Best Four Investment Platforms

by Mar 21, 2020

Investing your hard earned money into a stock, mutual fund, exchange-traded fund, IRAs, or 401K can seem scary, overwhelming, and uncertain. Any kind of risk makes you nervous and that is totally understandable.

Investing in the stock market, however, is a great way to have your money work for you and grow over time.

There are so many platforms available to you that it can be daunting trying to figure out which one has the lowest commission fees, which one gives you the most information, and which one is the easiest to use.

This post will explain the most useful investment platforms to utilize whether you just want to get your feet wet with purchasing a stock or looking for long term growth in a specific investment fund.

Best Investment Platforms

The four main investment companies that have brought me the most success are Charles Schwab, Vanguard, E*TRADE, and Robinhood.

Each of these companies provides you with a unique benefit and a wealth of knowledge to assist in your investment strategies to help you make the right decision with your money.

1. CHARLES SCHWAB

This full service brokerage investment firm offers a wide range of investment options with varying accounts and investment opportunities.

Charles Schwab is ideal if you want a low cost broker with quick and reliable customer service. Their customer service is by far the best I have encountered and have been able to answer all of my questions 24 hours a day with convenient live chat options.

Charles Schwab is a reliable investment broker that has been around since the 1970s. Their pricing and fees are equal to or lower than their competitors, there are no account minimums, and they currently offer commission-FREE stock trades.

I would recommend Charles Schwab as the best all-around brokerage firm with the greatest opportunity to address any of your needs no matter what you are looking to invest in. Click here to explore what Charles Schwab can do for you

2. VANGUARD

Vanguard is a well-established investment firm that has consistently been known for its low cost investing options and high performing funds. Vanguard has an intuitive website and online tools that make it perfect for long term wealth management.

I highly recommend using this platform for Traditional Investment Retirement Accounts and Roth Investment Retirement Accounts, or IRAs. The funds consistently outperform the S&P and provide multiple diversification options that help your money grow as you get closer to retirement.

Their Target Funds are ideal for retirement accounts because they offer a diversified portfolio that adjusts its underlying asset mix over time. These funds provide a broad diversification and incrementally decreases investment in stocks and increases investment in bonds as the retirement date approaches. Additionally, the expense ratio, which is the cost for owning the Fund, is very low.

For example, a Vanguard Target Fund 2045 has an expense ratio of 0.15% and sets a retirement goal somewhere between 2043 and 2047. This means that if you have $1,000 invested in the fund, you are charged $1.50 at the end of the year.

Currently, this fund has approximately 90% of assets in equities and 10% of assets in bonds since you are 25 years from retirement.

Vanguard is an excellent choice for you if you are looking to capitalize on a strategic retirement account. The customer service is very good and the minimum amount to start investing in a fund is as low as $1,000. Vanguard is a great low cost brokerage firm that provides you access to multiple account options. Click here to open a Vanguard account.

3. E*TRADE

E*TRADE is an excellent investment platform for purchasing mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or individual stocks for long term investing. E*TRADE has recently announced commission free trades which used to cost anywhere between $5 and $10 per trade. If there is an equity that you would like to hold as a long term asset, I think E*TRADE is your best option.

E*TRADE provides many historical charts, data, and analysis that will help you make informed decisions on your investment strategies. This platforms is easy to follow, clearly identifies your real time realized and unrealized gains or losses, and allows you to follow your money as it grows through a variety of charts and graphs.

The website is very user friendly and navigating around is simple.

When setting up an account, you need to link up a checking or savings account to fund your E*TRADE account. The initial account set up usually takes between two and three days in order to fully complete the transfer of your funds. Click Here to Start your E*TRADE account

4. ROBINHOOD and ALLY INVEST

ROBINHOOD

Robinhood in a recently released application that is supported by iOS and Android that is absolutely incredible for purchasing Stocks, Cryptocurrencies, and Options. This application is ideal for trading short term, and even supports day trading.

The most obvious advantage to this application is that it provides you with real time pricing of the stock and your associated gains or losses. Most of the other investment platforms like Vanguard and E*Trade are delayed by 15 to 20 minutes. Robinhood is updated by the second. You know the value of your position at any given time.

Other advantages are that all transactions made on this app are Commission-FREE, no minimum deposit is required, you have access to after hours trading, and you have the ability to purchase fractional shares of a stock in the event that the price is too high to purchase an entire share. Click Here to start investing with Robinhood

ALLY INVEST

Ally Invest is another great online trading tool that has commission-free trades for Stocks, ETFs, and Options. Ally also offers Mutual Funds with commission fees much cheaper than Vanguard and E*Trade.

Ally Invest offers free real-time streaming quotes which is a huge advantage when compared to Vanguard and E*Trade. Ally Invest offers in-depth research and market analysis tools to support all types of investment strategies.

The accounts have no minimum requirements and have no fees for inactivity or maintenance. Currently, Ally Invest is offering a signup bonus depending on how much money you want to invest ranging from $50 to $3,000. Click Here to Start Trading with Ally Invest.

LESSON LEARNED!

Depending on what kind of investment opportunity you are looking for, the best investment platform will vary. For Long Term equities, E*TRADE is your best bet. For Short Term stocks, options, or crypto curries, Ally Invest or Robinhood is where you should be opening an account.

This provides the most useful investment platforms available to you depending on what type of investment strategy you are considering.

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