Investing your hard-earned money is a very daunting experience. You don't know where your money will go once you set it aside as an investment and you can easily lose it if you're not knowledgeable or careful. This is why a lot of people use stock market brokerage apps to help them with their investments.
A stock market brokerage app is a mobile application that allows you to buy and sell shares of stocks. Many of these apps allow you to invest your assets as well as provide you with many features.
The best stock market brokerage app features include the ability to research investments, track your portfolio, and even enter orders to buy or sell. Read on for a list of the best stock market brokerage apps available today.
Criteria for Selecting a Good Stock Market Brokerage App
There are a lot of reasons why you want to use a good stock market brokerage app, but not every app is built for everyone. What is good for others might not be good for you. There are still several criteria that you need to know when choosing the right stock market app for you.
First, if you find an app that is free to use that has everything that you need, always make sure to research its background first before using it to ensure its legitimacy.
You must always consider any commissions and fees involved in the app. Check account minimums to see if this rate fits your budget as well as margin rates, stock charts, stock alerts, fractional shares, stock screeners, and more.
The app must also provide educational materials that will help you learn more about the stock market. These materials should be updated and allow you to access news and research. Lastly, an intuitive and simple interface is also a benchmark of the best stock market brokerage apps.
Are They Safe to Use?
One of the main worries when it comes to financial apps like stock market brokerage apps is security. When it comes to money, people are more afraid of investing, especially if there are lapses in the safety measures of an app.
One of the main priorities in selecting such an app should be the security features that will protect your money. You also have to expect that you'll lose money, as that is how investments work sometimes, but rest assured that your hard-earned money is secured within the app.
Thoroughly check the security information of the app that you want to use to see if they have insurance as part of its features so you know it is safe to use.
Key Features That You Need to Look Out For
Since you'll be investing your finances, there will always be features on these apps that you need to look out for, not just for the safety and security of your money but for the overall experience.
The first key feature that you need to look out for is the login process. These apps should have multiple options for you to log in through proper authentication.
Make sure to choose an app that lets you log in with a password, face ID, and fingerprint.
It should also allow you access to various devices so you can switch from one platform to another and continue to do business without the hassle of logging in and out of different devices.
Real-Time Analytics Is a Must
Another must-have feature when choosing a good stock market brokerage app is real-time analytics. Charts, reports, and many other data are essential in trading apps. This allows users to gain insights and understand what is currently happening with the stock market.
This gives the users the power to decide wisely on how they want to proceed with their investments. Specific data such as profits, losses, price changes, and other information should be readily available on the app.
The data should also be easily readable and understandable to the user especially if the user is still new to the app.
Top Stock Market Brokerage Apps
The best stock market brokerage apps are those that truly stand out from the rest. They deliver full features when it comes to online trading.
These apps mirror the powerful capabilities of their PC counterparts and developers have improved their stock apps to compete with many of their PC versions.
Check out the best stock market brokerage apps down below.
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is one of the best apps for beginners as it has a lot of educational tools for you to better understand how the stock market works and the app works. There are a lot of educational tools that cater to different kinds of investors and this alone makes it the best app for beginners.
Investors can use TD Ameritrade to do basic investing and learn how the stock market lives and breathes. The mobile app is designed to educate new users while also giving seasoned investors a good trading platform and a lot of investment options.
Interactive Brokers
Active traders will be surprised to know that Interactive Brokers is specifically made for them. The core features function to accommodate active traders together with low-interest rates and outstanding order processing.
The app also features very detailed mobile charts with useful indicators so you'll be able to identify the changes in the stock market as well as your investments.
The entire mobile app experience successfully mimics the functionality of the PC version so you can easily switch from your desktop computer to your phone without any learning curve.
Wealthfront
Sometimes, we are too busy doing other things that we just want to invest our money and leave it. The good thing is that there is an app that lets you automatically do all the work needed to invest in the stock market.
The Wealthfront app offers money management features such as goal setting, banking, and investing options. The app's main feature called Self-Driving Money is an automated investment feature where it uses a rule-based approach to keep your money moving while you continue to learn more about the stock market through its comprehensive financial educational tools.
While you won't be able to meet human financial advisors on the app, you have all the tools that you need for a good stock market brokerage app.
Fidelity
If you're just starting out and you're planning on having long-term investments, the Fidelity app is the right app for you. It offers a $0 minimum balance with 0% fees. There are also no commissions for stocks and ETFs.
You also get to have thousands of no-transaction-fee mutual funds. While it may have limited research tools and trading options, the fact that you don't have to deal with fees and minimum balances makes up for the long investment that you have planned.
If you're looking to invest in cryptocurrencies, you might want to skip this app as there is no option for you to do so for now.
Conclusion
The fast advancement of technology has finally allowed us to perform stock trading through our mobile devices. While there may be a lot of stock market brokerage apps out there, you still need to choose the right one for you to keep your investments safe and secure. Make sure you check out the best stock market brokerage apps on the list mentioned above.
