What Should You Look for in the Latest Investing Apps That Are on the Market
In today’s society of technology, investing has gotten an upgrade. You can invest your money in the stock market without ever having to call another person or leave your home. This is due to investment apps that have hit the scene. These apps are accessible straight from your smartphone and can be used to invest in stocks that you choose in a matter of minutes. Still, some of the best online brokerage apps have a lot to be desired. All of them will allow you to do the basics like check the last AT&T dividend you were paid, but some of them reach further with the functions they provide to their users. Figuring out what you should look for in an investing app is your first step to investing in the market.
Popular basic features
Some of the more popular basic features of investment apps today are what you need to be on the lookout for. If it doesn’t have these basic features then it’s not worth using to invest your money with.
The first basic essential feature that has recently developed is commission-free trading. In the past, brokerages used to take a commission from investors so they could invest their money. This is something that has been forgotten about with brokerage apps because many millennial investors don’t like it. Brokerages were taking a commission and still getting paid on the back end which wasn’t fair. If you’re interested in an investment app, make sure it’s commission-free.
The next feature you need to look out for is Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) ensured. This means that if your brokerage goes out of business or is hacked, your money and assets will be ensured by a third-party company. This is crucial because schemes and hacks do happen. Most brokerages are ensured but it’s always best to check because if it’s not then that could be a key reason to look into a different brokerage because it’s sketchy.
Fractional shares are another feature that you need to be aware of. With investment apps have come the ability to invest in fractional shares of stocks that you want. No longer do you have to purchase one full share at a time. You can buy a ton of little share pieces that will eventually add up to one whole share. This helps more investors get into the market because they can invest money that they have and don’t have to worry about saving up money to put in stock because they can’t afford it outright. This makes it much easier to invest your money and get good returns.
Two-factor authentication is a feature that typically comes with your phone, but now brokerages are starting to offer it as well. What you can do is enable it and your brokerage account will be more secure than it was with just a login and password. There are tons of benefits of going digital with a brokerage account but one of the few risks is that it becomes a target for hackers. Not your account specifically but the entire online brokerage can be hacked in to but if you have two-factor authentication, you can make it so your face is needed to access the account holding your money.
How these apps benefit investors
Investment apps benefits investors in a variety of different ways, the biggest being that it allows more investors to put money in the market. Before apps like these, it was much more difficult to invest in the stock market and you had to know what you’re doing. These apps make it as simple as hooking up your bank account and picking your stocks.
With features like fractional share investing, you no longer have to pay hundreds of dollars to own pieces of blue-collar stocks that you like. You can own pieces with as little as ten dollars in your account. Some of the best investment apps right now offer these features and so much more to their users because they want more investors to come to their brokerage. With more online brokerage competition, it will lead to more competition and better results for all kinds of investors. These apps are specifically targeting millennial investors because they are new to the market.
