Investment apps – the new way to invest
If you thought investing involved putting on a suit, going to the floor of the stock exchange, and shouting at each other while throwing papers in the air — we don’t blame you. Luckily, these days, the rise of investment apps is making it more accessible and easier than ever to invest (sans the stuffy suits).
The growing appeal of investment apps is that they’re easy to use, commission-free, offer a low entry point, and competitive brokerage fees. Whether you’re a beginner looking to enter the stock market or a seasoned expert, there’s plenty of investment apps for any level of experience. To help find the right one for you, we’ve put together the most popular investment apps to use in Australia.
Pro tip!
1. Raiz
Costs & Fees:
- $2.50 per month for accounts under $10,000
- 0.275% per year for accounts over $10,000 or more
- No deposit or withdrawal fees
Previously known as Acorns, Raiz is a micro-investing app designed to make investing accessible and easy for everyone (especially for millennials). Raiz has six investment diversified portfolios available, each of which has a different risk profile. On the app, there are three ways to invest — round-ups, recurring, and lump sums. The most popular feature used, Round-Ups automatically rounds up the spare change from your daily purchases and invests it into a diversified portfolio of ETFs.
How does it work?
2. Spaceship Voyager
Costs & Fees:
- No fees on balances less than $5,000
- No contribution, brokerage, withdrawal, or exit fees
- 0.10% p.a. on balances above $5,000 (for Spaceship Universe Portfolio)
- 0.05% p.a. on balances above $5,000 (for Spaceship Origin Portfolio)
Spaceship Voyager is another micro-investing app popular with Aussies. It allows you to invest small amounts into the stock market and is especially handy if you’re stuck on which shares to pick. Spaceship Voyager offers two managed funds to choose from — Spaceship Universe Portfolio and Spaceship Origin Portfolio. The Spaceship Universe Portfolio invests in a portfolio of companies that meet Spaceship’s ‘Where the World is Going’ criteria including Spotify, Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla.
The Spaceship Origin Portfolio ‘passively’ invests in a portfolio of some of the world’s largest companies on the ASX200 including Apple, Johnson & Johnson, and Amazon. You can choose to either make weekly, fortnightly, or monthly payments and adjust them at any time.
3. CommSec Pocket
Costs & Fees:
- No account keeping or withdrawal fees
- $2 brokerage fee on trades up to $1,000
- Trades over $1,000 are charged at 0.20% of the trade value
Offered by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), CommSec Pocket was introduced to make investing more accessible by allowing you to invest as little as $50 with competitive brokerage fees. Usually, to invest in the stock market you would have to put down a minimum of $500 with brokerage fees often in the $10-$25 range.
CommSec Pocket offers seven investment options to choose from, each of which has its own theme:
| Aussie Top 200 | IOZ iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF |
|---|---|
| Aussie Dividends | SYI SPDR MSCI Australia Select High Dividend Yield Fund |
| Global 100 | IOO iShares Global 100 ETF |
| Emerging Markets | IEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF |
| Health Wise | IXJ iShares Global Healthcare ETF |
| Sustainability Leaders | ETHI BetaShares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF |
| Tech Savvy | NDQ BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF |
With CommSec Pocket, you can either set automatic fortnightly or monthly investments, or make one-off payments.
4. SelfWealth
Costs & Fees:
- No account fees
- No minimum balance required
- Flat $9.50 brokerage fee per trade no matter the size
Best known for its flat-fee brokerage service, SelfWealth allows you to buy and sell shares, view your order history, and make amends to your orders. It also gives you the tools to analyse stock performance and determine your overall earnings. Not only is SelfWealth a trading app, it also has an online investor community. As SelfWealth only charges $9.50 per trade no matter the size, it is ideal for those who want to do larger trades.
5. AtlasTrend
Costs & Fees:
- 0.99% annual management fee
- Trigger-based performance fees
- 0.10% (capped) ordinary expense recovery for each ‘trend’
- Minimum investment of $100 per month or $1,000 lump sum
AtlasTrend is an investment platform that allows you to invest in global trends. They offer three managed funds — Big Data Big, Clean Disruption, and Online Shopping Spree. Here’s what each fund mainly covers:
| Big Data Big | Technology, software, cloud, data, etc. |
|---|---|
| Clean Disruption | Renewable energy, electric vehicles, battery technology, etc. |
| Online Shopping Spree | E-commerce retailers, online marketplaces, etc. |
Ready to grow your money?
If you want to learn more about investing, make sure to check out our other articles on Oiyo! Whether it’s how to invest in shares, managed funds, or the low-down on bitcoin, there’s plenty of useful reads and handy guides on offer.
Oiyo is a consolidated online resource, we are not financial advisors. We work with a range of industry professionals and compliance check our articles to ensure factual accuracy. However, we do not provide professional financial advice. Consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice to check how the information and ideas presented in this article relate to your unique circumstances.