In the early 90s, a single trade made one man a billion US dollars! George Soros anticipated a price drop for the British Pound, shorting the currency to make the largest profit on one transaction ever. He obviously had a lot of capital and experience to work with at the time, luxuries most people didn’t have access to until now.
New financial technology allows anyone to learn how to invest in a risk-free way! Many rising stars in the investing world got started by trading with demo accounts on their trading apps. If you want to build investment experience, check out these seven trading apps that will help you get started.
Stash is one of the best beginner trading apps for beginners, as it combines low fees and a customizable portfolio with interactive educational techniques. Stash comes with games and activities built-in, each of which helps the user grasp a certain aspect of the financial market. The app’s user can also set their own investment goals and preferences and the app will help teach and invest accordingly.
Stash also offers a wide range of different investment types at good rates. You can invest in stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for a minimum of $5. Service fees range from $1 and $9, and you don’t get penalized for being inactive.
If you love memes you’ll remember when a group of Redditors used Robinhood to short Gamestop stock last year. Just like its namesake, it seeks to even the playing field between professional hedge fund managers and everyday folk. It also boasts a user-friendly UI with easy-to-read metrics, perfect for beginners.
Robinhood comes with an integrated newsfeed and information feature. This displays stories from business news and other financial articles so that users can make decisions about their investments in real-time. Learning how real-world events affect your assets is an important part of investing and Robinhood understands that.
With Robinhood you’ll be able to invest in and trade stocks, ETFs, crypto, and other securities. Users are also free from commission and inactivity fees.
Invstr is a unique trading app that combines the fun of educational games with a community. Users start off with demo money and a certain number of trades per day. Making good trades gets you a higher rank and the top ten can win real prizes!
If you want, you can also play in a private league with friends, learn from the community’s comments, and share your knowledge by commenting.
Real investing starts with a minimum investment of $1. You don’t need to be flush with cash to participate in the markets, and you can still spend more time mastering the markets with your demo account.
Acorns is a wonderful app for people who want to use investments for savings purposes. It comes in three tiers: lite, personal, and family. Each successive tier costs an extra dollar or two every month.
With Acorns, you can start saving for your future in the best possible way. It has account types for adults and for kids, and there are no investment minimums. You can invest in ETFs and fractional shares in stocks.
If you already have an IRA or 401k you can also roll it over into an Acorns account. You can also finance your account by integrating it with a debit or credit card.
Just remember that going into debt for the sake of investing is very risky. If your trades go bad you could end up owing the bank a lot more money than you anticipated.
The reason why saving with investments and other assets is superior to a medium or even long-term savings account is the interest you receive is better. Paying off debt quicker relieves financial strain in the same compounding way as these assets accrue value over time.
If you’re in debt you should consider consolidation before you start putting a lot of money into stocks and other funds.
If you’ve done your research and want to start with corporate stocks and bonds, then you need Ally. This trading platform displays market fluctuations in real-time and gives users the freedom to trade at any time or place.
With Ally, you have access to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs. The app doesn’t require any supporting apps for you to access the markets as some other apps do, and there’s no minimum investment requirement either. The only additional fees you may run into will depend on the investment type itself.
Ally also has chat, phone, and email support if you need some additional help.
If you want your portfolio to reflect your social values then you should consider Ellevest. Its stakeholder approach to capitalism has become a popular idea in recent years. This is where corporations and shareholders consider the business’ social impact and balance it with its profit-driven agenda.
With Ellevest you can put your money behind sustainable businesses, female-headed companies, and community focussed enterprises.
Betterment is the service that combines many of the features of other platforms on this list into one package. This app allows you to invest money, set your parameters (preferred risk level and goals), and then professional managers do the rest. It also allows you to make social-conscious investment decisions and has a free cash management account.
Betterment’s fee structure is also quite unique. They charge a commission fee of 0.25% to 0.4% of your assets once a year. The only drawback is that you would have to invest $100,000 to get the premium service but everyone qualifies for the standard digital service.
If you’ve been wondering how to learn about investing without going and getting a degree, it’s been made incredibly simply by technology. Learn how to invest in stocks, ETFs, bonds, and more by choosing the app that best fits your needs to get started.
Your wealth will grow with your experience over time. Investing is incredibly rewarding and getting started now is virtually risk free.
If you liked our comparison of these beginner trading apps, check out some of our other categories. If you’re looking for life insurance, visit our site to see which provider offers the best deal.
