It’s no secret that millennials corner the market on technologys and how to use it to make life easier. Shouldn’t be surprising, then, that millennials prefer to be assisted in their investment decisions with apps and websites. This is often because they feel more at ease with technology than they doing sitting down with a financial advisor. As such, using an app online puts millennials in control of the process, says US News and World Report.
Here are some of the best apps ansd sites for millennials when it comes to investment assistance.
Finmason provides fast, easy and understandable retirement investment portfolio analysis and risk tolerance assessment. Not only that: it’s completely anonymous and free. You can calculate your unique FinScore, see how it compares to your other investments, and shop around for others that may be better suited to your financial goals. Your privacy is protected via encryption protocols, plus you can constantly reassess that you’re on track to meet desired retirement goals.
Acorns allows you to automatically invest your spare change via a mobile platform for commission-free investing and portfolio management. Simply link your credit and debit card purchases to the app, so that they can be rounded up to the nearest dollar and invested in six different funds based on your level of risk tolerance. You’ll only pay $1 a month for accounts under $5,000 and 0.25 percent of your annual assets for accounts that have more than $5,000.
Robinhood is a simple brokerage service offering $0 trading, perfect for young people just dipping their toes into the investment pool. With free stock trading, you can make investment choices with confidence with Robinhood, a member of FINRA. This app uses state-of-the-art security measures when handling sensitive personal information, which is fully encrypted and securely stored. The best part about this app is that it streams market data from exchanges in real-time, unlike some brokerages that delay quotes up to 20 minutes.
Openfolio uses the power of social networks to create a space where users can observe the investment strategies of people they know and trust, while sharing their own. Rather than dollar amounts, portfolios are shared in terms of percentage allocations. Instead of facing the murky, confusing waters of investments alone, users can benefit from the knowledge of more than 70,000 real investors.
Wealthfront is the ideal app if you’re looking for the most tax-efficient, low-cost, stress-free way to invest.Managing more than $2 billion in assets, Wealthfront starts it all with a green screen button where you can enter your age, annual income and cash/liquid assets. With fully diversified and automated online investment accounts, it’s easy to access Wealthfront at any time from a computer, tablet or smartphone.
Millennials may still choose to have financial advisors and use these apps to augment their decisions. It’s also wise for millennials to be smart about their brokers, too, so they should have the name of a stock fraud lawyer handy.