Make Investing Simple Whether you’re putting away your first $1,000 or have been saving for the future for years, you’re going to want to consider investing your funds at some point. Doing so will allow you to maximize returns and exponentially grow your savings. Unfortunately, the investment process can be pretty intimidating, especially if you are starting out on your own. It’s hard to know how to begin, where to invest, how to balance your portfolio and even what sort of fees you should expect to pay along the way. That’s where the convenience and ease of today’s best investment apps can come into play. [youmaylike] What are Investment Apps? Once upon a time, your only choice for investing was to pick up the phone and call your stock broker to initiate a trade. You were charged for the service, either based on commission or as a flat fee per transaction. While stock brokers are still an option, you can take investing into your own hands these days, without ever needing to talk to another human. And it’s all thanks to investment apps and platforms. Today’s apps offer a range of services and features. With them, users can: Research funds and individual stocks. View fees and expenses related to investment choices. Invest funds on the go, and even automate regular contributions. Automatically reinvest earnings on current investments. Adjust portfolio for personal risk tolerance. View performance projections. Choose funds or individual stocks that align with personal beliefs, through portfolios based on socially-responsible missions. The best part? Investing through trusted apps is usually cheaper and faster and you’ll have instant access to your portfolio/reports at any time of day. Not only that, but you’ll also be able to set your investment risk tolerance, rebalance your portfolio and even reinvest earnings automatically. Who are Investment Apps Designed For? Whether you’ve been playing the market for ages or are ready to invest your first $100, the right investment app is worth considering. For those new to the stock market, apps will simplify the process and put the power of investing at your fingertips… literally. From your phone or computer, you can easily see portfolio recommendations based on your own goals, savings plans and even risk tolerances. The right app will tell you upfront how much you can expect to spend in fees throughout the year, and can even allow you to automate many of the more confusing aspects, such as picking well-performing stocks or even rebalancing. While investment apps are ideal for beginners, newbies aren’t the only ones who will see the benefits. Even seasoned investors will find the process easy to use, and may even learn that these platforms can maximize returns (and save them money in fees) along the way. Not to mention, many investment apps offer additional insight into specific funds, so you can choose to invest in companies that align with your own passions and beliefs. Now that you know why you should consider using an investment app for your own savings, let’s take a look at some of the best ones available today. Best Investment Apps Great for Beginners: Acorns Fees and expenses: For investors with less than $1 million invested, fees are between $1-3 per month depending on the account option you choose. Acorns is also free for college students. Beginning investment requirement: At least $5 to start Types of investments available: ETFs (exchange-traded funds) Portfolio options: Conservative, Moderately Conservative, Moderate, Moderately Aggressive, Aggressive Automatic investing?: Yes Automatic reinvesting?: Yes Automatic rebalancing?: Yes If you want an easy, hands-off approach to investing that won’t leave your head spinning, Acorns is a great first choice. This app not only simplifies investing for beginners but allows investors to completely automate the process from start to finish. After connecting the app to your debit card, the app will “round up” each of your daily purchases, putting the savings into an investment holding account. Once you reach the minimum required, Acorns will invest this money on your behalf, based on your account preferences. The app will also reinvest your earnings, as well as rebalance your portfolio when necessary. Great for Truly Free Investing: Robinhood Fees and expenses: Robinhood is a free investment platform in every sense of the word, pledging to never charge company fees or commissions to customers. Beginning investment requirement: You’ll need $2,000 to get started. Types of investments available: ETFs, stocks, cryptocurrency and options. Portfolio options: Interest-based options such as Fashion ETF, Tech ETF and Energy ETF, as well as a standard S&P 500 ETF, all with personal risk tolerance settings. You’ll also find “collections,” which are individual stocks grouped according to specific interests — such as companies with female CEOs or that are in the social media sector. Automatic investing: No. Automatic reinvesting: No. Automatic rebalancing: Yes. A great option for beginners and experienced investors alike, Robinhood makes the process both easy and affordable. How affordable? Well, it’s entirely free. By offering a truly free experience, Robinhood saves investors some serious cash over time. Additionally, the platform makes it easy to choose individual stocks or ETFs based on personal interests. If you want to invest in cryptocurrency or options, you can also do so through Robinhood. One of the biggest limitations of the platform, though, is its automation. While you can set up automatic deposits into your account, you will need to manually invest those funds and then reinvest (or withdraw) your dividends. Stash Fees and expenses: $1 per month fee for those with less than $5,000 invested, or $2 per month for retirement accounts with less than $5,000. For users under 25, fees on retirement accounts are waived. If you have more than $5,000 invested, your fee will be 0.25% annually. Beginning investment requirement: You’ll need at least $5 to begin investing (fractional shares are available) Types of investments available: ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and fractional stock shares Portfolio options: Too many to name, ranging from things you Want (portfolios that are conservative to aggressive mixes), things you Believe (such as groups of companies that believe in clean energy, LGBT rights, etc.), and things you Like (tech, retail and social media companies). Automatic investing: Yes. Automatic reinvesting: No. Automatic rebalancing: No. The closest competitor to Acorns, Stash seeks to make investing easy for everyone, regardless of your goals and passions. They have three account options to choose from, allowing you to manage your investment and retirement accounts, or even a child’s education savings through custodial accounts. With Auto-Stash, you can set any number of automatic investment options and transfers. However, Stash will not rebalance your portfolio for you, nor will they reinvest dividends on your behalf. Wealthfront Fees and expenses: 0.25% annually. Beginning investment requirement: $500 minimum initial investment. Types of investments available: ETFs (exchange-traded funds), individual stocks, retirement accounts (401k, IRA), 529 savings plans and trusts. Portfolio options: 11 asset classes to choose from, including natural resources and real estate. Automatic investing: Yes. Automatic reinvesting: Yes. Automatic rebalancing: Yes. Wealthfront’s investment platform is designed to be friendly for users of all experience levels. If you’re a seasoned investor, you’ll enjoy all of the options available to you, including the ability to manage your retirement accounts, education savings and even non-profits or trusts. If you’re a newbie, their free financial expertise center is the perfect place to learn all about investing and your future. TD Ameritrade Fees and expenses: The managed, automatic portfolio investment option (called Essential Portfolios) is available with a 0.30% advisory fee. Beginning investment requirement: $5,000 minimum for managed portfolios (no minimum requirement for traditional trading). Types of investments available: Stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, futures, bonds/CDs, Forex and cryptocurrency. Portfolio options: Essential Portfolios (EP) offer investors a range of options from Conservative to Aggressive, based on your passions, preferences and tolerances. Automatic investing: Yes, with EP. Automatic reinvesting: Yes. Automatic rebalancing: Yes. A more traditional brokerage app, TD Ameritrade is one of the most recognizable names in the industry. You can easily educate yourself on all things financial, thanks to their free videos and posts. If you want a traditional experience, you can choose your trades and pay per transaction. Prefer a more streamlined, automated approach? Opt for their Essential Portfolios, a hands-off investment option (robo-advisor) that charges a flat monthly fee and requires little-to-no oversight from you. Plus, their app makes the investing process easier than ever with a user-friendly interface, price alerts and no minimum to get started. If you prefer a desktop experience, this is also available to you through TD Ameritrade. Bottom Line Getting started with investing can be intimidating. With all of the terminology and account options out there, it’s easy to want to run and hide. Thanks to some of today’s best investment apps, though, you can not only get started with your first portfolio but also watch your money quickly grow… no matter how much of a beginner you may be! It’s important to choose an app that offers you the portfolio options and features you want most, with fees and deposit minimums that match your financial needs. The five apps above are our favorites for beginners, making that first foray into investing easier than ever before. The hardest part will be choosing the one you love most!
How to Prevent Credit Card Fraud
There are few worse feelings than knowing someone has stolen from you. It doesn’t matter if they broke into your garage, house, or car, or if they used technology to do it. It still feels terrible.
The good news is the more physical forms of theft are decreasing, and the trend seems to be going in a positive direction. The bad news is it appears that these folks are just using new tactics and reallocating their resources, as other forms of theft — like credit card fraud and identify theft — are up. This strategy makes sense for the bad guys; after all, nobody wants to be confronted by an angry homeowner while rifling through a jewelry box.
This article will take a closer look at one of the most common types of theft present in America today, credit card fraud. We’ll cover what exactly credit card fraud is, how it happens, how to prevent credit card fraud and what you need to do if you’ve been a victim.
What Is Credit Card Fraud?
Credit card fraud is when somebody uses your credit card without your express permission. It’s not quite as direct as taking cash from your wallet, but it’s still a serious crime.
It can take on many forms, ranging from a simple scam to elaborate schemes that involve identify theft, card scanners and other sophisticated ways to make an illegal profit.
How Does It Happen?
There are dozens of different strategies criminals can use to get access to your credit card. Some of these methods are quite clever, so you need to be aware of common schemes and suspicious activity.
Let’s start with some of the simple methods. Somebody takes your card and goes on a shopping spree. It takes a few hours for you to notice, so our thief has made out with a few hundred dollars in ill-gotten goods. Some will want to avoid shopping at local stores — they have cameras, after all — so they’ll go online and shop there.
Another common scam is that someone will get access to your card, copy down all your information and then go and buy stuff online at their leisure at some point in the future. This delay makes it more likely that they’ll get away with the crime. You’ll have no reason to suspect them.
What people really worry about are the scams that use technology. Card skimmers — which a fraudster can easily connect to an ATM or some out-of-the-way self-pay option (like at a gas station) — steal your credit card’s information and transmit it electronically to some computer a long way away.
Thieves can also get your credit card information by hacking into the back end of a website where you’ve purchased something. The goal of such a raid is to get in and out without the website’s owners ever finding out, which happens more often than you’d think.
Sometimes scammers even have access to technology that can steal your card’s information while it’s sitting in your wallet.
How Can You Prevent Credit Card Fraud?
The first lines of defense are the credit card companies themselves. They spend billions of dollars each year on various technologies that are designed to identify fraud. This means your issuer has a pretty good chance of detecting fraud right as it’s happening.
Just about everybody with a credit card has gotten a call from their card issuer, asking if a recent transaction was really them, or if it was someone else. Banking apps have made this even easier; the call has been replaced by a simple notification to your phone.
However, you shouldn’t solely rely on your credit card company to identify potential fraud and deal with scammers. Many of these thieves know exactly how credit card companies think, and their frauds are specifically designed to look natural. If unchecked, a fraudster can use your card for months and not create any suspicion.
The most effective way you can guard against credit card fraud is by checking your statement each month. Take a few minutes and go through your purchases, making sure you’ve made each one. If any look suspicious, it’s time to call the card company.
Next, be smart when using your card. Be mindful of where you take cash out of ATMs. Maybe avoid the gas station self-pay in favor of going inside and talking to an actual person. Stick to large, trusted and secure websites when shopping online.
And finally, don’t give your credit card to anyone else to use. I’m constantly amazed at how often I’ll see people give their card to someone they hardly know to make a quick trip to the store or to take care of an online purchase for them.
Also, be extremely vigilant and cautious when giving out your credit card information. Many scammers pretend to be legitimate business, banks or even government agencies, and they can use a variety of tactics to get you to verify your card information. Never give out your credit card information over the phone, by text, or through email; most legitimate businesses and government agencies do not collect information this way. If you are not sure, contact the business or agency through official channels you know are secure to verify.
What to Do if Your Card Has Been Compromised
If you even suspect your credit card has been stolen, the first step is to call your card issuer and sort out the problem with a representative of the company.
If the theft is someone physically taking your card, the card issuer will immediately cancel that card and issue you a new one. You’ll be without a card for a few days, but that’s a small price to pay. Even if you’ve just lost your card and nobody has made any fraudulent charges on it, the best thing you can do is call and get the old card cancelled.
If nobody has physical possession of your card, all fraudulent charges applied to your account will be dropped. If somebody steals your actual card and you don’t let the credit card company know right away, you may have to end up paying for those charges. The onus is on you to let the card company know, not the other way around.
The next step should be to check your credit report and make sure nobody has stolen your identity. Quite often, someone with credit card information only intends to make purchases or transfer payments to a fraudulent business or account. But sometimes, it’s all part of a much larger scheme to steal your identity. It’s best to check your credit report for anomalies, just in case.
If you even suspect identity theft, a smart move to make is to freeze your credit. You’ll have to manually unfreeze it whenever applying for new credit, but that doesn’t happen very often. And it’s an effective way to catch somebody who’s trying to get credit out in your name.
The Bottom Line
Usually, credit card scammers are small-time criminals who rip off a whole bunch of people in small amounts. This kind of scam can be easily caught by the card issuer or by a careful review of your monthly statement. This is nothing more than a minor inconvenience, and there are many simple strategies you can use to identify and prevent credit card fraud.
But sometimes, it can be a much more serious situation. This means you’ll likely want to take precautions if your card info has been compromised. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.