Beginning to invest is hard enough. You need to know where to start, what to invest in, and how much to put in. As a beginner, Investing is a scary thought. What happens if you lose Money? 

It is a reasonable thought to want to have questions, concerns, and uneasiness as you put your money into a vehicle that is foreign to you. These are all questions people think of as they are starting to invest. Investing apps have made investing better for the beginner, and they continue to improve so more people can do investing. 

In this 21st century, investing has changed for the better. Investing is now accessible to so many more people and all from the touch of a screen on a phone or a computer. 

There is better Technology enabling so many more people to take advantage of platforms and easy investing tools. Investing may not be easy, but it has been made more convenient for everyday people. 

With that being said, numerous different investing apps can help a beginner out. Some investing apps are powered by Robo-advisor technology, and those old-school brokerages like Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab have apps to help you invest better. 

What is Investing?

Investing is using your resources or money to produce income or more money. You can take your resources to invest in a business to have an outcome of generating profit. It can start with putting money towards Education through courses and study to find a job to make money. 

There are so many ways to invest your money. The key is not being scared of what your money can accomplish. The famous quote “Scared Money Don’t Make Money” came from Billy Napier, the Florida football coach. It talked about not being scared to take risks while Coaching for Louisiana. It proved a success. 

As we hear about investing, it may sound scary because we lack the knowledge of how to invest, but there have been innovations and other instruments to help us invest. 

If you are looking for a place to start, these investment apps can get you on your way to a brighter future. 

Here are 9 of the Best Investing Apps for Beginners. 

These 9 investing apps will help beginners to start investing sooner rather than waiting until it is later in life. 

1. Acorns

Acorns is one of the best investment apps that is suitable for beginners. It helps automate investments into a portfolio that fits your style, strategy, and risk tolerance. The great thing about it is the simplicity of starting. 

The Acorns investing app is like a one-stop-shop. It handles round-ups, automated transfers, banking, Retirement savings, family plans, and a plethora of information to help you on your financial journey. Acorns have created options to round up your spending and use that spare change to invest into some simple Exchange Traded Funds or ETF portfolios. All of this comes at a low cost of $5 per month. 

It is hard to beat that price, and with everything taken care of for you makes life simpler. Here is my Acorns Review to learn more. 

2. M1 Finance

M1 Finance is a great company that offers automated investments, retirement accounts, fractional shares, and many banking options. It deals with the concept of creating your pie. Each slice can be either a different portfolio allocation or even individual stocks. 

M1 Finance one of the best investing apps giving DIY investors many options through their pie portfolios. You can have a piece of Apple, Amazon and Google without paying the high prices.

The great thing is that it keeps everything balanced to your choosing. That means if you want your portfolio to be a couple of ETFs with 5% of some tech stocks then you can do that. M1 Finance will keep that allocation balanced every time you have money deposited into your account. 

3. Fidelity

Being one of the biggest brokerage firms globally, Fidelity is making a name for itself in the investment app industry. They have created an app that allows you to do many things within the brokerage firm. Fidelity has made it possible to buy fractional shares, ETFs, mutual funds, and trading options and stocks. 

It has been said many times through Twitter and other platforms. To make investing easy, download the Fidelity app, invest $10 into FZROX and automate it. Fidelity has stepped up their game with their zero-fee funds and continue to create a name for itself. 

4. Betterment

Betterment is a type of Robo Advisor that can get you started on your way to investing. They will create a portfolio full of great ETFs that will start your financial journey right away. They can set you up with a portfolio with some of the best ETFs on the market (primarily low-cost Vanguard funds) through a questionnaire. They also offer retirement accounts to help on your journey. If you want to set it and forget it, Betterment can care for you. 

5. SoFi Invest

SoFi invest is a newer kid on the block. SoFi was known for their student loans and for helping people get better rates. Now they have branched out into investing. If you want to talk about low costs, SoFi investment is what you want to deal with. Starting as low as $1, you can invest in ETFs, stocks, options, and Cryptocurrency. The stocks and ETFs have no fees for trading. 

One of the great things they offer is complimentary advisor service for all clients. If you are a beginner or experienced investor, having a complimentary service to help assist you is something that can go a long way. Being a beginner is hard enough, but SoFi Invest is much easier to start with. 

Here is a nice review of SoFi invest to learn more about the app.

6. Stash

Stash is an investment app that marries the DIY to the automatic portfolio. Many Robo advisors may give you options to have it all done automatically without choosing which investments you would like. Stash allows you to choose which investments through various stocks and ETFs. 

The issue with Stash would be the lack of tax-loss harvesting and some of their fees. There are low expense ratios associated with Stash, but as you want more in a brokerage company, you will need to pay more. So if you wish to fund retirement accounts, you will need to pay more for retirement accounts. 

Otherwise, Stash is an excellent alternative to Acorns. I would prefer to with Acorns if I had a choice, but with Stash, you can choose which investments you would like with a wide variety of options. That is great for the DIY investor. 

7. Schwab

Charles Schwab is a great place to start for all investors. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or even an expert; Schwab offers options to so many types of investors. Their app educates and allows its customers to learn more about the market and invest. 

Schwab offers a broad range of index funds and ETFs that are traded with a $0 commission. They also offer fractional shares. If you have just $100 or even $5, you can start investing now. 

The cool thing about Schwab is they offer a free investing account when you open a High Yield Checking account. That checking account allows you to have to free ATM withdrawals worldwide, and if you are into traveling, that is good news to your ears. 

8. Vanguard

Many people are fans of Vanguard because of its low costs, abundant ETF selections, and creating some of the best index funds. Vanguard has gotten some slack in the past for their old and outdated website. It has created a new and improved app to help bring more people in. 

Their app is pretty straightforward. It allows you to buy and sell stocks and ETFs commission-free, but no fractional shares are yet being sold on Vanguard. 

They offer many different retirement funds and try to make everything simple. They will not wow you with their user interface, but you can own some of the best index funds and ETFs out there without paying commission fees. 

9. Ally Invest

Ally Invest is another excellent platform for beginners. It allows you to have commission-free trades of stocks and ETFs. If you want to buy mutual funds, there will be a cost of $9.95 for a commission fee. It is better to go with some ETFs. 

There are no other recurring fees that take place. If you want to go with a Robo advisor, they offer Ally Invest Managed Portfolios that can help create a significant portfolio of ETFs. 

The company is a great company to work with as a customer. It is straightforward to use, and they use the same app as the Ally Bank app. All you need to do to start is investing $100, and you are ready to go. Start investing today. 

Final Thoughts:

 If you are a beginner investor or even an expert, these are some of the top investment apps to help you invest easier, all from your phone or mobile device. They offer plenty of choices and options to help your investment strategy and financial goals. 

As you build an investment portfolio, make sure to diversify within the portfolio. Diversification can help out the bad times as some stocks go up, and some go down. 

If you are a trader, these apps may not suit you. Robinhood has been known to be a great trading app for beginners and all people. If you are looking at creating a great portfolio inside your 401k, IRA, or taxable brokerage accounts, having a clear sense of knowing what to do can go a long way. You can easily keep it simple by investing in total stock market index funds. 

These investment apps are here to help and guide. Take advantage of the low costs and create yourself some wealth through investing. 

Originally Published on https://thefrugalexpat.com/

Steve Cummings Journalist, Traveler, and Personal Finance Enthusiast

Steve Cummings is a traveler, writer, and personal finance enthusiasts that has taken an adventure to leave his home country to travel and live around the world with his family. Through many years of learning he seeks to help those to save more and travel better. He has been featured in MSN, The Associate Press Wire, and various other content outlets with his writing and publications through his website The Frugal Expat. In the last six years, He has traveled to all seven continents, over 30 different countries, and has lived abroad learning and teaching others about good financial habits and travel hacks.

As an ex-English Teacher, he hopes to provide good tips and education on money and travel to help people think outside the box and achieve the impossible.