8 Technological Tools That Help With Investment

Technology continues to change industries, ranging from healthcare to finance. When it comes to the latter, there are a number of real-world examples that show the positive impact of technology.

Investing, for instance, has become significantly easier than it was 10 years ago. You no longer have to call your broker by phone just to place a buy or sell order, the commission fees are much lower, and there is access to a broader range of financial products, from stocks to cryptocurrencies. 

Whether you're a novice investor or an experienced one, having the right technological tools can make the difference between blowing your account up in a few months and growing it consistently. Now with technological investment platforms, you can track and manage your investments at any time. It has never been easier to invest financially in your future.

Let’s take a look at some innovative investment tools that make investing easier.

First on the list is Benzinga Pro, a paid software program that lets you collect, view, and analyze stock information. Some of its strengths, according to its user base, include the software's easy-to-use platform, customizable research tools, a real-time newsfeed, and voice and desktop alerts that you can set so you always know when your stocks jump. Benzinga Pro also gives you access to a calendar feature that keeps you up to date on upcoming events, i.e. conference calls, mergers and acquisitions, retail sales, stock splits, IPOs, earnings, and more.

Gold may be one of the oldest assets there is, but it's far from a boring investment. Many people do not often consider it as an investment option. However, investing in gold can have great benefits. Gold can hedge against inflation as the price typically rises with the cost of living. Also, the purchasing power of gold can soar during economic periods of deflation. During geopolitical uncertainty, the price of gold can outperform other benefits. 

Whether you're planning to buy IRA-approved gold or gold bullion coins, Gold IRA Guide is a good resource to supplement your investing venture. The site offers guides to a myriad of relevant topics, from gold IRA companies to retirement plans. They also have a free pricing widget that lets you track the price of gold today and other forms of precious metals.

A relatively new entrant in the space is Wealthbase, a fantasy stock trading platform that attempts to make investing more fun, social, and educational. You can start a simulated trading game with friends and start trading stocks, exchange-traded funds, and cryptocurrencies with zero risk. Upon signing up, you get $100,000 in fake capital that you can use to pick and buy the financial assets of your choice. You can then track its performance relative to your friend's portfolios. This may be a great resource if you are just getting into investing and want to test the waters before investing real money into a market or fund.

Mint isn't an investment app, but it does help you become a better investor by making sure your personal finances are kept in check. If you aren't mindful of your monthly expenses or earnings growth, you may end up having to withdraw capital from your investment account/s in order to pay for your basic necessities. Mint makes managing your finances easier with features, such as bill payment and budgeting goal trackers, a free and regularly updated credit score, budget alerts, categorized bank transactions, and an investment portfolio tracker.

Acorns were one of the first fintech applications, yet it remains one of the most popularly used in its respective category. It makes investing easier by automatically rounding up the total cost on your credit or debit card transactions and investing the difference into an exchange-traded fund portfolio. If you would like to invest a little bit into an ETF each time you make a purchase, this may be a good option for you to consider.

Unarguably one of the biggest investing platforms today is Robinhood. The investment app is one of the first mobile-based commission-free brokers that let you invest in most stocks, ETFs, and options contracts. Recently, the platform also started offering cryptocurrency trading. All transactions are free and can be done from your smartphone. You can access technical information and vital statistics of the financial asset you are attempting to buy or sell. There is also no minimum capital requirement when opening an account.

If you prefer to pick stocks, commodities, precious metals, or currencies based on sound technical analysis, TradingView is a rich platform with intuitive price charts, social investing features, thousands of community-built indicators, smart drawing tools, and automated multi-device alerts. On top of these features, you have over a hundred fundamental fields and ratios, valuation analysis tools, financial statements, and years of historical price data to train your algorithms with.

Finally, there is SoFi which is a nontraditional lender that allows you to receive loan financing, refinance your mortgage, and make investments. With their investment features, you can trade ETFs and stocks without paying commission fees. You can participate in IPOs before they start publicly trading and you can buy fractional shares for easier starter investments. They also provide automated investing features, IRA options, and cryptocurrency trading. This makes SoFi easily a one-stop-shop if you are looking to make multiple types of investments and want to keep them all in one place.

Investing today for your future retirement has never been easier with the variety of options out there. These technological tools are making it easier for small-time investors to participate in financial markets. That said, the capital risk is still very much a possibility. Always protect your capital when investing, regardless of how many investment tools you use or how advanced they are. When deciding which one to use, consider what your investment needs are and what benefits you hope to get out of an investment platform.

Lizzie Howard is a Colorado native who after graduating from the University of Colorado spends her time as a freelance writer. When Lizzie isn’t writing, she enjoys going on hikes, baking for her friends and family, and spending time with her beloved yellow lab, Sparky.