In March the stock market experienced the worst first quarter in history as a result of a global pandemic. Businesses all around the world were hit hard when employees could not continue to come to work. The outlook was not great. However, many people saw the drop in the market as an opportunity to start investing. In fact, stocks experienced the fastest rebound in history.
It was especially young investors who saw cheap stock prices as the perfect starting point to begin investing their savings. Major online brokers marked huge numbers of new users. For example, Robin Hood, a US online broker, witnessed three million new users since the beginning of 2020. Never before have so many people started investing at the same time.
However, investing in stocks is a tricky business. As tempting as the outlook for profit may sound, there is a lot of risk connected to investing in stocks. For that reason we will suggest four apps that will help you get started with investing in these uncertain times.
Börskollen
Before you start investing it is important to do some research. What sector do I want to invest in? Which businesses will be profitable in the future? Are the companies I choose resilient against the effects of COVID-19? These are only some of the questions you should ask yourself before investing your money. Börskollen can help with that.
The app compiles the latest news about financial markets from Sweden’s largest industry magazines. It lets you create push notifications for news about companies you are interested in. That way you do not need to spend a lot of time searching for the information you need.
Börskollen also lets you look at insider trading which has been reported to the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. Through that feature you do not miss out on important stock exchanges going on in the “big league”.
Nordnet
Now that you know how to get the information you need, you can start investing. Nordnet is one of Sweden’s largest online brokers. One of the benefits of Nordnet is that you do not need to access a desktop to invest. The app lets you invest in stocks and simply through your phone. Through the app you can also create watchlists of the stocks you are interested in. Nordnet compiles your holdings and transactions into simplified graphs. That way you never loose track of your investments and how they are performing.
Moreover, the app is made for active and passive traders. Specifically, you can use the app to actively manage and invest in stocks. However, you can also use Nordnet if you want to create monthly savings plans which will invest into ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) for you every month.
The app is easy to access and secure at the same time. Specifically, you can log in with your Swedish BankiD, or use your phone’s biometric fingerprint or face scan.
Avanza
Avanza is another one of Sweden’s most popular online brokers. The app marks satisfied customers for more than ten years and continues to attract new users, especially during the aforementioned corona-surge. Becoming a customer is easy and only takes three minutes.
Avanza is tailor made for passive investors who want to set up a plan once and then lean back. One feature letting you do this is Avanza’s “Portfolio Generator”. It lets you get proposals for ETF with the highest rating for a low price. The feature makes it possible for you to spend a little less time on researching for future investments.
The app is also good for active investors who want to cash in on opportunities when they come about. As with Nordnet, you do not need to access a desktop to place orders. Everything can be managed through the app.
SAVR
SAVR, another Swedish online broker, takes pride in positioning itself differently than Nordnet and Avanza. It even goes as far as to argue that it is breaking up the current price cartel. In short, SAVR claims to be cheaper than all other online brokers in Sweden.
Aktiespararna, an independent interest organization for Swedish share savers, claims that SAVR has record-low fees compared to other brokers. On average, it is 30-50% cheaper to own stocks with SAVR.
The app lets you choose between more than 1300 stocks and ETF. You can easily invest in all of them right through the app on your phone. In addition, all commissions are refunded to the customers. Specifically, SAVR does not earn anything from commissions and instead lets their customers keep this money.
