Whether you’re a complete novice in investing or have built up a portfolio over the years, making sound financial decisions is always essential.
Many investment tools exist to help you make informed choices, improve your investment portfolio, and get you closer to realizing your financial goals.
This article will discuss six tools and tech to help you make smarter investments.
1. Robo-advisors
Robo-advisors may sound like something from the future, but these tools have already been used to advise investors for a few years.
Investors who want a hands-off approach use platforms like ndovu, a popular robo-advisor in Kenya. The platform uses an algorithm to analyze data and create a diverse investment portfolio. The portfolio will be tailored to your financial goals and risk tolerance.
The benefit of robo-advisors is that they’re constantly monitoring the market and making the necessary changes to your portfolio.
This tool has made investing more accessible, allowing beginners to get their foot in the door. It’s also much more affordable than an in-person financial advisor.
2. Online Brokerage Platforms
There’s an online brokerage platform for different types of trading and investments. These convenient platforms allow investors and traders to get involved with stocks, bonds, options, and commodities.
For example, if you access online options trading brokers, you’ll get access to resources, research tools, and real-time data. The same goes for other assets and investment types.
These online platforms also cater to a broad range of financial goals—whether you’re looking to save for retirement or simply earn some additional income.
3. Stock Screeners
An investor who wants to be hands-on and choose individual stocks should use a stock screener. This tool enables you to filter stocks based on your specific criteria, including:
- Price-to-earnings ratio
- Dividend yield
The greatest thing about stock screeners is how quickly they can help you find the perfect stock or potentially lucrative opportunity. You can scan through thousands of individual stocks and curate a portfolio that aligns with your risk tolerance and goals.
4. Market Analysis Tools
If you trade frequently, you need to be able to analyze data. Market analysis tools help you remove your emotions (and ever-present gut feeling) from your investing decisions and present you with real-time market insights.
These tools are available to online traders who use platforms to trade. The exact tools used by the platforms vary, but mainly they offer the following services:
- Analyzes price action
- Gives insights into strengths and weaknesses of stocks
- Uses algorithms to evaluate historical data and predict future trends
- Can assess risks associated with different investments
5. Financial News Hubs
You may think you’ve become a pro-investor, but there’s always more news and updates, and you must stay informed.
Financial news hubs, like the Kenya Investment Authority, publish the latest news stories on market trends, company earnings, and any events that might impact the market.
These sites allow you to access all the market and financial news in one place and adjust your investment strategies as the market shifts quickly.
6. Investing Forums
Investing may be a bit of a lonely undertaking. Still, you can learn from others in the many online forums and investment communities.
These forums allow investors to share their experiences and strategies. This shared knowledge can help you develop new strategies, learn about new assets or platforms, and develop new ideas.
Usually, these communities, like the Facebook Group “The Kenyan Investor’s Forum,” are welcoming. Beginners can gather insights from financial experts, and those in the know can partake in debates.
One key thing to note is that you can’t take anything at face value on these forums. You must still conduct your research and not blindly trust someone else’s opinion.
What To Look For in Investment Tools
The tool you use will be based on your own discretion. The tool you use will be based on your discretion. You can use one or combine these tools to make smarter decisions. Here are some things to consider:
- Affordability: Many online platforms and tools mentioned above come with a fee. You need to determine how much you’re willing to spend on these tools to reap the benefits of your investments. News hubs and forums are, fortunately, free most of the time.
- Time: How much time do you have to dedicate to your investments? If you want to be hands-off, then a robo-advisor is best. But consider a stock screener if you want to make your own choices.
- Risk: How high is your risk tolerance? Some tools are relatively risk-free, while others (like online brokerage platforms or taking the advice of an online stranger on a forum) have some risk involved.
Wrapping Up
Investing your money can be very lucrative if you make good decisions. The above tools help investors manage their portfolios and plan for the future.
These tools are not fool-proof, though. Investing can be risky. You must apply your judgment and use common sense and what you’ve learned along your investing journey.
