Tools Overview
An overview of all the tools you might need to get started, research and analyse stocks and more.
Sections:
Getting started: The right brokerage platform
Investing Tools
Research & Analysis Tools
Market Info
Financial news
Learn with ZERO risk: Investing Simulation Platform
1. Brokerage Platform
There are many, many brokerage platforms out there. And I have seen and used a few. In the end, here are the ones I use/ recommend for young professionals:
—>All are easy to use, cheap, safe and offer a wide variety of choice.
Interactive Brokers: link
Pros:
Extensive range of tradable assets
Low trading fees and margin rates
Robust trading platforms with advanced trading tools and features.
fractional shares
Cons:
Slightly steeper learning curve for new users
Customer service could be improved
Degiro (EU only): link
Pros:
Low trading fees
no inactivity fee or minimum deposit
Wide range of available markets and products
Simple, straightforward platform suitable for beginners.
Cons:
Limited research tools
Customer service can be slow.
no fractional shares
eToro: link
Pros:
User-friendly platform
Social trading features, enabling users to follow and copy trades of others
Variety of assets to trade
fractional shares
Cons:
withdrawal and inactivity fees
Limited technical analysis tools
2. Investing Tools
Not sure what investing tools to use? Don’t really want to pay for any advanced tools? No problem.
Here is a list of tools I would use for investing:
a. Research & Analysis Tools
Yahoo Finance —> link
Probably the best place to start. And 100% free.
Yahoo Finance provides a platform for monitoring markets, researching companies, and managing personal finance
Great for comprehensive financial information and user-friendly interface
Lacks some analytical tools (more in-depth info)
When you’re just scanning for a company and want the basics, this is a good go-to option.
It might look scary, but it’s really not :)
Tikr —> link
Tikr is a tool for researching companies and finding investment ideas.
Gives you access to most of the company info you need (Financials, Competitors, public documents, company Ownership, etc…)
It is easy to use and has unique features which are interesting (e.g. tracking portfolios)
Creating an account is free and you get access to data from US Stocks for no cost. If you want access to other markets, there is a paid subscription ($15 a month)
I do most of my analyses with this tool.
b. Market Info
Finviz —> link
Platform for market overview and stock screening
I mainly use it for its ‘Maps’ feature, which gives you an overview of the market and how different sectors are doing (see below)
Great way to assess market sentiment and see what industries are doing well or are struggling.
3. Financial News
The Newsletter!
I send out a brief, super easy and digestible weekly summary of the market and what has been going on in the investing world.
Perfect for someone that wants to keep up but does not have the time to extensively read the news too often. Subscribe to receive these weekly updates.
Yahoo Finance
Still one of the best places for free financial news. You can also download their mobile app to have an easy go-to place for investing news on your phone.
CNBC —> link
Useful for quick article reads and to keep in touch with the current market and economy. I mainly look at the Markets, Business and Investing sections.
Bloomberg —> link
You can register for free and get access to a few more ‘in-depth’ articles if you want. I personally do use this sometimes to go more in detail on some company news. Not a must-use, more of an ‘if you want’ extra.
4. Investing Simulation Platform
Starting out on with a Simulation Platform (Virtual money) is a great way to gain confidence and experience in the Investing Game.
BUT: skin in the game is vital. This means having even just a tiny portion in the actual stock market. It could just be having $100 in a standard Index Fund.
So I recommend doing both if you want: having a bit invested already, and gaining that extra experience on the side with an investing simulation.
The good news is:
Both Etoro and Interactive Brokers offer virtual, ‘paper’ accounts that you can use to familiarise yourself with the platform and start learning.
So once you’ve decided what broker you want, feel free to also create a virtual account to test the waters.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliations with the mentioned platforms and solely recommend them based on personal use and satisfaction.