Featured
Public.com / Invest in Stocks and Engage in Community
- Public.com enables you to invest in stocks and funds, commission-free through an easy-to-use mobile interface.
- Community features allow you to follow friends and expert investors, share insights, and interact.
- No account minimums. Buy and sell fractional shares.
Promotion: Get a $10 share of stock for new signups.
Webull Stock Trading / $0 Commission and No Minimum
- Webull is a zero-commission online brokerage to trade stocks, fractional shares, ETFs, and options trading.
- Full-extended hours trading, free real-time quotes, and community forum.
- $0 minimum balance. Invest with as little as $5.
Promotion: Receive 3 FREE stocks. Open an account and make an initial deposit of any amount.
Acorns / Invest Your Spare Change Automatically
- Acorns Invest is a micro-savings app that helps you invest your spare change from everyday purchases through Round-Ups.
- Best for beginners and those seeking an integrated financial app centered on investing.
Acorns Promotion: $5 signup bonus after your first investment.
M1 Finance / Invest Using Unique Pie-based Portfolios
- M1 Finance is a free finance app allowing you to invest, borrow, and spend in one platform.
- $0 account minimum. 100% commission-free trades and no hidden fees.
Promotion: Get up to $500 when you signup and deposit $1000 or more.
Backer / Robo-advisor for 529 Plans – Build, Manage, and Grow Savings
- Backer is a Robo-advisor for your 529 plans helping you manage, monitor, and find low-cost funds for your child’s educational expenses.
- Get started in 5 minutes and discover the best plans and tax savings.
Personal Capital / Wealth Management and Human Advisors
- Personal Capital Wealth Management is a fee-based investment advisory service with access to human advisors.
- Get a free analysis of your investments and speak with an advisor.
Prosper Invest / Peer-to-Peer Loans
- Prosper Invest provides investors direct, low-cost access to high-yield consumer loans from creditworthy borrowers.
- A simple process that begins when a borrower applies for a loan and meets Prosper’s underwriting guidelines such as credit history and employment.
- Invest differently and diversify your investment portfolio beyond traditional stocks, ETFs, and bonds with as little as $25 per Note.
What is investing?
Investing is the act of committing money to an endeavor with the expectation of earning additional income or profit. There are a number of ways you can invest such as stocks, bonds, index funds, mutual funds, real estate, or your own business. There are many pros and cons to investing but depending on your risk tolerance one may be a better fit for you. Learn more about the basics of investing.
Investment Account Types
Probably the two most common types of investment accounts are retirement accounts in the form of either IRAs or variations of the 401k and traditional brokerage accounts. But there are a few others that can be used for specified purposes.
How to Find Best Investing Apps
Your portfolio is basically the total amount of investments you have in one or more investment account. To get started with a portfolio, answer the following three questions:
1. What kind of investment account do you want to open?
2. Where do you plan to open that account?
3. How much risk can you handle?
Each type of investment account, whether it’s a 401k plan, IRA, standard brokerage account, college savings 529 plan, or health savings account (HSA) will have its advantages and disadvantages.
Where you open your investment account matters because different brokerages will require different investment minimums, charge different fees, and allow for different investments in the account.
You also need to know how much risk you can handle because stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and other securities have different risks associated with market movements.
What are Discount Online Brokerages?
A discount online brokerage is often associated with companies like Charles Schwab and Ally Invest. A discount broker is a stockbroker that performs buy and sell orders at a reduced commission rate.
Most discount brokers operate using online platforms and mobile apps without the need to directly engage with a stockbroker.
Recently, most stock trading is now commission-free offered by the likes of Robinhood (who started the trend).
What are Micro-investing Apps?
Micro-investing apps help people accumulate investments in a small incremental way. Some apps allow investors to start with as little as $1 to buy a fraction of shares or ETFs (exchange-traded funds). The goal behind micro-investing is to open the stock market to people who may not have hundreds or thousands of dollars to get started.
What are Robo Advisors?
A robo-advisor is distinct from the other platform as it offers guided advice through an investment philosophy and proprietary algorithms.
A robo-advisor app gives smaller investors access to advisory services that were typically only offered to high net-worth individuals. These platforms offer you the opportunity to invest smaller amounts and pay lower fees compared to traditional investment advisors.