There are many ways to invest in stocks, bonds, currencies, derivatives etc., but you can get started with just a few apps on your phone. If you have an extra £2k-£5k that you don’t need for at least a year or more then it’s one of the best investment routes to take a look at. You could put that money into a savings account where it won’t earn any interest and after 10 years it would be worth about £2k – probably less if you factor in inflation! But what other options do we have?
This article will explore some of the best investment apps for UK investors. A lot of people put off investing in their 20s and 30s, but it is easier than ever to get started without a huge initial sum of money. We will also discuss some of the downsides to each app and what sets them apart.
Thanks to new advances from across the fintech sector, you have never had more choice when it comes to investment apps that can help you to start making passive income from just your smartphone – all you need is a spare £5 or so that can be invested into one of these platforms regularly to begin to see returns.
The great thing about holding cash investments like this is that there’s very little risk involved. Although prices fluctuate every day, the market has historically returned around 10% per year so if you had invested £25 every month for 30 years, you would have turned your total investment of £9,000 into over £57,000 thanks to the power of compound interest. Not bad considering you didn’t have to lift a finger.
Sounds simple right? Sadly not. There are a huge amount of options available to the modern investor and not all are suitable for those inexperienced with the stock market. For that reason, we’ve picked what we think are the best apps and platforms for investing in stocks (and other assets) available in the UK.
The right app for you will depend on what you want to use it for, but these are all great places to start:
Robinhood
Robinhood is an increasingly popular app because they offer commission-free trading – which means no hidden fees when buying your investments.
There are no monthly charges or account minimum, but there is a £10 charge to withdraw any profits. The good thing about this app is that you can buy fractional shares – which means if you don’t have enough money for one share of Google (currently around £800), then you can just buy a bit instead and still make some gains! This platform might be better suited to more experienced traders, as there’s very little guidance on how to invest your money; however, they do provide useful articles and videos on their website such as Why Apple stock price may keep rising.
[Read our Robinhood review]Moneybox
Great for newcomers who have no real interest in how their money is put to work behind the scenes as long as it grows.
The Moneybox Stocks and Shares ISA differs a little from your average offering in that it includes the rounding up feature, meaning you can continue to drip-feed money into your account without even noticing it, helping to grow your investment portfolio.
[Read our Moneybox review]Coinbase
Coinbase is a well-known cryptocurrency exchange that makes it easy to buy, sell, and exchange cryptocurrency. Coinbase makes buying Bitcoin (or one of the many other cryptocurrencies on offer) as easy as buying a stock through an online brokerage, but arguably the biggest downside of the platform is the high fees they charge to get from fiat into the cryptocurrency you choose so be careful to factor that in.
[Read our Coinbase review]Freetrade
Freetrade provides free stock and ETF trading. Account opening is seamless, fully digital and really fast. The mobile trading platform is well-designed and user-friendly.
At Freetrade, you can only trade stocks and ETFs, and its products are limited to the US and UK markets. Research options cover only basic charting tools. Debit cards are available only for deposits, otherwise, no credit/debit card withdrawal is available.
[Read our Freetrade review]Wealthify
Wealthify is a digital investment management company, which aims to offer simple ways to invest your money. It technically falls under the category of “Robo-advisor” despite not being fully automated.
Wealthify invests your money in diversified portfolios to spread your risk across different industries and countries. Your portfolio will contain mainly low-cost, passive investments, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds.
[Read our Wealthify review]Investing doesn’t mean moving away from doing things yourself though – these things investment apps are about making the most of your money so you can save for those long-term goals. They each have a different function and allow a different level of involvement from users, but all offer a quick and easy way to invest that saves time and effort.
