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!
Find the Right Grant to Apply For
Start-ups and small businesses alike rely heavily on funding to kickstart operations. Unfortunately, traditional funding typically costs more than you may think. Bank loans can be difficult to secure due to the nature of the risk and uncertainty in a small business. If you can get a bank loan, interest rates will be high to compensate for the high risk. Private equity, funding from private parties (e.g. angel investors or venture capitalists) in exchange for ownership and interest in the business, can often result in loss of control.
So what other options for start-up and small business funding are there? In this article we will talk about government grants for small businesses.
Purpose of Small Business Government Grants
Although "free money" does not exist, government financial awards come quite close. Grants are a type of financial assistance that do not need to be repaid, unlike small business loans. Government grants are financial awards that are funded by governmental organizations, with the goal to push a specific initiative.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which is the largest provider of small business government grants in America, aims to "aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation."
Government grants come in many flavors and sizes and it is critical to choose one that is appropriate for your situation. There are awards based on region, industry and even on the gender or nationality of the founding team.
Federal grants from the SBA fall into two main categories:
- Research and Development (R&D)
- Export Development
R&D includes the activities that your small business takes to understand the market, need for your product and service, and how to develop it. These types of federal grants are best for small businesses that are starting up or looking to develop new products.
If your small business is looking to expand its products, the Export Development program would be more suitable.
A full list of current SBA government grants can be found here.
In addition to the SBA grants, there are thousands of other grants available posted daily on grants.gov.
Who Is Eligible?
Government grants, especially those from the SBA, have the following requirements:
- The company needs to be an American company
- The company must be for-profit
- The company must have 500 or fewer employees
Each grant will then list out more specific requirements.
Financial and Marketing Benefits
The funding from a government grant can be significant, from a few thousands of dollars to millions. Depending on the grant size, funding can either be awarded as a lump-sum amount immediately or be provided based on project phases and milestones. For small businesses, it is important to know the funding timeline, so costs and growth can be managed accordingly.
Aside from financial funding, winning a government grant can bring media attention and brand exposure. Awardees of small business grants can also benefit from additional credibility, helping to make the business brand more reputable and trusted among consumers and clients.
Another beneficial side effect of winning a government grant can be an extended network. Once you win a grant, it can be easier to work with former awardees or business partners.
Effort and Overhead Required
From the application to follow-up reporting, applying and winning a government grant for your small business can be a full-time job in itself. As such, a small business owner will need to determine if the administrative effort required for the application is worth the monetary value.
The process to get a small business government grant includes:
Identifying the Right Grants and Programs
Grants.gov among many other sources will produce up to thousands of available grants. It will require patience to filter through all the results. First, look for programs that are relevant to your business and industry. Then narrow them down to ones that provide an attractive amount of funding.
Research the Grant and Create a Tailored Application
Most federal programs will be organized and sponsored by a specific organization. Common agencies include the Department of Commerce or Department of Environmental Protection Agency. You should know who the agency behind the grant is.
Research the agency and find out what their mission and goals are. This will help you tailor your grant application to address what is important to them.
For example, a grant application for the Department of Commerce may highlight how your small business can help enrich the economy and fund more jobs, while a grant application for the Department of Environmental Protection Agency should focus on how your small business can tackle climate change.
Sending one standard application to multiple grants will most likely not result in much success. If you are going to take the time to seek government funding, make sure your application stands out by doing the research beforehand.
Final Interviews and Winning the Grant
Some programs may require finalists to interview, while others may select a winner solely from the applications. Be prepared for both scenarios.
If you do win a government grant for your small business, congratulations! It means a lot in terms of business validation for your idea as well. Make sure to capitalize on the win by preparing a press release and media kit so the story can be picked up and easily shared.
Milestones, Reporting and Follow-ups
Once you win the award, you will need to understand what your contractual deliverables are. It is not uncommon for the federal agency behind the program to only release parts of the funding at a time. Some programs will even require you to accomplish a set number of project deliverables, known as milestones, prior to receiving all of the money.
Make sure you are well aware of the milestones and timelines, so you don't break the funding contract. With each phase of your project, you will most likely need to report on your progress. These reports, like the application, can take a lot of administrative effort. It may be wise to assign someone in your team as a project coordinator to ensure due dates are met on a timely basis.