10 Best Investment Apps 2022: Ready to invest some of your hard-earned Money, but not sure where to start? Don’t worry – there’s an app for that! With the introduction of investment apps, you can now invest from the comfort of your phone screen with the Best Investment App.
Sounds pretty good right?
So let’s talk about The Best Investment Apps in 2022!
Introduction
If you’re interested in investing your money (rather than keeping it in a boring old savings account), you’ve probably run into this issue…
There are so many investment platforms!
Making an informed and unbiased decision about which investment tools are best for you is nearly impossible.
However, in the digital age, there has been tremendous growth in one specific set of tools to assist people in investing… Investment Apps!
These handy tools can make huge profits (or losses) at the touch of a button and it’s extremely simple.
How do you reduce your chances of losing money?
So, now that you’ve learned about the best Investment Apps in 2022, just keep reading.
Learning yields earning!
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend that you read Best Robo Advisor 2022 after this. It provides some excellent insights into how to begin investing as a complete beginner today.
Without further ado, let us discuss The Best Investment Apps in 2022.
What Is An Investment App?
investment apps allow you to easily trade your investments and manage your portfolio.
How Do Investment Apps Work?
The way that investment apps work can be boiled down to a few simple steps…
- Download the app
- Setup your account
- Fund your account
- Decide what type of account you’ll use
- Decide what type of assets you’ll invest in
Simple!
But now, let’s just describe this process in a little more detail.
An investment app also allows you to invest, manage, and save your money while selling any number of stocks, ETFs, bonds, and other securities (yes, even crypto) on the stock market.
It doesn’t matter if you are a new or experienced investor, starting with a little money or a lot, there is an investment app out there for you!
With investment apps, you can either set up your investments through a portfolio provided to you, or you can actively trade your stocks.
The apps will also offer you the ability to change what your money is invested if you aren’t satisfied with your returns… or for any other reason.
You can do all of this, and you don’t even have to talk to someone – result!
Download The App:
Once you have decided which app that you want to invest through (by reading the rest of this post), simply go to your mobile phone’s app store, and download the app.
The majority of the apps out there are free, so you don’t have to worry about paying for them – which is a huge plus compared to brokers, advisors, and even Robo-advisors.
Setup Your Account & Transfer Funds:
Once you’ve done that, the next step is to set up your account.
This process will vary from one app to another, but it typically includes you submitting your Social Security or Social Insurance Number, answering some security and tax questions, creating your login credentials, and verifying your identity on the app.
Unless it is an investment app offered to you through your bank or your Robo-advisor and your checking account is already linked, you will need to link the app to your bank account.
This is so that you can transfer funds to your investing account and start investing.
At this point, you’ve completed the preliminary setup for your investment app, and are ready to get into the actual investment part of the app.
Decide What Type Of Asset and Account You’ll Use
Deciding what asset you want to invest in will dictate what type of investment account you need.
This comes down to whether you want something really low risk, like a high-interest savings investment, or if you want something high risk like cryptocurrency.
Choose between bonds (lowest risk), ETFs, stocks, and cryptocurrency (highest risk).
I always recommend that you do your research before this step (check out our invest money section!).
What Do I Need To Use An Investment App?
Well, for starters… A phone.
Or more specifically, any mobile device that can connect to the internet.
(Sorry boomer, that Nokia 3310 ain’t gonna cut it).
As mentioned previously, you will also need to have the app linked to your bank account.
Now, although some investment apps require substantial deposits to start, not all do. Some investment apps will even allow you to open your account without a minimum balance.
Regardless, you need to have a bank account that can link to an investment app or platform – which most banks nowadays can do.
However, that is all you need.
- A phone
- Internet
- A funded bank account
As fractional share investing is becoming more common, you can start using your investment app as soon as you have these three things.
Easy!
What Should I Look For in an Investment App?
Some apps are educational, while others allow you to play stock market games (with fake money).
You’ve probably seen screenshots of these portfolios on Reddit or from your friends… Unfortunately, it’s not true – your pal is not the next Warren Buffet.
Other apps are more concerned with carrying out actual trades for you.
Determine your objectives and ensure that the app meets them. Include short-term objectives, long-term objectives, and even retirement.
Determine how much money you have and are willing to invest.
Make certain that the app you select allows you to trade in whatever you want. Choose an app that only invests in ETFs if you want to invest in cryptocurrency.
If you value socially responsible funds, make sure the investment app you choose includes them!
Determine how much you are willing to pay in fees. Many apps have no fees and no account minimums.
*Fees can eat into your investment gains over time, but if you decide you want the extra customer service or educational tools, those fees may be worth it.
Finally, are you looking for promotions? Check to see if the investment app you’re considering has them. Offers change over time, so double-check before signing up. For example, Coinbase is offering a free $10 Bitcoin!
Acorns
We’ll also be mentioning Acorns in our Best Robo-advisor blog. They are one of the best investment apps for beginners for exactly that reason – they let you start from the beginning.
This app was created to help simplify investing and remove the scary factor.
They not only walk you through the steps, but they also optimize your portfolio and keep you on track with automatic rebalancing.
You don’t even need a lot of money to get started because they have a $0 minimum investment.
This app’s handy feature is that it simply rounds up the price of your purchases to the nearest dollar, then automatically invests that spare change in ETFs.
This is an excellent way to begin investing. They charge a flat fee of as little as $1 per month for an individual.
Acorn offers an app that is ideal for first-time investors looking to dip their toes into the market, with low fees, no minimum, a very user-friendly design, and some really useful automation built in.
For this reason, Acorn earns our award of Best Investment App For Beginners.
What’s The Best Investment App For Socially Responsible Savers?
With the growth of green investments, green companies, and socially-responsible companies, the awareness of socially responsible investments is growing.
Luckily, there’s now an investment app tailored to all you socially responsible savers and investors.
Betterment
SRI (socially responsible investing) is gaining popularity. It enables you to focus on what is important to you while (hopefully) earning a healthy profit.
Through its Robo-advisor app, the Betterment app initiates investments. It not only builds your portfolio based on your risk tolerance and preferences, but it can also build completely socially responsible portfolios.
Choose whether your investments should focus on broad impact, climate impact, or social impact.
Betterment, as a more significant investment app, also allows you to save for various goals, such as your children’s education, a new home, or even retirement. All while helping the environment.
Don’t you feel all warm and fuzzy inside now?
Okay, so the user interface isn’t as appealing as some of the other options, but you can’t argue with their mission statement.
If you value social responsibility, Betterment is one of the best investment apps for you.
What’s The Best Shariah Compliant Investment App?
There are many laws, religions, and cultures around the world.
These often help you to decide what you should and shouldn’t do.
This stretches into the financial markets, with some people in countries following Shariah law not being able to use some apps because of their features and investments.
However, there is one app that stands out as being aware of these cultural policies. They have made a concerted effort to create a more globally-accessible investment app.
Wealthsimple
Shariah compliance refers to the use of Shariah-compliant investment tools. Muslims and those who adhere to this belief system are interested in investment funds that adhere to socially responsible investing.
Wealthsimple is one of the investment apps that provides this type of investing. They provide their customers with the option of investing in companies that adhere to Shariah rules and regulations.
Wealthsimple has the Shariah World Equity Index ETF (WSHR). WSHR not only maintains Shariah-compliant values, but they also have low costs and put thought into its portfolio construction.
This means that they have excluded companies from this fund that derive more than 5% of their income from alcohol, tobacco, pork-related products, weapons, conventional banking or insurance companies, and adult entertainment. They also exclude any companies with excessive leverage.
The companies that are part of this portfolio are weighed by risk, not market capitalization. All are thoroughly screened.
This solidifies Wealthsimple’s position as one of the best investment apps for 2022. Or more specifically, our Best Shariah Compliant Investment App.
What’s The Best Investment App For Learning To Trade?
Everyone has to learn somewhere.
We’re not all going to be trading like Warren Buffet as soon as we download an investment app.
Lucky for us, there are apps out there that are tailored for the brand new investor… And one just happens to stand out.
SoFi
SoFi offers you a one-stop shop when it comes to your finances.
More specifically, your investments.
If you are just starting, this may be the investing app for you.
They have $0 fees and a $0 account minimum.
They also provide you with education about investing, as well as offer other investment tools.
The user interface is also excellent and easy to pick up.
A pretty damn solid choice for a new (or old) investor.
By letting you start with fractional shares called “Stock Bits”, SoFi simplifies things right out of the gate. They offer SoFi ETFs to the new investor, which weighs companies by their growth, not just market capitalization.
You can either choose an automated portfolio or self-directed investing.
SoFi also has financial advisors available to you, if that is something you’re interested in.
Based on the above, it was an easy decision to include SoFi on the list of best investment apps for 2022.
What’s The Best Free Investment App?
Free.
A magical word.
Music to our ears (and wallets).
Most of the apps I’ve mentioned, like WealthSimple and SoFi, are free to use.
However, there is another investment app that we have to mention. This one gained international popularity (or notoriety) because of a certain video game retailer.
Guessed who it is yet?
The GameStop short squeeze gained tremendous popularity among the Reddit crowd in early 2021. One particular investment app was used by a majority of those buying into GME (Gamestop) stock.
Consequently, this investment app appeared on websites and news-stations around the world.
That’s right… its Robinhood.
Robinhood
For investors that want to pay as few fees as possible, Robinhood may be your best bet.
They not only charge you $0 in commissions, but they also have a $0 account minimum. They cut out most of the fees you may find associated with other investment apps.
This means that you can invest in US-exchange listed stocks, ETFs, options and cryptocurrency without paying any fees. You will have to have at least $1 for fractional shares though.
Robinhood does not offer any managed portfolios though, so you need to remember that it’s up to you. They also don’t offer retirement accounts, which means that your investments will be taxable.
If they made your list of best investment apps 2022, why give them only 3.5 stars?
Excellent question.
Robinhood do offer an excellent investment app.
However it’s hard to forget or forgive the events surrounding the Gamestop squeeze.
For those who had skin in the game (myself included), Robinhood committed a cardinal sin. They prevented users from buying GME stock at the peak, only allowing it to be sold.
Many traders feel this prevented the short squeeze from reaching the true peak. Stock prices subsequently fell and many investors lost money.
This appeared to benefit the hedge funds, not the average commercial trader.
Many users therefore called for a widespread Robinhood boycott.
Robinhood has since given a range of reasons for their actions, including external pressures and cashflow issues. If I were slightly more cynical I might suggest there were financial incentives that convinced Robinhood to stop people trading.
But who knows what the true reasons are?
Nonetheless, if the above doesn’t bother you then Robinhood remains one of the best investment apps for 2022.
What’s The Best Fee-Free Investment App?
If you can’t find an app to float your boat that’s completely free…
Go for the next best thing…
No fees.
Webull
A lot of investment apps offer fee-free investments.
This means that there are no fees per trade.
A couple of the ones we mentioned in this blog are SoFi and E*Trade.
But now let’s talk about Webull.
Not only does Webull let investors trade stocks for free, but they also offer commission-free trades on options and ETFs.
There are also no-fee trades on cryptocurrency and they don’t require a minimum deposit when you open your account.
Webull also has promotions for new users, as well as referral bonuses. This can help out when you are starting to invest.
They offer their users extended trading hours, which can be helpful if you have a packed schedule. They also allow you to set up a taxable account as well as an IRA account if that interests you.
A downside to this investment app is that they do have a limited number of investment types, being only stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies.
As with other investment apps, they do pass on regulatory and exchange fees as well as charges for wire transfers. Keep that in mind when you are setting up your app.
What’s The Best Low-Cost Investment App?
If you’ve looked at Robinhood, Webull, Wealthsimple, and SoFi and thought to yourself…
“I hate not paying for my apps”
Then go for a low-cost investment app, because you won’t have to break the bank. You need only pay a low annual fee for access to huge markets and education.
You can also learn about investments and how to trade.
E*Trade
E*Trade is one of the best low-cost investment apps.
E*Trade offers you a few different options when setting up your investment app. These depend on how involved you want to be with your investments.
They offer a wide range of assets if would like a self-directed account (active).
They also offer automated options that are personalized, as well as portfolios that are prebuilt for the investor (passive).
E*Trade has a huge research library that allows you to check out stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, and options so that you can learn about what you are investing into.
They also provide you with the details on dividends, earnings, and any other pertinent information about the company.
With the variety of account types this app offers, your fees can also vary. For the active investor, you pay $0 fees for stocks, while for the passive investor, you will have an annual fee, as you do with all Robo-advisors.
Of course, for the high net-worth individuals that are looking for more, their fees are also higher.
In addition, you’ll notice that E*Trade is one of the few apps on this list with a pretty big learning curve – unless you know what you’re looking for.
Many brokerages charge low or no fees for trading stocks, ETFs, or options so you will be trading commission-free. You do need to check if they have any recurring fees as we have mentioned though.
Also, be aware that there are often fees charged by the stock exchanges and regulators, though you may not notice this because they are already in the asset prices.
What’s The Best Passive Investment App?
Passive investment apps are something we keep coming back to.
For many new (and even experienced) investors, it’s better to not have to worry about your investments at every hour of the day.
The next app is therefore one of the best investment apps for ‘set it and forget it’ investing. It doesn’t get much more passive than that!
Wealthfront
You may remember that we talked about Wealthfront in our Robo-advisor blog.
They are great for passive investors – because that’s what robo-advisors do…
They take care of everything for you.
Simply sign-up with this investment app, and fill out your personal information as well as a survey. This survey will ask you about the level of risk you are comfortable with as well as what your financial goals are.
They will then provide an appropriate portfolio for you. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
Wealthfront will charge you a management fee of 0.25% and requires a minimum account balance of $500.
This investment app doesn’t deal in fractional shares, but if you want your investments to do their own thing, without human contact, this is the way to go.
What’s The Best Active Investment App?
On the flip side of passive investment apps, there are those of us that love to be heavily involved in our investments.
You want to be buying and selling throughout the day…
Taking an active role in your own money…
(We all know what we’re doing is staring at graphs all day, willing our portfolio to grow).
An active investor of course needs an active investing account.
TD Ameritrade
If you are interested in having an investment app that allows you to be an active trader, TD Ameritrade may be the one for you.
Not only do they offer you amazing market research and great trading platforms, but they also offer you $0 commission on trades and a $0 minimum deposit.
For active trader, they have you taken care of for day trading, options trading, and futures trading.
Being an active trader, you want to stay on top of your accounts.
With their technology and AI, you can access your account through Apple Messages, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and more.
TD Ameritrade is the app that really focuses on bringing out the budding trader in you, and focuses on hosting more active investments like stocks and options as opposed to index funds, ETFs and bonds.
It’s worth noting that many of the best investment apps above also allow active trading. Anything with regular stock and cryptocurrency trading can be managed very actively.
What’s The Best Goal-Driven Investment App?
What do I mean by “goal-driven”?
Some apps out there allow you to access research and learning materials, and truly work to keep you accountable for your earning and saving goals.
The app we’ve chosen as the best in this group really focuses on making you a part of your finances.
Your investments are there to help you reach your ultimate financial goals. This can certainly focus your efforts!
Fidelity
Fidelity offers access to tons of research, as well as data. You can then make strong, informed decisions about your investments.
It doesn’t matter if you are an active trader or starting to look at retirement, they offer resources for all.
Fidelity bring everything to one level for you, so again it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner investor, an active trader, or if you are more focused on your retirement investments. This allows you to plan for and action your financial goals.
Fidelity offer a strong trading platform – well two actually – and they are both free to their customers.
Fidelity has more than 3700 mutual funds without transaction funds.
Whilst fidelity has a strong reputation for their mutual funds, they also offer investors the option to trade stocks, bonds, ETFs and options.
Fidelity also offers its investors the option to purchase fractional shares, which allows them to further diversify and invest in higher-cost shares.
What’s The Best Investment App For Crypto?
Ah yes… Everyone’s favorite type of asset.
Violently volatile.
You’re rich in the morning, broken by the afternoon.
Seriously, crypto is a bloody roller coaster!
Sure can be fun though.
Credit: Firetheboss
