There are a lot of sites and apps for new investors, but it can be hard to find just the right one. Here are 10 best investing websites that will help beginners learn about stock investments.
E-Trade
E-Trade has been offering investment services online since 1994. It’s sister company, Morgan Stanley, acquired the financial investment marketplace in 2003 and has since poured resources into the site. The platform has a wealth of information covering all topics from diversification to risk tolerance to options trading. With screener tools, research, forecasts and retirement planning, E-Trade offers more than just an online trading site.
E-Trade is a brokerage firm that offers an incredible zero commission on U.S.-listed stocks, bonds, and options contracts. There is, however, a 50 cent fee for options contracts and $1.50 fee for futures contracts when you trade more than 30 options per quarter. The cash credit offer is available up to $600 or more when you open your account with E-Trade.
Robinhood
With Robinhood, investors can trade in stocks, options, exchange-traded funds and crypto. The website also offers margin trading as well as personalized investing advice tailored to beginners. Not only that, they offer this basic information without a specific account – so you have the chance to learn first, and invest later.
If you’re interested in spending on your purchases with a debit card, you’ll love the Robinhood cash card. You can spend the difference and invest the rest.
Webull
When it comes to investing, Millennials need an approachable and simple platform that gives them the information they need. Webull offers just that by providing courses on investing topics as well as actively developing new trading courses every month.
Webull makes investing in stocks, including fractional shares, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency simple and easy. Invest outside of regular trading hours through the app by visiting their site.
SoFi
SoFi offers an active trading platform with no commissions and account minimums. They offer stocks, including fractional shares, ETFs, options and crypto. Trade on margin if you have an active investing account. If you participate in IPOs before they start trading on a public exchange, SoFi is one of the best places for that. You’ll also have a community of investors available for information sharing and connecting.
Vanguard
Vanguard is a great online brokerage for beginners. It has a ton of information that is easy to understand and digest. In your Vanguard account, you can buy and sell mutual funds, individual equities, exchange-traded funds, bonds and certificates of deposit too!
Vanguard’s asset management team focuses on low cost and free ways to invest. In areas where fees are charged, there is a $6 account service fee for mutual funds and ETFs, as well as a $1 charge per contract for options contracts.
If you’ve been seeking no- and low-fee investment accounts, Vanguard is worth a look. They boast that 75% of the ETFs from their portfolio beat their Lipper peer group averages. However, not all investments are created equal.
Fidelity
Fidelity knows your time is valuable. They don’t charge commissions on financial transactions and offer easy-to-use customizable trading platforms. With Active Trader Pro, you can get information that will help you make informed decisions and improve your investment strategy. With the custom mobile dashboard, trading is just a phone call away.
Fidelity offers fractional share trading for over 7,000 stocks and ETFs in a program they call Stocks by the Slice. If you’re looking to pick up Berkshire Hathaway and don’t have six figures to spare, this is a great way to do it.
Ally Invest
Ally Invest provides investors with the option of self-directed investment, robo portfolios that are adjusted automatically in accordance with your goals, and wealth management by a human advisor.
Self-directed trading has no account minimum and can be traded on the app any time. We offer commission-free securities. Interested in investing in stocks, ETFs and options? No problem – trades are only 50 cents per contract, bonds come with a $1 fee every bond, and mutual funds cost $9.95 to trade. Want to invest in cheaper securities? No account minimum, and it will only cost you $4.95 plus a penny per share to trade!
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade offers three different trading platforms for investors with different needs. You can choose from thinkorswim, which is designed for web use or desktop, respectively. The mobile platform is optimized for handheld devices and lets you trade anytime and anywhere on your device, including Apple Watch.
Merrill Edge
Merrill Edge is a self-directed investing platform from Merrill, owned by Bank of America. This includes having no minimum investment and no commission charge for stocks, ETFs and options trades. The research and investing insight are available if you need them, either online or on the Merrill app.
Merrill promises generous rewards for those who open an account and deposit at least $20,000. Your reward level is tiered, so you’ll receive $100 for every $20,000 you put into your account when you sign up, then it’s $150 if you put $50,000 – $99,999 and so on.
If you are a Merrill customer, you can enjoy some of the perks Bank of America has to offer like credit card rewards and loan interest rate discounts. Your total Merrill account balance will count toward these benefits.
There’s a $1,000 minimum investment to get started with Merrill Guided Investing. However, if you’re not ready to manage your own investments yet, this can help you out. It offers asset allocation, monitoring and rebalancing by a Merrill fund manager.
Interactive Brokers
If you want to become a master in Futures trading and want to go down the rabbit hole, another product to consider is Interactive Brokers. They offer a wide range of platforms with varying complexity.
With Interactive Brokers’ platforms, you can trade options in more than 50 unique asset classes and everything in between. Not all positions are available on all platforms, though, so it’s important to choose your platform before you invest too much time or money.
