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13 Easy Investing Apps and Websites for Millennials Take advantage of a simple way to earn money on the side.

By Justas Markus

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Stash

No one has ever complained about having an additional source of passive income.

Although investing always carries its risks, it is undoubtedly one of the easiest ways to make money. All of your hard-earned income can be employed to generate more value, which in return can make even more money, until you finally get out of the rat race. At least that is how it works in theory.

In reality, markets are complicated and it is not easy to make the right investment decisions all of the time. However, these 13 apps and websites are designed to make investing almost effortless.

If you have not started investing yet, I recommend you start taking care of your financial future today. It may take time, but the results are immensely rewarding and your future self will thank you.

Seedrs

Seedrs

Seedrs is a British equity crowdfunding platform that is meant to make investing easy. It is a platform for startup owners and potential backers.

Investing in startups is risky, but immensely rewarding. Seedrs simplifies its process by providing the means and tools to make informed decisions and crowd fund safely. Upon sign-up, all you need to do is follow your favorite startup's campaign and press a few buttons to invest. Amounts start from as little as €10.

Entrepreneurs set their campaign goals, and if they are not met within 60 days, you get your money back. Moreover, Seedrs has a secondary market -- where you can trade your shares with other investors. It may not be the second Wall Street just yet, but the potential is there.

Acorns

Acorns

Speaking of Wall Street, Acorns is a unique way to invest in stocks and bonds, on a micro level.

Acorns combines saving and investing by automatically investing your spare change from every purchase you make throughout your day. For example, if you spend $4.60 on lunch, it rounds the amount to $5 and invests the additional $0.40. So, instead of stacking large sums, you plant small seeds in Acorns' investment program.

Acorns membership costs $1, $2 or $3 per month, or a 0.25 percent annual fee for accounts with $5,000 or more. If you are a college student and have an .edu email address, you can sign up for Acorn's $1 plan free of charge.

Stash

Stash

Stash seeks to empower the new generation of investors by allowing you to invest your money in the industries you support.

You start with as little as $5, and you have total control over where your money goes. Stash offers fractional shares in big companies. in 11 sectors, so you can choose if you want to support environmentally friendly companies or someone from the entertainment, travel or leisure industries.

Stash is the ultimate novice investor's tool because it also provides tips and tools on how to build a sound personal portfolio. Pricing starts at just $1 per month. Portfolios over $5,000 pay a 0.25 percent annual fee.

M1 Finance

M1 Finance

M1 Finance is a long-term investment robo-advisor for people who want their money to work for them. In brief, it incorporates control and customization with the automation and cost structure of typical robo-advisors.

The M1 process goes like this: You open a free account and choose a portfolio template that fits your goals. For example, you can select a plan for retirement or for income earners, which replicates the security holding movements of American depository banks. If you do not like any option, you can create your own investment pie.

The initial investment is at least $100 for taxable accounts, $500 for retirement accounts. There are no commissions. But there are fees for mailings, wire transfers, etc.

Robinhood

Robinhood

Robinhood is an app that seeks to disrupt traditional stock brokers. It offers an ability to buy and sell stocks for free.

How does the app make money then? A Robinhood Gold account carries a minimum investment of $2,000, for a fee of $6 a month. You can also tap into the cryptocurrency market.

At Robinhood, you get free, real-time trading. It is a great service for beginners; however, it is far from a full-service trading platform. The app lacks analytics and educational tools; therefore, you might want to use it together with other financial information apps, such as Bloomberg or Benzinga.
Gold Tracker

Gold Tracker

Investors who seek stability often tend to look for commodities. Thus, tangible assets such as gold, silver or platinum become attractive investing options. If you are one of those people who seek a greater sense of control or simply want to diversify your portfolio, Gold Tracker may come in handy.

It is exclusively an iOS app that helps to manage your precious metal resources with a clean user interface. It costs $2.99 and is available in the app store.

Openfolio

Openfolio

Openfolio is a free digital financial assistant that lets you quickly oversee the current state of your finances.

It allows you to bring all your financial accounts in one place, including bank, brokerage and other investment accounts. The app also equips you with smart insights, tips, forecasts and tracking along with a holistic view of all your financial affairs.

Also, you can compare your financial performance with other investors to see where you are lagging and make improvements.

Betterment

Betterment

Betterment is an excellent robo-advisor for young investors. You can start with as little as $1 with a simple digital plan.

Betterment seeks to minimize investment risks and maximize the returns. All you need to do is state your income and goals. Afterward, Betterment's award-winning portfolio management system does everything for you. So, if you do not have much time to get involved with investing, it might be the right option for you.

The service charges a 0.25 percent annual fee and 0.40 percent commission for premium accounts with more than $100,000.

FeeX

FeeX

FeeX is the self-proclaimed "Robin Hood of fees." Just like the source of its inspiration, it is on a noble mission to take from the rich to give to the poor.

If you have an old 401(k) or IRA savings account, you might want to check this one out. FeeX checks all of your commission fees and helps you find the ways to reduce them.

The best part is that FeeX is absolutely free. If it manages to reduce your costs, FeeX earns its share via referral agreements with other financial service providers, so essentially it is a win-win for everyone.

SigFig

SigFig

SigFig is another robo-advisor service. It has the highest starting investment level on this list as it offers customized portfolios starting at $2,000.

However, it has its benefits. SigFig streamlines the process of investing, so all you need to do is enter your age, investment period, income information and risk level and you will get a recommended portfolio that fits your needs.

Also, it offers portfolio tracking and personalized human advice for free. So, you can make use of it even before you fund your SigFig account.

It charges only accounts whose investment levels exceed $10,000. The annual rate is 0.25 percent. Accounts between $2,000 and $10,000 are managed free of charge.

Wealthfront

Wealthfront

Wealthfront is one of the best robo-advisors in the market. It is designed to make investing simple and profitable.

It is a superior service for young investors who prefer hands-off asset management. Also, it offers many handy features, such as financial planning, tax-loss harvesting, direct indexing and free portfolio reviews.

To start with Wealthfront, you need a $500 initial investment ($.0.10 monthly fee, while a $10,000 balance, for example, is managed for just $2.08 a month. For larger sums, the standard fee of 0.25 percent applies.

WiseBanyan

WiseBanyan

WiseBanyan is one-of-a-kind robo-advisor which requires only $1 to start. More importantly, it does not charge any annual fees. Therefore, all its basic services are entirely complimentary.

WiseBanyan makes money by selling personalized solutions for individual investors. The company firmly believes in financial empowerment and that investment future holds no extra costs.

Overall, it is a decent investment service with many advanced features such as automatic rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting and cash position.

Estimize

Estimize

Estimize is a financial estimate service based on the wisdom of the crowd. That does not sound smart, but it has already proven to be more accurate than Wall Street 74 percent of the time.

Estimize crowd-sources insights from almost 86,599 hedge fund, brokerage, independent and amateur analysts and reports on 2, 450 stocks per quarter. In that way, the platform can produce unbiased and more accurate financial predictions.

You can use Estimize to forecast the profits of your portfolio. The website provides estimates for particular stocks that you can use for your investment decisions. Registration is free, so everyone can join and contribute their expertise.

Justas Markus

Marketer, Blogger & Entrepreneur.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

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