Everyone should have the opportunity to make their money grow, but the stock market can be a daunting place to enter. Luckily you don’t need to be a Wall Street wizz to get involved and here we showcase some of the best platforms to help you along your journey.
From funds to ETFs to ISAs, there are many ways to invest and below we share our favourite platforms to make the whole process simple, clear and safe.
CIRCA5000
This is one of our favourite apps to get started with impact investing. Putting your money into companies that make a positive impact on the planet is a real feel-good move and probably a good bet on the future. The app also helps to offset your carbon footprint with specially selected climate protection projects.
CIRCA5000 looks nice with its bright theme and simple interface. Offering a General Investment Account, ISA and Junior ISA, setting up your account is nice and straightforward. They have three different themes to choose from depending on how you’d like your money to impact the planet and you can get started from as little as £5.
No need to worry about how the stock market is performing, CIRCA5000 take care of everything so you can top-up regularly and watch your money grow with minimal fuss. There is a £1 monthly fee, which is very competitive across the board.
Use our link and you’ll get £15 credit when you sign up and make a deposit.
Get CIRCA5000 now
Plum
Plum is another fantastic app that removes the need to figure out the stock market by offering several funds with easy to understand risk options. Again, they have a very straightforward onboarding process, getting your account set up quickly.
In terms of funds, they have a varied selection from Tech Giants to Slow & Steady. Each fund has a risk rating and displays the average annual return, so you can make an informed decision based on how risky you are feeling.
The app has a ‘brain’ feature that is able to monitor your spending and then transfer the perfect amount to your investment account automatically, so you’ll be topping up little by little without feeling the pain. It’s possible to turn this feature off if you’d rather manage your top-ups manually.
It’s great to be able to see how all of your funds are performing and make changes on an individual level, keeping you in charge of your money at every stage.
As well as an ISA and a GIA, they also offer a SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) so you can plan for your future with ease. Starting from just £1 per month, Plum delivers a feature-packed start to your portfolio.
Get started with Plum
Freetrade
Freetrade moves us in a slightly different direction by giving you the power to pick and chose the individual companies you’d like to invest in. This is a little bit more advanced and comes with obvious risks, but Freetrade takes the complications out of the process so you can grow your savings on your own terms.
As well as individual stocks, you can also invest in ETFs, which are basically a grouping of many different stocks all within one wrapper. ETFs are great for giving a broader scope of the selected market and minimising risk, as if one company within the ETF dips, the others will keep the overall price level.
Another fantastic feature of the platform is the ability to buy partial shares. You may not want to purchase one whole share of a company like Apple or Amazon as these can cost an arm and a leg. Purchasing a partial part of these shares can let you invest in your favourite companies on a smaller scale, starting from just £2.
Their GIA account is free to use, which is a great place to start to get used to investing and the app. If you then want to upgrade, the ISA is £3 per month and the SIPP is £9.99 per month.
Use our link and you’ll receive a free share when you sign up worth up to £200.
Open a Freetrade account now
Wombat
Wombat is an excellent app choice for beginners and regular investors alike. Its simplified approach to stocks and funds really takes the stress out of investing in your favourite industries. Plus with commission-free trading, you can buy and sell to your heart’s content.
They offer an Instant GIA, Standard GIA and an ISA. The Instant GIA is their free account which allows you to buy and sell over 100 popular US stocks and shares. This includes the ability to purchase fractional shares. You do not get access to their funds with this account, but is a great way to try out the app and see how it works. The Standard GIA and ISA both cost £1 per month, with a 0.1% platform fee, and massively increase your available investments. You also then gain access to over 28 themed funds, such as ‘The Techie’, ‘The Green Machine’ and ‘The Balanced’. These funds are a great way to gain exposure to whole industries, without having to read an entire boring fund factsheet (although they do give you access to the fund documents if you want to have a read).
The stocks and ETFs available are limited in comparison to Freetrade, but if you’re just starting out, this should be ideal as too much choice can be paralysing and overwhelming. However, you do get access to all the big US companies that you’ll be fairly familiar with. A little information is displayed about each stock and fund, including a performance chart, but no detailed analysis or information, which may put off some of the more experienced investors who are interested in a stock’s nitty gritty.
Your portfolio is nicely displayed including assets and performance history. Plus you can calculate your future projections and set up automatic investments to make the investing process super simple. The last, very cool feature Wombat has up its sleeve is the ‘Learning Hub’. There are many articles here written to grow your knowledge of investing and financial markets. We think this is a must-have for any new investor and are very impressed with the broad scope of valuable information they share.
On the whole, Wombat is a wonderfully simple and easy app to navigate investing as a beginner. Deposits are almost instant and withdrawals are simple, plus you can get started for free!
Use our link to sign up and you’ll receive £20 to help jump-start your investing journey.
Join Wombat nowIn conclusion
There are many platforms in this space, but these are our favourites and the ones that we actually use, so recommend them from a personal point of view.
If you want to really diversify your portfolio then sign up for more than one, keeping your eggs in separate baskets is always a good idea for long term growth. Remember to keep an eye on the fees though and how your portfolio is performing, monthly is a good starting point.
All of these platforms offer great security and you can be safe in the knowledge that your money is protected. However, please remember that your capital is at risk. Investments can go down as well as up and you may end up with less than you start with, especially if you choose a high-risk investment. But don’t let this put you off, chose a risk level you are comfortable with and think about growth in the long term.
Happy investing.
This is simply our opinion and should be used for informational purposes only. We are not financial advisers and this article is not investment advice. Prize Runner accepts no liability for any losses incurred.
