Do you want to get started with investing, but don’t have enough money outside of your monthly budget to play the stock market? You can avoid this situation by building a cash pool for investing via an automated savings app.
Thanks to the fintech revolution, there’s no shortage of easy-to-use savings and investing apps that can help you both accumulate a cash reserve, invest it, and earn returns. Here are a few of the best iOS and Android mobile apps on the market in this category.
Acorns
The Acorns app offers you an innovative and effortless way to save money. The app diverts your spare change from daily transactions into a savings account by automatically rounding up these transactions to the nearest dollar.
When your account reaches $5, Acorns invests it in a passively managed diversified investment portfolio. You can also fund your portfolio from recurring automatic transfers from your bank account. The Acorns app acts as a robo-advisor that invests your money in iShares and Vanguard exchange-traded funds based on your preferences, as provided in a questionnaire.
The Acorns app doesn’t allow you to pick individual stocks and bonds on its platform. However, you can cash out your account at any time. In the meantime, you can gain an average 7.5% return on your money through the investing feature. Plus, you only pay a $5 deposit to start your account and a $3 monthly fee, or $5 per month for families.
Qapital
Qapital can add a little fun to your life while building a savings account. When you link this savings app to your bank account, you can customize its autosave feature to make automatic deposits to your savings account, according to specific events. For example, you can instruct Qapital to transfer $5 each time you buy a veggie smoothie at your local juice bar, or whenever you cross a toll bridge.
Qapital also allows you to use its round-up feature on all your transactions for transferring the difference to your account. Before you know it, you can accumulate a few hundred dollars to invest via Qapital’s pre-built portfolio options. Try the app free for 30 days. After the trial, the monthly fee structure is $3 for the basic, $6 for the complete, and $12 for the premier version.
Digit
Digit is a mobile savings app designed to help you set and manage a budget capable of freeing up money for investing. After you connect Digit to your bank account, it uses smart algorithms to analyze your spending habits and income to determine the daily amount you can afford to save for an investment account. Then, Digit begins to transfer small amounts into your federally insured Digit account. The app then invests your money in exchange-traded funds based on your risk tolerance.
Digit keeps you up to date with your balance with real-time daily notifications. Also, you can pause the transfers at any time. After a free 30-day trial, the monthly fee is $5.
Stash
Stash’s combination of banking, investing, and savings features make it a worthy option for those who want to start investing, but don’t have much cash to do so. Stash has solved this problem by allowing users to purchase fractional shares (less than a full share) of a variety of stocks and exchange-traded funds. So, if you want to buy a stock whose price is $1,000 per share, but you only have $100, you can still buy in with a fraction of a share. In addition to active trading, the app can also invest your money automatically.
Stash also stands out because it offers more than just a way to set money aside and invest. Even the lowest-priced monthly plan at $1 per month includes a stock-back card, which you can use to earn stock in well-known companies.
Betterment
Betterment’s range of investing, savings, checking, and planning features make it a great option for those looking for an all-in-one personal finance tool. The app’s automated investing feature makes it easy to build a portfolio—users simply enter the amount they want to earn and a deadline for this goal, then set up automatic deposits. The app recommends different strategies based on these goals, though it favors low-cost exchange-traded funds in all portfolios. Users can also select from socially responsible investment strategies, like climate and social impact portfolios. Over time, users can adjust their portfolio themselves or enable the auto-adjust option.
In addition to investing accounts, Betterment offers individual retirement accounts (IRAs) as well as checking and cash reserve savings accounts. Automated analysis and guidance can help users find money in their budget for savings.
Starting Your Investment Fund
The toughest part of saving and investing is maintaining your discipline for an extended period. The mobile savings and investment apps listed above make this process so much easier by doing most of the hard work for you. All you have to do is decide to get started.