Share Trading Apps – The Birth of the New Way to Trade
In my Blog, Investing, What are Your Options, we looked at different investing options available in the banking sector and share trading. In this blog, we will look at the individual share trading apps and how they work. It means that you are able to buy shares for a much smaller investment without having to pay the trading fees that are currently around $20 each trade.
There are plenty of providers of stock trading apps in Australia and most allow you to buy and sell stocks as well as check the value of your portfolio at the click of a button. Most allow you to buy and sell stocks on the move, as well as check the value of your portfolio at the click of a button. They are generally backed by online brokerage firms, but you need to ensure that your chosen app is licensed by a reputable body like ASIC, CySEC or the FCA.
Here are the Top 3
- eToro is by far the best stock trading app for beginners in Australia. If you’re considering how to buy stocks in Australia, in terms of what you can trade, the eToro investment app covers 17 international markets, including many of the best stocks to buy. Whether you’re keen on stocks from the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong, France, Germany, or Sweden – eToro has you covered. Regardless of the specific stocks, you decide to trade on the app, you won’t pay a single cent in commission.
- Eightcap is a new and exciting stock app that’s quickly become popular with traders. This app is a popular choice if you’re looking to invest in US and Australian stocks, with great coverage of these markets. This means you can invest in a wide range of top companies, from Amazon and Apple in the US to Rio Tinto and BHP Group in Australia. The minimum deposit is also just $100, so you can get started with a relatively small amount.
- Capital.com is another Australian stocks trading platform that’s worth looking into. It offers trading on more than 3,000 stocks from the UK, US, and Europe. All trading on Capital.com is 100% commission-free, which makes this very attractive.
Pocket Share Trading Apps
These are the micro-investing apps that are a mobile-focused approach to investing in stocks and shares here in Australia. No longer do you need to go through advisors or brokers to trade shares and stocks all in a handy, colourful app. It’s such a simpler and cleaner way for beginners to more experienced investors to invest.
Three of the best products are: Raiz, Spaceship, and now Commsec Pockets which all have several features that make them an excellent option for investors:
Accessibility – they are downloaded on your phone
Simplicity – They replace the full-service stockbrokers who give you advice and put trades in for you. They also replace the online broker platforms to buy and sell stocks (like SelfWealth). These investing apps are all in one and do the buy/sell steps for you, and it feels so much simpler.
Educational – These investing apps cater to the fact many of their users are first-time investors. Because of this, the apps are very supportive and informative of those learning the investing ropes. Through the language used (no jargon) and helpful articles or explainers.
Low Cost – Most brokers need you to put $500 into an investment to get started and even then there are fees on top of it. These apps reduce barriers. With Raiz or Spaceship, you only need $5 to get started. Some brokers charge $20, $30, $40+ per trade. That’s money you spend just to buy or sell with your money. Investing apps were built with low costs in mind. Comsec pockets for example only charge $2 a trade.
Even though each of the share trading apps look and feel similar in how they work there are some key differences.
- RAIZ have you invest in a mix of ETFs that are preselected or customised to your choosing.
- Spaceship is like a managed fund where the team pick stocks actively and you just invest in that.
- CommSec pockets is more DIY where you select the specific ETF and how much exactly you want.
I hope this has given you an insight into investing using apps rather than the traditional way of using share traders or brokers. It is such a personal decision buying and selling shares and maybe you might like to have a go? Some of these options can provide low cost share trading with a small investment.
Yours in Finance
Sarah x