, and a large fund selection. Schwab has three mobile apps catering to different user needs, with their main app, Schwab Mobile, designed specifically for beginners.
• Interactive Brokers: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a premier brokerage firm providing access to 150 markets in 33 countries. It offers a comprehensive suite of investment services and adheres to stringent regulations, making it a trusted platform for global traders. IBKR has a low minimum deposit requirement and provides advanced trading platforms and tools.
• Public: Public is an investment app that stands out for its impressive selection of alternative assets and easy-to-use signup and trading interface. It offers commission-free trading, rebates for options trading, a high interest rate on uninvested cash, and an AI-powered feature called Alpha that answers your questions about any stock. Public's app has strong ratings of 4.7 on the Apple store and 4.1 on Google Play.
• SoFi Active Investing: SoFi is a user-friendly investment app that offers commission-free trading in stocks, options, and ETFs. It provides complimentary access to financial planners and a low-interest rate on uninvested cash. SoFi's app is highly rated, with 4.8 stars on the Apple store and 3.9 stars on Google Play.
• J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing: J.P. Morgan offers a clear-cut investment platform ideal for beginners looking to learn the basics of investing. It provides commission-free trading, an easy-to-use platform, and the ability to connect all Chase accounts in one place. However, it may not be suitable for advanced investors as it lacks certain tools and research features. The J.P. Morgan app receives high ratings of 4.8 on the Apple store and 3.9 on Google Play.
• Stash: Stash is a unique investment app that combines automated and DIY investing in one platform. It offers both fractional shares and values-based investment options, with a focus on making investing accessible to beginners. Stash has a rating of 4.7 on the Apple store but a lower score of 3.7 on Google Play.
• Acorns: Acorns is a robo-advisor investment app that stands out for its clean and uncomplicated user interface. It offers a 3% match on IRA contributions and includes educational content, making it a good choice for kids and beginners. Acorns has strong app ratings of 4.7 on both the Apple store and Google Play.

Platforms with a range of tradable assets

When it comes to choosing a platform for investing as a beginner, it's important to consider your needs and preferences. Here are some platforms that offer a range of tradable assets:

EToro

EToro stands out for its user-friendly interface, making it an excellent choice for beginners. Its intuitive design allows newcomers to navigate the platform and execute trades without feeling overwhelmed. One of its key features is "social trading," which lets beginners learn from experienced traders by mirroring their trades. eToro also offers a demo account, enabling beginners to practice trading without risking their money. Additionally, eToro provides a diverse range of tradable assets, including stocks, cryptocurrencies, and commodities.

Plus500

Plus500 is known for its simplicity and user-friendly interface, making it a great choice for beginners. Its straightforward design allows users to quickly grasp and navigate the platform. Plus500 offers a demo account, similar to eToro, allowing beginners to practice trading. It offers a wide range of tradable instruments, including stocks, indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and forex pairs. Please note that Plus500 has a mobile app, and in the US, traders can access the Plus500Futures platform.

IG Group

IG Group offers an extensive array of educational resources, including articles, videos, webinars, and guides, to help beginners learn about trading and refine their skills. Its user-friendly interface makes the learning curve smoother for newcomers. IG Group may also provide a demo account, allowing beginners to practice trading with virtual funds. It offers a diverse range of tradable instruments, including stocks, forex pairs, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab is a well-known US-based brokerage that offers versatile trading platforms suitable for both novice and experienced traders. Their user-friendly web-based platform, StreetSmart Edge, provides access to various assets like stocks, commodities, and currencies. Schwab also has competitive fees and commissions. They support traders with educational resources and offer research tools, customer support, retirement planning resources, educational webinars, and paper trading accounts.

These platforms offer a range of tradable assets, user-friendly interfaces, educational resources, and tools to help beginners get started with their investment journey.

Frequently asked questions