If you’ve happened to scroll through Twitter, Reddit… or nearly any news feed in recent days, you’ve probably seen a lot of mentions of stocks. More specifically stocks with keywords like Gamestop, AMC, r/wallstreetbets, and Robinhood. We will spare you the backstory and what a “short squeeze� is, but all of this controversy surrounding the stock market and the Robinhood App in particular has gotten many people intrigued. You yourself may have recently pondered the thought of purchasing some stock of your own. Either way, here are five stock trading apps currently available for iPhone to help get your portfolio rollin’.
Top investing apps for iPhone
One thing to keep in mind with any of the apps listed below is that no matter which you use, there is never a safe bet when it comes to investing in stock. These apps vary in the services, features, and costs for their services, but all essentially offer the same product – a mobile app interface to buy and trade stocks.
In addition to the tools and perks each of these apps offer, the ethos of each is unique. Some are marketed toward fighting the status quo, some resemble new age hedge funds, and others are from more traditionally hardened investment companies. Let’s begin with the most popular (and relatively most controversial) app first.
Looking for Bitcoin apps? We have a list of the top Bitcoin apps, too.
Robinhood
Robinhood is a stock trading app based on a more democratic approach to Wall Street. The moniker itself encapsulates the culture of the app by providing investments for everyone, not just the wealthy. Its decision to offer commission free trades helped the app grow to over 13 million users. Since then, several of the more traditional investment companies like E*Trade and Charles Schwab have followed suit.
With the growth of the app and its popularity, Robinhood has expanded to other financial ventures such as checking and savings accounts, and commission-free cryptocurrency trading. Robinhood has been touted as the everyman investing app, particularly amongst millennials. However, it has had its fair share of controversies.
As previously touched upon, Robinhood recently caught the ire of Congress for restricting the purchase of certain skyrocketing stock purchases organized by Reddit users. Investors on the app and politicians alike have argued that Robinhood was attempting to protect hedge funds. The company has since backtracked, and will reopen curbed trading of those stocks. Nevertheless, the move carries poor optics for an app named after a heroic, philanthropic outlaw.
Regardless of its recent dissension, Robinhood kicks off this list because it is ranked #1 for financing in the App Store and remains a simple tool to cut your teeth in the world of stocks.
Webull
Webull offers a similar business strategy to Robinhood, but without the ability to purchase fractional shares. Like Robinhood, Webull takes zero commissions on purchased stocks, exchange traded funds (ETFs) or options. Additionally, Webull does not require a minimum account balance either. With that said, customers with a desire to short stocks, must open a margin account, which requires a minimum deposit of $2,000. If you’ve been paying attention to recent events, you hopefully understand to be cautious when trying to short selling stocks. Reddit is watching!
It’s important to note that Robinhood was not alone in blocking stock purchases. Webull was also guilty of the same recent behavior, although it has not caught nearly as much flack as its competitor.
Overall, Webull is transparent about its pricing and potential fees for trading on its app. It also offers more features and a user friendly app interface compared to Robinhood. Similarly though, it does not offer any support for mutual funds, futures, or bonds.
SoFi
Where the first two trading apps were more honed in on stocks and ETFs, the SoFi app offers a vast range of services for its customers. SoFi stands for Social Finance Inc. which was founded almost a decade ago. In addition to investment tools, the SoFi app offers student loan refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, and banking.
The company originally focused on lending only as well as refinancing student loan debt. In 2018, SoFi got in on the zero fee investment game, then followed industry trends in supporting crypto trading. All in all, the SoFi app is a solid one stop shop for your finances. With that said, if your focus is solely on investing, it might be better to download an iPhone app more keenly focused. Sofi is still worth a try though.
Firstrade Securities
We’re now venturing into more traditional and robust financial apps starting with Firstrade. This stockbrokerage was founded in 1985, long before any financial apps (or iPhones) existed. They have since gone digital, and have learned to adapt to the market (in 2018 they zeroed out all trade commissions). Unlike some of the simpler apps listed above, Firstrade is fully immersive in the investment world, also offering bonds in addition to stocks and ETFs.
What truly sets an app like this apart from the likes of Robinhood and Webull, is the research and education tools the company provides its mobile users. This can help ensure you’re making the smartest financial decisions for yourself and your future.
Fidelity Investments
Last but certainly not least is Fidelity Investments. You probably recognize the name; that’s because Fidelity was founded over 75 years ago. That’s a lifetime’s worth of financial know-how at your fingertips. While Webull might be a great app to tip your toe into the stock market pool, Fidelity is for the 800m olympic freestyle swimmers.
Compared to the others, Fidelity may charge a bit higher margin rates for stock purchases from investors, but its account fees are zero (lower than all the apps on this list). Its trading fees are zero as well, unless its a mutual fund. The biggest perk of the Fidelity app however, is the research tools and education resources it provides for those looking to learn more about a given market before taking that leap. If you have some knowledge of investing, or want more granular control of where your money is being seeded, this is a sound option.
Other iPhone apps focused on investing and saving
So perhaps you’ve looked into a couple of the aforementioned apps and the idea of investing in stocks and ETFs still seems daunting. No sweat! There are a couple apps that not only help you put away savings, but also take those funds and invest them for you to maximize your profits without you having to do a thing.
Acorns
Acorns is a savings and investment app that is much more hands off than the apps listed above. You simply create an account, then determine a pre-built portfolio based off your financial status and goals. Next you connect a debit or credit card, then go live your best life. For every purchase made on the connected card(s), the amount spent anywhere, on anything is rounded up to the next whole dollar. That remainder is then invested in diverse portfolios for you.
Acorns essentially makes micro investments using your spare change from all your connected purchases. The app also offers Acorns Later, which allows you to automate withdrawals to a savings account to save for retirement. Lastly, you can open a checking account with Acorns and gather even more capital, whether its for investments or savings. Definitely worth checking out.
Stash
Stash is essentially the same model as Acorns, but in a different interface. It is also about half the age of Acorns and has some catching up to do. That being said, this app has over 5 million users and continues to grow year over year. Compared to Acorns, it comes down to personal preference, but give them both a shot. You might end up simply picking a winner based off whatever color scheme you like more.
Any Questions? Suggestions?
We recommend you check out the stock trading iPhone apps mentioned above, and gather your own opinions of each. If you’d like to do your own research to determine what other apps might be the best for you and your portfolio, StockBrokers offers a comprehensive online comparison tool.
Let us know in the comments if you have any thoughts or recommendations for this list. Thanks!
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