Betterment is another robo-advisor that makes it easy to set it and forget it with your investments. The company uses cutting-edge technology guided by the help of financial advisors in order to help secure the maximum return based on your risk tolerance, investment timeline, and other factors. Margin rates are the cost brokers charge to investors with margin accounts — a type of account that lets you borrow money from the brokerage to buy shares. Fidelity doesn’t charge account fees or require a minimum deposit for opening any of its brokerage accounts.
The Betterment mobile app helps investors create tax-friendly stock portfolios. The app’s robo-advisor helps users make investment decisions that reduce their losses and tax liability. With Betterment, users can invest in stocks, bonds, ETFs and even establish a cash management account. A special user survey helps Betterment users create tailored portfolios, and the app provides phone support from certified financial planners. Another great investment app for beginners, Invstr features a popular fantasy stock game where users can “invest” as much as $1 million in fake cash as they learn about investing and vie for real cash prizes.
Our Other Trading Apps Favorites:
Public’s mobile analysis tools include Morningstar research reports, earnings estimates, in-app earnings calls, analyst ratings and price targets, financial fundamentals and more. Its themed investing makes it easy to identify potential investment opportunities, while its social trading feature lets you interact with other Public traders and see which stocks are popular among the Public community. Public is among the only stock apps we review that offer access to a growing list of alternative assets, along with treasuries, making it a well-rounded app for traders and investors. There are plenty of complex stock trading apps out there that can help hardened investors make decisions about their trades based on the market’s latest fluctuations, but that’s not what SoFi Invest is for.
SoFi Invest offers taxable accounts, retirement accounts, and a more limited set of investment choices. SoFi also offers a no-fee automated investing platform, and it lets you invest in fractional shares through a product it calls Stock Bits. Beginners will enjoy browsing through groups of stocks by category to get ideas for how to invest. The app also includes educational articles accessible from stock account pages. Are you a beginner investor hoping to quickly join the leagues of active traders? The Stash mobile app combines educational topics with games to make gaining financial literacy fun and easy.
Best Stock Apps
No app we reviewed scored as highly across the board as Fidelity’s relatively new product, Spire. Designed for inexperienced traders, Spire combines savings graphics and nudges with the ability to buy and sell stocks. After analyzing hundreds of data points and conducting rigorous app trials, Forbes Advisor has determined the best investment apps for a wide range of investors. Robo-advisors, like Acorns, build and manage portfolios for you so you don’t have to choose any investments yourself.
There’s no minimum amount required to open an account and no advisory fees, trading fees or rebalancing fees for account balances under $25,000. Nathan Alderman has worked with The Motley Fool since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool’s premium newsletter services. As The Ascent’s Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site’s information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and trading user interface development keeps various financial partners happy. Matt is a Certified Financial Planner® and investment advisor based in Columbia, South Carolina. He writes personal finance and investment advice for The Ascent and its parent company The Motley Fool, with more than 4,500 published articles and a 2017 SABEW Best in Business award. Matt writes a weekly investment column (“Ask a Fool”) that is syndicated in USA Today, and his work has been regularly featured on CNBC, Fox Business, MSN Money, and many other major outlets.
Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite
These apps are usually free and serve as an addition to the main platform offered by brokers. The best trading platform will depend on your investing experience and preferences. You should consider factors such as account fees, investment selection, the broker’s background, security and customer support. Because most platforms offer different trading experiences, it may be worthwhile trying out multiple platforms before making a decision. In addition, some of these apps offer automated investing or robo-advisory services, which essentially create and maintain an investment portfolio for you.
- J.P. Morgan’s mobile app offers a way to begin investing and managing your portfolio.
- Easy to Borrow (ETB) lists are regularly updated by brokerage firms and made up of highly liquid stocks that can be sold short immediately.
- The options strategy lab lets you submit multileg options orders and compare up to five options strategies at one time.
- SoFi Invest is the best stock trading app for beginners, because it has an easy-to-use interface and educational materials about stocks.
Most online brokerages and trading apps offer stocks as an investment option. Depending on your level of expertise, personal preferences, and investment goals, the best trading apps for stocks can vary. Some of the best stock trading apps for beginners include Robinhood, SoFi, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab. A popular investment platform, the Thinkorswim mobile app from TD Ameritrade features an elaborate and customizable interface as well as plenty of research and analytics. The app offers mobile, desktop and web-based versions so it truly can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.
Users can customize their financial goals, and the app provides visual suggestions for building a stronger portfolio. Stash users have the option to invest in both stocks and ETFs, helping them to establish a productive trading profile. Forbes Advisor evaluated a broad selection of platforms in order to help you choose the best online brokers for day trading. Our side-by-side tests placed the greatest importance on low commissions and fees, best-in-class platform and technology and highly responsive customer service to find the best trading platforms available. The app also offers short selling on 8,000 stocks, including market sentiment graphing that helps you spot short opportunities.
It’s IBKR Pro tiered pricing plan offers better rates for direct access trading than other leading trading platforms for professionals. We also noted lower commissions for futures trading, and the lowest margin rates among the platforms we surveyed. Interactive Brokersearned the top spot in our listing thanks to its powerful Trader Workstation platform, easy access to a vast selection of global markets and rock-bottom trading commissions. These features and more make Interactive Brokers the preferred trading platform for professionals at hedge funds and investment firms. Check out the options the broker offers for funding your brokerage account. While most trading platforms let you fund your account by linking a checking or savings account, there are a few that allow you to use alternate methods, such as a debit or credit card and digital wallets.
