Mobile Investment Apps

Discuss all general (i.e. non-personal) investing questions and issues, investing news, and theory.
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Bryce
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Mobile Investment Apps

Post by Bryce »

Hi there. New to the forum and somewhat to investing in general. I have dabbled in some of the mobile investment apps (Robinhood, Stash, etc.), I am hoping to get some feedback on what others think about these platforms as opposed to traditional investing via a financial planner?
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Re: Mobile Investment Apps

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Welcome! I moved your post to the Investing - Theory, News & General forum (general question).
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livesoft
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Re: Mobile Investment Apps

Post by livesoft »

I have an internet browser on my phone and found that it is more than sufficient for my needs to view my online accounts and place the occasional trade. My phone is mobile. Also works to read this forum without issues. I don't need to clutter up my phone with bloatware.
Last edited by livesoft on Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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reln
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Re: Mobile Investment Apps

Post by reln »

Bryce wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:44 pm Hi there. New to the forum and somewhat to investing in general. I have dabbled in some of the mobile investment apps (Robinhood, Stash, etc.), I am hoping to get some feedback on what others think about these platforms as opposed to traditional investing via a financial planner?
Stick with vanguard. It's better to avoid those trading apps.
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CyclingDuo
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Re: Mobile Investment Apps

Post by CyclingDuo »

Bryce wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:44 pmHi there. New to the forum and somewhat to investing in general. I have dabbled in some of the mobile investment apps (Robinhood, Stash, etc.), I am hoping to get some feedback on what others think about these platforms as opposed to traditional investing via a financial planner?
Bryce, welcome to Bogleheads.org.

Have a look around and do some reading on the site. I would highly suggest you start here and watch the videos: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Video:B ... philosophy

There are only two "Mobile Investment Apps" I recommend because you can invest in Vanguard ETFs for the long haul. M1 Finance let's you do an easily constructed portfolio such as the three fund portfolio. The other is the Acorns App which uses a typical Boglehead portfolio that is the three fund portfolio - approximates total US stock market using VOO with a mid-cap and small-cap fund, a total international Stock Market ETF, and the Total US Bond Market as well.

Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, etc... all have Apps as well for account holders.

Great read for you here as well: https://www.etf.com/docs/IfYouCan.pdf

CyclingDuo
"Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist." - Morgan Housel | "Pick a bushel, save a peck!" - Grandpa
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Bryce
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Re: Mobile Investment Apps

Post by Bryce »

CyclingDuo,

Thanks for the info! The ETF read was excellent. I definitely find that a major issue among myself and friends is budgeting and dedicating funds towards investment. I have looked at Acorns a bit, but haven't tried it yet. The rounding up option on purchases is a great way to help add funds towards investments without much thought.
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CyclingDuo
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Re: Mobile Investment Apps

Post by CyclingDuo »

Bryce wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:56 am CyclingDuo,

Thanks for the info! The ETF read was excellent. I definitely find that a major issue among myself and friends is budgeting and dedicating funds towards investment. I have looked at Acorns a bit, but haven't tried it yet. The rounding up option on purchases is a great way to help add funds towards investments without much thought.
I think we've all experienced what you mention about the difficulty of budgeting and dedicating some funds towards investment at various points in our early working years being difficult.

Budgeting certainly is a skill - or discipline - well worth learning. Many of us - due to our jobs - are required to create a budget each and every quarter/year that needs approval from a higher up and we are required to follow it, so it is easy to transfer some of that discipline over to a personal or household budget. Obviously, income and expenses being the determining factor for creating a personal budget that works. Setting aside a certain amount of your income to invest doesn't have to be a huge amount - especially when one is young and just getting started. Most of us were all there in our 20's and early 30's for sure. Trying to at least set aside 5%, 8%, 10%, 15%, 17.5% - it's all good to get going.

Acorns is well promoted by CNBC as they have partnered with them and provide an entire series of educational blog posts, interviews, etc... . I like that the portfolio are the same ETF's to create a non-complex Boglehead portfolio of total US and total international equity markets along with the total US bond market. The rounding up option is nice, as is the Chrome extension to get money from companies when you buy things online. If combined with an automatic transfer from your bank account every day, week or month - it's a nice automatic way to build a nice little nest egg. Of course, there is an administrative fee for this - so the same ETF's at Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, e-Trade, etc... will cost you less over time. However, for a mobile app to get started - it's a very good choice.

I like David Bach's formula for investing - in spite of all the criticism of his simple formula. "Pay yourself first, each and every day." His simple formula says you figure out your annual salary and break it down into an hourly amount. Just take your annual salary divided by 2080 which is 52 weeks of working 40 hours a week to get your hourly gross income wage. Save the equivalent of that hourly wage each and every day X 365. That works out to saving 17.5% of your gross income annually. Or if one is paid an hourly wage, just use that.

How's that pan out on a daily basis?

$31,200 annual salary means you save $15.00 per day.
$35,000 annual salary means you save $16.82 per day.
$50,000 annual salary means you save $24.03 per day.
$70,000 annual salary means you save $33.65 per day.
$95,000 annual salary means you save $45.67 per day.
$120,000 annual salary means you save $57.69 per day.
$150,000 annual salary means you save $72.11 per day.

Obviously, many save less than this and many save more than this. However, it is not a bad simple formula if struggling to figure out where to start and how much to save when creating your personal budget. The $35K salary saving that amount above would allow you to max out an IRA each year. Getting up to the $95K and above amounts would allow you to max out your 401k with that formula.

Enough rambling. Welcome to the forums and all the best at getting going with your investing journey!

CyclingDuo
"Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist." - Morgan Housel | "Pick a bushel, save a peck!" - Grandpa
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RickBoglehead
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Re: Mobile Investment Apps

Post by RickBoglehead »

Bryce wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:44 pm Hi there. New to the forum and somewhat to investing in general. I have dabbled in some of the mobile investment apps (Robinhood, Stash, etc.), I am hoping to get some feedback on what others think about these platforms as opposed to traditional investing via a financial planner?
You're asking about multiple things that aren't correlated.

Are you looking to manage your money via your phone, tablet, or computer? Robinhood is a investing and stock trading platform. Stash is similar.

Vanguard, Schwab, E-Trade and others offer similar platforms, although apps may have different features.

But "traditional investing via a financial planner" is a totally different thing. Many people invest their money via "traditional investing" yet don't use a financial planner or anyone else.
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CyclingDuo
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Re: Mobile Investment Apps

Post by CyclingDuo »

Bryce wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:56 am CyclingDuo,

Thanks for the info! The ETF read was excellent. I definitely find that a major issue among myself and friends is budgeting and dedicating funds towards investment. I have looked at Acorns a bit, but haven't tried it yet. The rounding up option on purchases is a great way to help add funds towards investments without much thought.
I forgot to mention that I put my kids up to the challenge of $5 a day into their Acorns accounts from their discretionary income (they started this back in 2017)...

Image

This is separate from their 401k and IRA investing, but just as a side challenge I encouraged for them using the mobile app. $5 a day goes from their bank account into the Acorns portfolio (Monday gets the weekend transfers invested).

CyclingDuo
"Save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist." - Morgan Housel | "Pick a bushel, save a peck!" - Grandpa
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