Investing in stocks can be a more straightforward process than you might think, as long as you have an excellent online brokerage account that offers the tools to help you get started and expand your portfolio as you go along. Whether you want to make trades yourself or want to rely on a Robo-advisor service, there are plenty of options available on the internet for easy stock investing.
A brokerage account is required to invest in stocks as well as for making other types of investments. Some online trading platforms offer users more control than others. For beginners, it’s ideal to choose one that has a simple interface and is user-friendly. The best platform is one that will offer plenty of learning materials at no extra cost.
A Robo-advisor is a type of service that offers low-cost management for investments. Pretty much all of the leading brokerage firms and independent investing apps come with a Robo-advisor. They will help you invest your money in a way best suited to your portfolio based on your level of risk tolerance and specific goals.
Make sure you have a clear understanding of the different types of stocks and mutual funds and any other type of investment you are interested in. Even an easy stock investing app or web platform designed for beginners will require knowledge of basic terminology. For example, suppose you are interested in a specific company. In that case, there are individual stocks to look into. However, you should still use the educational tools, and stock picks to help you determine when the best time to buy/sell the individual stock would be.
Easy Stock Investing in ETFs
Mutual funds, bonds, and ETFs can make significant investments to diversify your portfolio as long as you pick some good ones. More experienced investors might want a trading platform that allows margins and options contracts. Ideally, the fees should be extremely low. Online brokers should never need to charge fees over a few cents per share (stocks and ETF trades).
Also, suppose you think you’ll need broker-assisted trades. In that case, very few online investing platforms offer them for free, so your options will be limited. There might also be a minimum account balance requirement.
Which online broker/trading platform/stock app that does offer easy stock investing is Zacks Trade. It does offer free broker-assisted trades, just 1¢ per share for stock & ETF trades (those starting at $1), 3.56% margin rates or even less depending on the balance, and a lot of helpful tools and resources to help you get started.