16 Best Investment Apps for Beginners

Published on July 15, 2021 at 9:50 am by Habib Ur Rehman in Lists, News

In this article, we take a look at the 16 best investment apps for beginners. You can skip our detailed analysis of these investment apps and go directly to the 5 Best Investment Apps for Beginners.

Digital investment is fast becoming a side hustle for most people due to lucrative profits it can offer without shifting away a lot of focus from their primary profession. According to a Pew research, 52% of American households with a median income of $40,000 have some sort of investment in the market, mostly in the form of retirement accounts.

Another survey conducted by The College Investor showed that 75% of Americans are familiar with free investment apps and 68% of them hold a positive opinion about them. When asked what features in an investment app are most important to them, most replied that the availability of different investment options in an app is a key factor.

However, while retirement accounts are more popular with older generation as evident from the Pew research discussed above, investment in digital assets other than for the retirement purpose, has been trending particularly with young people due to their better adaptability to the digital world. The College Investor survey showed that among all generations, millennials were most familiar with the investment apps while Gen Z was most familiar with the Robo Advisors.

Digital investments offer lucrative returns. Gains in digital investments like their physical counterparts are also driven by short term, medium term and long term. However, due to the volatility of most of the digital assets, investors tend to skew towards short term investments. As the digital market, like the physical market, is driven by supply and demand, most digital investments are market-sentiment driven that lead to pumping and dumping.

While pumping leads to mass purchasing of the asset, dumping relates to mass selling the same asset. Pumping leads to increase in value of the asset because of demand and dumping leads to a decrease in value when supply exceeds demand. Pumping is investment and dumping happens when people want to cash in on their investment.

This process can be very closely observed in Dogecoin’s value. The coin’s technology is inferior relative to many other coins on the market yet its value can substantially increase based on market sentiment driven by enthusiasts like Elon Musk.

On the other hand, the relatively more stable digital assets’ value is driven by assets’ credibility, market facts and numbers. These assets attract long term investors and while sentiment does play a role, facts and figures are the significant drivers of these investments.

These assets retain stability and usually promise some degree of certainty in investors’ returns. There are many digital assets that people can invest into. These include bonds, stocks, cryptocurrency and funds among others. There are countless apps out there that can help you invest in these assets. These platforms usually integrate brokerage, digital wallets and market research tools all in one. However, some of them can be a bit technical and beginners can find it difficult to handle it.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Our Methodology

For our list of the 16 best investment apps for beginners, we have used a number of variables. Namely, the ease of use, the number of investment assets each app offers and popularity based on ratings and app downloads.

We’d be using our own assessment and reviews from forums like Reddit and Trustpilot to get an idea about the ease of use as well as other features. The number of investment assets available on these platforms will be sourced from their respective websites and for ratings, we’d be using data from the Google Play Store. However, Google Play Store rating will be used as a key metric to give you a statistical outlook on the 16 best investment apps for beginners.

With this context and industry outlook in mind, let’s now discuss the 16 best investment apps for beginners.

Best Investment Apps for Beginners

16. TradeStation Technologies, Owned by Monex Group, Inc. (TYO: 8698.T)

Google Play Store Rating: 4/Downloads: 100,000+

TradeStation is an investment app that is owned and operated by TradeStation group which is owned by Monex Group, Inc. (TYO: 8698.T). Monex Group, Inc. (TYO: 8698.T) is a large investment company based in Tokyo, Japan. Monex Group, Inc. (TYO: 8698.T) is known for several ventures, the two most famous of them being Coincheck, one of the largest crypto exchanges in Japan and the other being the TradeStation.

Monex Group, Inc. (TYO: 8698.T) acquired TradeStation in 2011. TradeStation offers one of the most diverse sets of assets you can invest in. Some of these include stocks, crypto, ETFs, mutual funds and options according to its website.

15. Stockpile

Google Play Store Rating: 4.1/Downloads: 100,000+

Stockpile is another very user-friendly investment app on the market. Their website displays an honor received from Business Insider for being the best app for beginners. The UI on their website is also very simple and doesn’t overwhelm the users with loads of information.

The app lets you trade in stocks and ETFs with no commission whatsoever but that’s it. There aren’t a plenty of options in assets apart from the two mentioned above. Stockpile has very favorable reviews on Trustpilot where it scores a rating of 4.3 and most users have complemented its user-friendliness as well as customer service.

Stockpile does not have a parent company like Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR), Ally Financial Inc (NYSE: ALLY) and Sofi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI)

14. Merrill Edge, Owned by Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC)

Google Play Store Rating: 4.1/Downloads: 100,000+

Merrill Edge is another great and one of the most respected investment apps to make it to the list of 16 best investment apps for beginners. It is owned and operated by Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC). Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) was founded in San Francisco, California. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is a transnational investment bank with Merrill Edge being one of its subsidiaries.

Merrill Edge’s website lists 5 different assets that you can invest in. These include stocks, bonds, ETFs, options and mutual funds. The app offers 3 investment plans. A self directed plan and 2 guided investment plans. User friendliness has been appreciated on forums like Reddit with an overall decent regard for Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) due to the fact that the two guided plans augment users with financial experts that can best optimize their investment.

The self directed plan users on the other hand can utilize a diverse set of research tools on the app that are also easy to use. Self directed plan does not require any minimum investment while the two guided plans require a minimum investment of $1000 and $20,000 respectively. The app has over 100,000 downloads on Google Play.

However, crypto investment is not offered by Merrill Edge, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) unlike Sofi Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: SOFI), Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN).

13. Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN)

Google Play Store Rating: 4.3/Downloads: 10,000,000+

Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) is another cryptocurrency exchange platform on our list. It is also one of the oldest. Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) has been praised for its reliability as an exchange and security as a digital wallet on various review platforms.

However, cryptocurrency is the only asset Coinbase has to offer unlike other apps on our list including The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR), Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) and Sofi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI)

12. Binance

Google Play Store Rating: 4.3/Downloads: 10,000,000+

Binance is the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the market. Binance lists over 500 coins in its exchange and is rapidly adding more and more coins. Binance comes in two versions: namely, the lite version and the pro version. The lite version is more suited to beginners in cryptocurrency exchanges while the pro version is more suited for advanced users.

On forums like Reddit, the availability of so many coins has been regarded as the best point in favor of Binance. On the other hand, it has been criticized for its Know Your Customer (KYC) approach and many users complained that Binance often rejects their valid documents as invalid for account verification.

Binance is not publicly traded nor owned by a publicly traded company and a huge drawback is that cryptocurrency is the only asset it has to offer for investment unlike some other apps on our list like Merrill Edge, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Sofi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI), Charles Schwab Corporation Common Stock (NYSE: SCHW) and Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY). This is why it gets the 12th spot on the list.

11. The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.2/Downloads:10,000,00+

Charles Schwab is another big name in the investment industry to make it in the list of 16 best investment apps for beginners. It is owned and operated by The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW). What’s unique about Charles Schwab is that this app offers a lot of assets that clients can invest in. These include stocks, bonds, annuities, futures, options, mutual funds, socially responsible investments, money market funds, fixed income products, margin lending, global investing, CDs and many more.

Charles Schwab is also beginner friendly and offers investment programs that cater to beginners as well. For instance, you can get a managed plan where your portfolio is managed by the company along with professional financial advice on investment by financial experts.

If you are completely new to the game, you can also get the advanced plan where you get a dedicated financial advisor. An example of financial advice on investment would have been to invest in stocks of E-commerce giants like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Etsy Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: APRN) during lock-downs when people found it difficult to shop from physical stores and switched to online buying which led to huge surge in E-commerce industry’s value.

10. TD Ameritrade, owned by The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.2/ Downloads:10,000,00+

TD Ameritrade is another investment app that is greatly known for its diverse set of assets that clients can invest into. TD Ameritrade’s investment products include Stocks, bonds, options, ETFs, futures, forex, crypto, annuities, IPOs, collateral lending programs among others.

TD Ameritrade is an easy to use platform for beginners and a lot of users on Reddit seem to agree. On top of that, the app offers live human in app chat 24/7 to assist clients who are new to the investment world. The app also offers sophisticated tools for market analysis and research. On the other hand, advice based and managed portfolio service is also available on Td Ameritrade.

Td Ameritrade is owned by the Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW). Many apps on our lists are owned by publicly traded parent companies like the Monex Group, Inc. (TYO: 8698.T), The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR) and Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY).

9. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.3/Downloads:10,00,000+

Interactive Brokers is one of the giants in the investment services business. The investment service is owned and operated by Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR). Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR) was founded in 1977. It is a foreign exchange company with a well established reputation. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc (NASDAQ: IBKR) allows trade in stocks, bonds, forex, options, futures and funds.

Interactive Brokers is also extremely easy to use. You can open an account with just $100 and start investing. The company offers self handles as well as managed investments. If you opt for the former, there are research tools for you to analyze the market dynamics. If on the other hand you opt for a managed portfolio, Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR) manages and grows these portfolios with the help of financial experts from the company.

Younger Americans have the highest share of investors in apps like Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR), SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY).

8. Ally Invest, Owned by Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.7/Downloads: 10,000,00+

Ally Invest is a premier investment platform. It is owned by Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY). Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a major financial company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Ally Invest offers both self directed trading and managed portfolios. The app is suitable for all levels of investors but especially the beginners due to the facility of automated trading.

Ally Invest offers a number of assets which you can invest in. These include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, margin account, options and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The good thing about this app is that there is no commission on stocks and ETFs according to their website. The sentiment on ease of use for the app is positive on Reddit but a significant number of reviews weren’t very generous to the overall performance from Ally Invest.

As retail investors begin to use internet platforms and apps like Reddit to engage in stocks, companies like Fidelity, Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR), SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) are seeing a huge demand for their apps and trading platforms.

7. SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI)

Google Play Store Rating: 4.4/Downloads: 10,00,000+

Another great app to make it in the list of 16 best investment apps for beginners is SoFi. Short for Social Finance, SoFi is an investment service by SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI). Sofi Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: SOFI) is an American finance company that offers various services including mortgages, banking and investment to name a few.

SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI) was founded in 2011 and despite its young age, it has grown exponentially over the years. The investment side of Sofi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI) offers various assets for clients to invest in. These include ETFs, IPO stocks, fractional shares and crypto according to their website. With the facility of automated investment, the app makes it really easy for beginners to get started.

SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI) is a direct competitor to Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR), The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and Monex Group, Inc. (TYO: 8698.T)

6. Fidelity

Google Play Store Rating: 4.5/Downloads:10,00,000+

Fidelity is a very prestigious investment app with a history that goes as far back as 1946. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts. The app offers a huge variety of assets to its clients for investment including stocks, bonds, ETFs, options, sector investment and more.

In terms of beginner friendliness, Brokerage Review recommends Fidelity most highly. The user reviews for Fidelity are also overwhelmingly positive especially on Reddit, with many recommending it over various other investment apps.

As individual investors in the US begin to use internet platforms and apps to invest in stocks, companies like Fidelity, Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: IBKR), SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) are seeing a huge demand for their apps and trading platforms.

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