[ad_1] Important information Your capital is at risk. All investments carry a degree of risk and it is important you understand the nature of these. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in. Read more Opening an investment platform account is the first step to growing your money over time in the stock market. These platforms will host an Individual Savings Account (Isa) or Self-Invested Personal Pension (Sipp) for you, and provide access to wide range of investments to hold in them. There are numerous platforms to choose from with different features and strengths. Some are more suited to beginners than others. In this article we outline: If you’re new to investing you might want to read our beginner’s guide to investing first. Read more: Best stocks & shares Isas Five investment platforms for beginners Below we’ve listed five investment platforms for beginners. Honourable mentions Some other great options include: Join over 30 million users Join 30M users worldwide and trade over 5,000+ instruments with a trusted broker. eToro offers a one-stop shop for investments, as well as a wealth of education and tools to help you invest smarter. Discover eToro Check out the eToro Academy to learn before you invest. eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. What are investment platforms? Investment platforms are online services that allow you to buy and hold shares, bonds and funds in one place. These services can include making it easier to invest in stocks and shares Isas or mutual funds. Many of the platforms let investors choose a ready-made portfolio that matches their risk appetite. Over the past decade, old-fashioned stockbrokers have started to face competition from a new generation of investment platforms. This is because platform focus on providing low-cost and straightforward access to investing for people who have little or no experience. If you want to know more about investing, read our beginner’s guide to investing. Some platforms offer automated guidance on which options might be most suitable for you, which is sometimes called robo-advice. This does not actually count as financial advice – it’s just support to help you make the best decision for your needs. However, some of these platforms do also offer access to personal financial advisers* in return for an extra fee. If you’re interested in financial advice, read: How much does financial advice cost – and is it worth it? Traditional investment platforms allow you to choose what you invest in yourself. They are also known as DIY platforms or share trading investment platforms. However, most of these now offer ready-made portfolio options as well. You can also use these platforms to invest for retirement: see our guide to pensions for more. Editor’s choice: The highest-paying Isas right now It’s a new tax year and that means every UK adult has a new £20,000 tax-free allowance to spend. So we’ve rounded up the best-paying cash Isa accounts, the cheapest stocks and shares options as well as a handy tool to see if you’re putting money into the right sort of Isa. How to choose an investment platform If you’re looking for an investment platform that does all the heavy lifting for you, you’re likely to be best off with the newer generation of firms. When choosing a platform, you should consider: Does the platform have a slick mobile app? This makes online trading easier. Find out which platforms have the best investment apps. How do the costs compare? While no one knows how different investment portfolios are going to perform, you can be certain about the fixed fees. Does the management fee for the ready-made portfolio include transaction costs that the fund incurs for trading? What range of investments does the platform have? Some offer access to both shares and funds while others don’t. Some don’t offer ethical funds so, if that’s important to you, check what’s on offer before you sign up. Does the platform offer a tax-free wrapper such as a Lifetime Isa? Not all platforms will offer these products so that might be a deal-breaker. How can I invest sensibly? There are some important things to consider if you want to invest sensibly. These are: Take a long-term view. You may want to avoid investing for any less than five years – and it’s more sensible if you’re looking at a time horizon of at least 10 years. That way, you can ride out any downturns in the stock markets and boost the growth potential of your money. Invest in a pension. It can make sense to invest money in a pension because you’ll benefit from tax relief. Plus, if it’s a workplace pension scheme, you get a contribution from your employer too. Find out more in our pensions guide. Attitude to risk. The other key point is to assess your risk appetite realistically. If you invest in an aggressive portfolio, bear in mind that you could lose money – even over the long run. While all investments carry a varying degree of risk, and you may get back less than you put in , this is even more so with an aggressive portfolio. It’s important to understand what the worst-case scenario could look like – and to be sure you would be comfortable with that outcome in the context of your personal finances. Think about your goals. For example, if you’re putting money aside for a house deposit and plan to buy a property but not for at least five years, you might want to open a stocks and shares Isa. If it’s less than five years, a savings account might be a better option. We have more on investing wisely in our beginner’s guide to investing. Important information Some of the products promoted are from our affiliate partners from whom we receive compensation. While we aim to feature some of the best products available, we cannot review every product on the market. Read more [ad_2] Source link Post Views: 1 Post navigation 5 REALISTIC Passive Income Ideas For Beginners 2025