14 Best Investment Sites to Start Investing With Little Money
We all know that it is a good idea to leave some money on a rainy day. Investing in its simplest form is when you buy something in the hope that it will increase in value. However, when you invest, there are no guarantees and you may get back less than you invested.
The first time you decide to invest, you don’t have to start with a large amount of money, just be comfortable with the amount you have chosen to invest.
There are several different ways to invest, including stocks, and funds. Investing in assets can have an advantage over keeping money in a bank account or saving for cash.
The thought of investing – and succeeding – can be a daunting task. This is especially true if you are a beginner. However, if you are ready to take advantage of the information on the best investment websites, you will have a lot of investing knowledge.
The best financial news, research, and investment analysis websites can be great tools for keeping up with the latest financial and business news. As you learn more from each location, you will have more knowledge to use in planning your investment strategy.
The best investment sites share economic information about companies and the opinion of investment experts. That way, you will learn which stocks to buy and which to avoid.
Of course, that is just an opinion, but it is an educated opinion. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned investor, this website has the information you will want to know.
What Are The Best Investment Site?
Even the best investment sites aren’t guaranteed to pick stock winners and losers. However, the people who are hired to write on the sites typically have a wealth of experience and education behind them.
There are a few investment sites that people “in the know” use when they want information about companies and other economic news. Here are some of our favorite investment sites for garnering important economic information.
Here’s a list of some of our favorite investment sites for learning what you need to know about investing and company financial information.
Betterment
Betterment is another company that offers stock investment accounts. One of the cool things about Betterment is that they charge you zero for transaction fees and trade fees. Since they will give you investment advice, they’re a little different than Ally Invest. They base their advice on your risk tolerance and how long you have to invest.
Betterment charges an annual fee, but it’s super affordable (0.35% on accounts with balances below $10,000). This is a benefit for clients who make a recurring account deposit each month of at least $100.
Morningstar
Morningstar’s tagline is “Empowering investor success.” The site stays true to its investment philosophy of putting investors first. That means they won’t give you investment advice based on an affiliate relationship.
Instead, they share what they believe to be the best guidance for investors. Morningstar is probably best known for the ratings it publishes on varying investments.
If you want access to Morningstar ratings and detailed investment analysis, you’ll have to sign up for their premium account, which costs $199 per year. However, the site does have an endless number of free informational articles talking about all things investment-related.
Motley Fool Stock Advisor
Motley Fool was founded in 1993 by David and Tom Gardner, brothers. Their goal? “Make the world smarter, happier, and richer.” Sounds good to me.
The Motley Fool brothers are big believers in buying stock in great companies and holding onto it. Their site has a great section on investing for beginners.
It also shares a wealth of information on the stock market, on investing for retirement, and more. The site even shares personal finance information such as where to find the best checking accounts and credit cards.
I find the site very well put together and easy to use too. I’d happily use this site (and do) whether I was just starting as an investor or knew most everything I thought I needed to know.
Motley Fool Stock Advisor: Join for just $99 a year!
MarketWatch
MarketWatch is another top-rated investment site. It’s a good site for keeping up today with the latest investment and economic information.
The site shares global information for almost all stock markets, commodities markets, forex markets, and more. The Moneyist (the Dear Abby of personal finance and investing) is a personal favorite for me.
He answers questions ranging from “Do I have enough to retire?” to “My brother won’t give me my share of our father’s inheritance. What do I do?” and more.
You can also find personal finance information on the site. MarketWatch is full of useful information, easy on the eyes, and a pleasing website to navigate.
The site also shares valuable news articles from around the web, whether it be auto reviews or best retirement spots.
Barron’s
Barron’s is an investment site for serious investors. This site is formatted most like the newspapers of old. Clear and concise, Barron shares market information along with its favorite current stock picks.
The site’s e-magazine contains articles about popular publicly traded companies’ ups and downs. And the site’s e-advisor keeps you up to date on its favorite investment moves.
The articles and information are written smartly and simply. However, they assume you’ve got a solid basic understanding of investing and economics as a whole. While Barron’s is a phenomenal site for seasoned investors, beginner investors might want to stick with one of the other sites mentioned here.
Wall Street Journal
I clearly remember seeing my grandfather and his friends perusing over the Wall Street Journal in the early ’90s as they shared breakfast at the local greasy spoon.
My family and I would eat there on occasion, but we never interrupted the group other than to say “hi” to grandpa and give him a quick hug. Yep, this group of wealthy men would never spend more than $10 for breakfast, but they all had the money to buy the cafe’ if it ever went up for sale.
Thank you, Wall Street Journal. For as long as I can remember, the Wall Street Journal has been the go-to source for those seeking investment advice. It’s changed with the times but still stayed the same, keeping its “real” paper but managing a well-put-together website too.
Wall Street Journal covers everything regarding economic markets in the U.S. and the world. And it tosses in some articles on politics, tech, and current events as well.
The online website headlines are free, but if you want complete information you’ll have to pay for the digital editions, print editions, or both. The good news is that WSJ is affordable at no more than $20 per month. Therefore, we love it as one of the best investment sites.
Zacks
Zacks is an investment website that’s committed to independent research analysis. The Zacks “About” page says their strategy has beat the S&P market by quite a length (over double) for the past 25+ years.
Of course, past performance is not a guaranteed indicator of future results, but it sure does tell you a thing or two. Namely that the group at Zacks knows their stuff when it comes to investing.
While the site provides a wealth (no pun intended) of free information, you’ll have to pay to get the inside scoop on the Zacks investment strategy. That includes the Zacks #1 rank list of 220 of the best stocks.
They offer a 30-day free trial. After that, you’ll pay $249 a year to continue getting access to Zacks’ investment secrets.
Bonus: Zacks links to the best articles from popular sites such as MarketWatch too.
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha does a great job of delving deeper into the “whys” behind investing in a particular stock or fund. While this is a terrific feature for experienced investors, beginner investors may find the information a bit lofty.
Seeking Alpha is part investment news source and part investing community. Articles are written by investor members and then rigorously scrutinized to ensure accurate information.
With over 7,000 members, there’s no shortage of investing information and opinions. The site is great for those who want to do some in-depth research on markets, stocks, and investments.
The Basic Seeking Alpha site is free. However, the site also offers a Premium membership for $240 annually and a Pro membership for roughly $2400 annually.
Think of the Premium membership as a self-directed site and the Pro membership as a full-service site. See the website for more detailed information on what you get with the upgraded memberships.
The Financial Times
The Financial Times (or FT as it’s often called) focuses primarily on stocks, funds, and stock news. But you’ll also find tech information, personal finance articles, and more. In-depth information on company performance rounds out the offerings.
The site has a nice collection of charts and graphics too. There are some free articles in Financial Times, but as with the Wall Street Journal, you’ll have to pay if you want full access.
Like Zacks, Financial Times is a bit on the spendy side if you’re not used to paying for investment information. Digital access is $39.50 per month or $369.20 per year. The print access subscription includes digital access and costs $199 per year.
You can pay $1 and get a 4-week trial if you’d like to sample Financial Times. And there are other subscription options as well.
Best for: Investors looking for a melting pot of investment and economic news, information, and opinion
CNBC
CNBC is a popular news channel with a focus on investment and economic news. While you can get CNBC regularly with many paid TV subscriptions, you can also access the company’s many articles for free on their website.
Current market numbers are conveniently displayed throughout the site. And you’ll find articles on investing, technology, business, politics, and more.
Under the “Investing” tab, you’ll find “Invest in You” and “Personal Finance” sections that have a wealth of articles aimed at making personal finance more, well, personal. These sections show you how to put the site’s advice into action and better your money situation.
If you want access to CNBC’s “PRO” content, however, you’ll have to buy a subscription. CNBC PRO gives you access to live programming, exclusive video series, and more.
It costs $29.99 per month to subscribe to CNBC PRO, or you can pay $299.00 annually. There is a 7-day trial period you can use to check it out.
Kiplinger
Kiplinger was started in the 1920s by a former AP economic reporter. The Kiplinger Letter, the company’s weekly economic publication, is considered the most widely read business forecasting publication in the world, according to the Kiplinger website.
Kiplinger also has a monthly magazine. The Kiplinger website gives access to The Kiplinger Letter if you’re a member. You can find a wealth of free information on the site, including investment information. The site also shares informational articles on:
- Retirement
- Taxes
- Wealth creation
- Personal finance
And more. However, if you want the goodies like the print magazine and/or complete access to all website information, you’ll have to subscribe.
As of this writing, you can get access to print subscriptions, digital access, or both for $29.95 for 12 months or $39.90 for 24 months. But I think you might find it well worth the price.
One thing I like about the Kiplinger site is that many of the articles are written in a way even the most beginner personal finance/investment aficionado can understand. The site has a great mix of both beginner and experienced investor articles and information.
Stock Rover
Stock Rover makes our list of best investment sites because of its mission to help all levels of investors make informed decisions. The Stock Rover website works to provide affordable, comprehensive research to help investors learn before they invest.
The site can help you compare companies or investments, research reports, and manage your portfolio. Stock Rover’s blog includes investing articles, stock research articles, and other valuable information.
For instance, you can learn how to build a better stock portfolio. Of course, these features don’t come for free–at least not all of them. Stock Rover has four plans you can choose from, one of which is free.
While the “free” plan does provide a lot of information and articles, the paid plans provide other valuable tools. The Essentials, Premium, and Premium Plus plan range in price from $7.99 per month to $27.99 per month.
Watchlists, screens, and the number of portfolios you can manage go up with each plan. You can get additional information via other subscriptions on Stock Rover too, such as research reports plans and bundles.
AAII
AAII, or the American Association of Individual Investors, is a non-profit organization aimed at helping people learn about investing and grow their investment portfolios. They’ve been in business for over 40 years.
The organization uses education, information, and research to help members learn about investing and manage their investments. Along with the AAII website, you may have a local chapter that meets in person in your area.
AAII has two membership options. The Basic membership is $1 for the first 30 days and then $3.25 a month going forward. You get access to the AAII market-beating portfolio, investor guides, and other information.
The Plus membership is $2 for the first 30 days and then $15.67 per month going forward. It includes additional benefits such as stock and fund evaluators and graders, and detailed portfolio analysis and alerts.
Both membership options include free access to the local chapters of AAII. Also, you get access to the award-winning AAII Journal in digital format, print format, or both.
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance, albeit basic, is a good at-a-glance option for investment information. The site shares market numbers along with investment and economic news articles from around the web.
You’ll find links to articles from Reuters, MarketWatch, Investopedia, and other well-known sites. Yahoo Finance also has its own penned articles on the site. It’s a good one-stop shop for economic news.
Investopedia
Last but certainly not least, we like Investopedia as one of the best investment sites for investment news. What started as sort of a Wikipedia with a money/investing focus has morphed into a great resource for investing and economic news and information.
Along with current investment news, you can check out Investopedia’s stock simulator. And Investopedia Academy features paid online courses to help you learn everything you want to learn about investing.
The articles cover every type of investor from the beginner to the day trader. And while the courses do cost money, most of the basic information on Investopedia is free.
Robo-Advisor
Robo-advisors entered the investing scene about a decade ago and make investing as simple and accessible as possible. You don’t need any prior investing experience, as Robo-advisors take all of the guesswork out of investing.
Robo-advisors work by asking a few simple questions to determine your goal and risk tolerance and then investing your money in a highly diversified low-cost portfolio of stocks and bonds. Robo-advisors then use algorithms to continually rebalance your portfolio and optimize it for taxes.
There’s no easier way to get started in long-term investing. Most Robo-advisors require just $500 or less to start investing and charge very modest fees based upon the size of your account. All offer automated investing plans to help you grow your balance.
If there’s any downside to Robo-advisors it’s cost. Robo-advisors charge an annual fee equal to a small percentage of your balance. The industry average is about 0.25%. So, if you invest $10,000, you’ll pay $25 a year. That’s not a lot of money, but it begins to add up if you amass hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It’s important to note that Robo-advisors fees are on top of the fees charged by the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that Robo-advisors buy to make up your portfolio. You can avoid paying the Robo-advisor fees by building your portfolio of ETFs or mutual funds. For the vast majority of investors, however, that’s a lot of additional work and responsibility.
The bottom line? Robo-advisors are cheap and well worth it.
Public
Public, an investing app, offering thousands of stocks and ETFs with no commission fees on trades and no account minimums. With Public, you can purchase most stocks through what Public calls “Slices”- so you don’t have to plunk down thousands of dollars to become a shareholder in huge companies that you want to invest in but cannot otherwise afford.
Public makes investing easy and user-friendly: you simply pick your stocks and ETFs, enter the amount of money you’d like to invest, and Public “slices” off a portion of a share to fit the amount you’ve chosen.
The public also offers a social investing experience making it a great option for beginner investors. You become more financially literate while watching what others are doing with their investments. It’s like peeking into someone’s investing account for ideas – but it’s what everyone is doing and legit.
Conclusion
When choosing the best investment websites, there is no reason not to keep up with the latest investment news. And there is no reason not even beginners can learn to invest wisely and successfully.
There is an investment location for the level of knowledge and learning preferences of nearly everyone on earth.
What is your favorite investment site? Do you think investment news is worth paying for, or do you focus solely on the free information available?