Invest your money the easy way with the best apps at the minute – because time is money, after all.
With its simple claim of ‘investing on autopilot’, this latest wealth management app offers an unambiguous three-tier investment strategy depending on your ‘risk profile’, to investment: Conservative, Balanced or Growth. Wealthsimple’s approach is to invest your money across the entire stock market as opposed to in one sole company’s stock, which means a long-term, pragmatic approach to managing your money.
Setting it up couldn’t be easier as you answer some questions, select your risk profile and amount to invest that suits you, an algorithm processes your answers, and a portfolio is offered to you based on that information.
There’s still an element of customisation to be had, depending on your personal preferences but all told, once you see your personalised dashboard, with the ability to see how individual stocks are performing, you’ll be wondering what all those NYC traders in bad Eighties films ever got so hot under their Brooks Brothers collars about.
Often touted since its launch as “Robo-advisor”, Moneyfarm operates along the same lines as Wealthsimple, in that you answer questionnaires to identify your attitude to risk, investment requirements and financial history, but there is still a palpable element of human interaction as actual wealth managers oversee assets and check they still represent good investments.
With more than 10,000 customers in the UK since launching here last year, it now manages assets in excess of £260 million, and its partnership with Allianz Ventures last year has only given this Italian firm more chances to air its achievements with braggadocio.
With its mission to ‘democratise investing’, this Welsh-based startup offers opportunities from as low as £250 and offers a logic-based questionnaire to asses the suitability of your desired portfolio versus the risks you want your capital secured against. In that sense, it (hopefully) means you won’t be making any mistakes when it comes down to what you want to invest in.
Then, your money goes across a variety of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFS) with help from its various algorithms and your personal portfolio. If we let the numbers do the talking, Wealthify has offered returns of 8.86% to 28.5% in the past, but that, of course, depends on the risks you’re prepared to take.
Now, as mega-big multinational insurance company Aviva have made a play and acquired a majority stake in the app, things just got real for these boys and girls from Cymry.
After a slow start, some serious Russian and Chinese Investment, not to mention the ingenuity of its staff, eToro now bills itself as a ‘social trading network’ and Tel Aviv, (along with headquarters in London and er, Limassol) is certainly the new centre of tech innovation.
Essentially an app for those who aren’t so guarded about taking risks, you can copy the habits and connect with actual traders to learn from them and invest in stocks, commodities and even currencies all from your mobile.
Unlike some of the others here, eToro also gives you a chance to earn a second income from your assets under management, and if the way you trade gets copied too. Rather helpfully, there are measures in place to ensure you won’t be throwing your car keys on the table after a particularly bad decision.
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