Investment Apps?

[bucktalk]

Can anyone recommended a user friendly stock investment app that has proven to be spot on? I was almost ready to use 'Stash' but the reviews are not so encouraging.
Any recommendations?
Thanks.

[Thomas Vu]

Is robinhood not cool anymore?

[T. Jamison]

I have never used any of them so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I've heard Betterment is really good. I believe they only offer index funds, but that is a sound investment strategy if you aren't interested in spending a significant amount of time trying to beat the market. They have really low fees, and they also give general financial planning advice based on where you are in life, and what your finances look like.

[bucktalk]

I appreciate your input. I am a complete novice to self investing but want to learn.
Thanks.

I have never used any of them so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I've heard Betterment is really good. I believe they only offer index funds, but that is a sound investment strategy if you aren't interested in spending a significant amount of time trying to beat the market. They have really low fees, and they also give general financial planning advice based on where you are in life, and what your finances look like.

[TheSteveHunt]

robinhood is amazing...bought a bunch of $99 wmt calls tue for FREE.. looking good

[chuck5815]

i've really enjoyed trading on robinhood. the ability to basically trade for free gives you a lot of flexibility to whip your capital around and take advantage of the recent volatility.

[mugofbeer]

No single app is going to be spot on. I know sites such as Fidelity and Schwab have excellent learning modules for beginners. Unfortunately, their rep quality is a fraction of what it should be. Schwab traders have always been more trading saavy.
In the investment world, nothing works every time.

[mkjeeves]

I've been using Schwab for trades and their online information for research for a few decades. I do also have Future Advisor and Personal Capitol web accounts that monitor and make recommendations. I read those, learn what they are recommending, do other research and then do what I think is best. Everything is a tool.

[TheSteveHunt]

I bought some way out of the money Walmart calls Tuesday and they did pretty good yesterday. Pretty much the only reason I did it is that option trading is now free on Robin Hood. Cannot beat that

[TheSteveHunt]

If you are talking about getting information for good stocks, I use Dean bakers beat the Press blog.

[TheSteveHunt]

Finviz.com obviously is the best tool there is for Smart Guys. There is an app, stock screener pro that I believe is associated with them. At the very least it scrapes data from the site and it is incredibly useful. You can pay $25 one time and get an unbelievable amount of screening tools.

[mugofbeer]

Finviz.com obviously is the best tool there is for Smart Guys.

Take THIS with a grain of salt.

[pw405]

If you're new to the market, I really like Cramer's advice - don't buy individual stocks until you've got $10,000 in a low cost ETF. An ETF, or exchange traded fund, is an investment product that is a collection of stocks that can be bought or sold during market hours. Companies such as Vanguard and Wisdom Tree offer ETFs. They make money by charging a small fee.

Vanguard's VTI is an ETF that buys the entire stock market. VYM is an ETF that seeks to buy larger stable companies that pay higher than the average dividend yield and have a reliable track record of paying dividends. VOO is Vanguard's ETF that seeks to match the S&P 500 index. All are good options, low cost.

I buy stocks on Etrade, but only because it was where I first started 10 years ago. Many good options out there. Robinhood seems to be getting quite a bit of attention. Acorns is another app I've seen advertised. Acorns rounds up all your purchases to the nearest whole dollar and then invests the change. (ie, buy lunch for $7.25, then $0.75 is put in your brokerage account, $8 is withdrawn from your bank).

Wherever you invest, make sure they offer a "DRIP" - Dividend Re Investment Program. I know Etrade has this, but it allows you to take your dividends and automatically buy more stock without charging a commission.

[TheSteveHunt]

Sorry if you missed my 1500% return in 3 days WMT call tip, guys. Thought I was being clear about it...

[pw405]

Sorry if you missed my 1500% return in 3 days WMT call tip, guys. Thought I was being clear about it...

I'll put my entire net worth on your next tip.

[TheSteveHunt]

Just get on robinhood for the options.... this is pretty much a once in a lifetime deal...

[soonermike81]

Once in a lifetime deal? Can you tell me more about RH?

[TheSteveHunt]

Once in a lifetime deal? Can you tell me more about RH?

Robinhood is a trading platform, another silicon valley VC funded startup trying to, as the cliche goes "disrupt!" the industry.
They offer free trading. Period...that was cool for the first yr or so, but, recently they've added option trading..which is HUGE.
Trading options is very expensive... When I moved to rh, I had a 60% return in the past yr on options, it would have been well
over 100%+ if not for fees... but there are no fees on RH... they are attempting to make money other ways, which they will not...
this'll only last a few yrs, but for now, you'd be crazy not to take advantage.

[soonermike81]

Robinhood is a trading platform, another silicon valley VC funded startup trying to, as the cliche goes "disrupt!" the industry.
They offer free trading. Period...that was cool for the first yr or so, but, recently they've added option trading..which is HUGE.
Trading options is very expensive... When I moved to rh, I had a 60% return in the past yr on options, it would have been well
over 100%+ if not for fees... but there are no fees on RH... they are attempting to make money other ways, which they will not...
this'll only last a few yrs, but for now, you'd be crazy not to take advantage.

So sounds like you recognize the company model isn’t sustainable in the long run? Does that not worry you? People are signing up in droves for “free stock” and “zero commission trades.” But once a ton of high net worth people pull out their money, what happens?

[TheSteveHunt]

So sounds like you recognize the company model isn’t sustainable in the long run? Does that not worry you? People are signing up in droves for “free stock” and “zero commission trades.” But once a ton of high net worth people pull out their money, what happens?

people pull their money out..no big deal it isn't a stock or a bank, it is a trading platform. I will use it for a yr or 2 and when I sense there is trouble, I'll either exit or
see what the rules are for how my money is dealt with on a collapse..either way, I dont keep a ton of my $$$ in it, I cash out when I hit a big one...

[mugofbeer]

If a restaurant isn't making money on the burger, they have to make it on the fries - otherwise, they don't stay open. Along with add revenue and sales of ancillary products, I suspect you may not get quite as good a fill on your order at RH as you might elsewhere which might take the place of the commission. In any case, no commission trading may be more common. J P Morgan - Chase announced today commission free trades that can either be for a limited time or permanent if you deposit, l think, over $100k - plus having immediate access to other Chase accounts you might have. I am happy where l am and usually get fills decently better than the bid/ask on my options. its a changing fee environment in the brokerage biz.

[TheSteveHunt]

I want to get some VC to start a scratch 'n win option game business... scratch off and you get a out-of-the money CMG call or something like that. Fun fun fun!

[mugofbeer]

There is something called the SEC and standard requirements for options trading before someone can hold them. There are no certificates or other tangible representations of option contracts so you can't do this. Try again.

[TheSteveHunt]

We will get enough VC money that we can be disrupters, like Bird Co.!!!!! And plus, the SEC has what, 2 employees left? I know one named John and he wears his pants up to his ears practically, a total nerd!!!

[TheSteveHunt]

But seriously, I need to find a local SQL whiz to help me with some option trading algorithim stuff.. I have a guy at MIT I did some stuff with for daily fantasy baseball, but I'd like someone local for this...anyone know anyone?