Top Apps for Micro-Investing: Grow Your Wealth Slowly | Topictre
Top Apps for Micro-Investing: Grow Your Wealth Slowly | Topictre is Contrary to what many people may think, investing is no longer an activity that is reserved for the elite few in today’s throwaway society. This means that the investing of small portions of money has been on the rise most probably due to the development of techniques such as micro investing. It does not matter if you are an experienced investor who wants to diversify his investments or an inexperienced individual, who wants to start investing in financial markets, micro-investing apps are perfectly safe for gradually accumulating capital. Further, we will list some of the best micro-investing apps that will enable you to invest and build your future without a big stake.
What Is Micro-Investing?
However, let’s begin by describing what is meant by ‘micro-investing’ – the key theme of the apps in question. Micro investing is defined as investing small sums of capital depending on the individual’s capacity to afford even
a dollar to invest in equities. Such investments can be made in small portions often and can accumulate, which will enable an individual to compound his/her capital without necessarily having a large amount of cash to invest at once. Micro-investing mainly targets the millennial and Generation Z population, for they cannot afford to invest in large quantities but at lease they would like to have some wealth build-up in future.
Why Use Micro-Investing Apps?
Many apps for investing have flooded the market making it easier for people to invest in the stock market or other investment types. Most of these represent easy to use interfaces with preprogrammed tools, and encoded financial information that is easy to understand by any person without the need of having to acquire prior knowledge or experience on the financial markets.
Key Benefits of Micro-Investing Apps:
Low Barrier to Entry:
- Invest with just $1 if you wish to start your journey in this kind of trading.
Automation:
- Again, most apps have features of round-ups or drip investing which is an automatic investment each time you save some cash.
Education:
- Availability of resources that allow one to get more information with regard to investment.
Diversification:
- Trade in stock and ETFs: Buy different stocks, and Exchange Traded Funds.
On with the most popular mobile applications and platforms for micro-investing today that’ll come under discussion.
1. Acorns: Invest Spare Change
Overview: Acorns is one of the most famous micro investing apps that is used mostly by new comers. This features enables the users to round up purchases and invest pennies by rounding up the price of the goods to the next whole dollar and investing the extra money.
Key Features:
- Round-Ups: Save spare change from your purchases, and let the same go to work, in an automatic manner.
- Recurring Investments: Savings can be made on a daily, weekly or on a monthly basis depending on the users convenience.
- Diversified Portfolio: Acorns is used to invest your funds, in a portfolio that is composed based on your risk profile.
- Found Money: You also get paid when you make purchases from Acorns’ merchants and the money is deposited into the investment portfolio.
Why It’s Great:
Acorns is ideal for people who do not wish to be directly involved with the market. Among the distinctive features, the round-up feature can be named, which makes investing hassle-free; besides, the application provides its users with useful tutorials on investing.
Cost:
Acorns takes $3 to $5 per month depending on the subscription type that one selects.
2. Stash: Invest in What Matters to You
Overview:
Stash provides more customization in comparison to competitors as it lets the users make decisions based on values and preferences. No matter if you want to invest in the IT industry, green energy or support social causes, Stash enables users to choose firms that matter to us.
Key Features:
- Thematic Investing: Invest in what you belief in or what you are passionate for.
- Fractional Shares: You can also too afford costly stocks you really want with just a few bucks by investing in fractional share.
- Smart Portfolio: A tool that enables users to select funds with the help of which their portfolio will be financed and further maintained.
- Banking Services: Stash delivers banking without any additional charges and includes a debit card that comes with Stock-Back® program.
Why It’s Great:
If you want to have more control over your spending, then Stash is ideal for you. Its articles are also educational and that makes it easier for people who are new into the investment sector to understand.
Cost:
Stash costs $3 to $9 month dependent on the plan it takes.
3. Robinhood: Commission-Free Investing
Overview:
Robinhood is yet another trading platform with no commissions to invest in stock, ETFs, options and even cryptocurrencies. While it isn’t a full-fledged microinvesting app, the low cost of the service and the simplicity of the platform’s design earned it the love of the novice investors.
Key Features:
- Commission-Free Trading: Trade in stocks, ETFs, options and cryptocurrencies, and get access to free trade without paying any commissions.
- Fractional Shares: Buy high-end stocks with just a dollar amount based on this app.
- Cash Management: For any cash balances that are uninvested, which are usually received from transactions of shares, one can earn interest on such balances besides which they can withdraw it using a Robinhood debit card.
- Advanced Tools: Robinhood provides complex tools and information for those who can potentially consider investing as a more experienced activity.
Why It’s Great:
Robinhood is best suitable to users who would like to get more engaged with their investments. Since it has commendable zero-fee structure, the users can execute as many trades as they possibly can without the reduction of their profits by fees.
Cost:
Robinhood is free and has many features however some additional features require the use of Robinhood Gold, which will cost $5/month.
4. M1 Finance: Personalise and Automate Your Portfolio
Overview:
M1 Finance combines the service of robo advisors and brokerage accounts creating, where using user’s input the individualized portfolio is built and invested automatically.
Key Features:
- Custom Pies: Choose the type and variety of the investments where it involves allowing for stocks, ETFs, as well as partially owned stocks.
- Automated Rebalancing: M1 finance has a feature that helps you rebalance your portfolio so as to achieve the preferred ratio of the assets.
- Borrowing and Spending: Getting a line of credit and checking that pays you back.
- No Management Fees: In particular, M1 Finance does not have any management fees, hence, the company is very friendly on an investor’s financial pocket.
Why It’s Great:
In so doing, it can be concluded that M1 Finance is ideal for investors who want to be more involved in the management of the stock as they enjoy the automation process. Another way is the customization of a portfolio that differentiates your portfolio from other micro-investing apps.
Cost:
M1 Finance is free to use but to gain access to some extra features, there’s M1 Plus for $125 per year.
5. Betterment: Automated Investing is for Everyone
Overview:
Betterment is a robo-advisor that assists investors in the task of investing by choosing the portfolio that will satisfy certain goals. Indeed, it is meant for those who do not want to be much involved in the investment process.
Key Features:
- Goal-Based Investing: Enter your financial objectives and Betterment will design a portfolio and achieve those goals for you.
- Tax-Loss Harvesting: Minimise your tax bills by using an automated system that triggers the sale of your losing stocks so as to offset the gains.
- Smart Deposit: To double up the sweater theuser should automatically invest excess cash from the bank account.
Socially Responsible Investing: Look at other interest areas in selecting stocks for instance, you may consider investing in environmentally friendly stocks.
Why It’s Great:
Betterment is for those investors who want to have zero involvement in their investment decisions. It gives assistance to users to make correct decisions by concentrating on the goals that an individual has set when investing.
Cost:
Betterment charges 0. 25% to 0. $50 per month, which may vary depending on the chosen plan while the average debit you get is 40% of your account balance annually.
Selection Criteria to Use When Choosing a Micro investing App
It can at first be daunting and challenging to decide on what the proper micro-investing app to use is with the choices becoming manifold. Here are a few factors to consider when making your decision:Here are a few factors to consider when making your decision:
- Investment Style: Are you an active person who would like to have a direct control over their money or you are an inactive person who would like to be associated with passive income?
- Fees: Also know additional cost of using the app such as possible subscription fees and management fees to be paid.
- Educational Resources: If you are extremely new to the concept of investing then try to find apps that provide educational content.
- Investment Options: Guarantee the types of assets which are allowed for investment – for instance, stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.
- Customer Support: Make sure that the app offers enough customer support if required in the process.
Conclusion
Micro investing is one of the best methods you can use in order to increase your invested capital without having to invest a lot of money. Whether you like to let the companies like Acorns, Betterment invest for you, or you want to be more active with the investments like Stash, Robinhood, there is an application fit for you. This means that with small and consistent investments, it is possible to lay the foundation towards one’s long-term financial planning.
