The Digital Revolution into Managing Your Money

There is an increasing need for digital money management. And it seems Aussies are ready for it based on your latest feedback.

We’d love you to hear from more of you about your readiness by completing our 5 minute survey HERE – every entry gets to win 1 of 5 $400 grocery vouchers

There are lots of digital money management apps already out there. Sometimes you will hear them referred to as smart tools, personal finance applications, digital advice or robo-advice. The need for all these terms exists because there are a wide range of services provided through this medium and they do many different things.

But let’s break it down further for you? Today we address applications that help with investing!

As more and more millennials (or Generation Z) are thinking about money with the onset of the pandemic, there is an increasing need for digitally accessible and affordable ways to get help with your finances. Robo-Advisers can really help here; complementing the traditional advice industry while appealing to the more tech-savvy and tech-reliant Generation Z.

The following apps are just a handful out there than can help you get started.

Looking At Share Investing Tools

This article is the first of many in the coming weeks working towards breaking down the knowledge gap on money and budgeting apps. Let’s focus on investing!

Investing is the act of using investment platforms (e.g. stocks, bonds, or mutual funds) with the aim of building and creating wealth over time. The growth of money is important in ensuring that you can fulfil your present and future basic needs in life as well as allowing you to meet your long-term life goals. Needless to say, strategic investing is something that should be done by everyone as early as possible to provide alternative streams of income to support your future.

The hardest part, as always, is getting started. Many could be put off and daunted by the many options out there and the financial jargon that runs rife within most of the documentation and webpages meant to inform you of the intricacies of the investing process. Robos offer some transparency into this confusing world and help to demystify and educate those who are taking their first steps into the investing world. It allows for financial education in easily accessible avenues and works for pretty much any user, whether they wish to be actively or passively involved in the process. It is an ideal stepping stone for those just starting out into the world of investing.

But what are some of the areas of concern when considering an investment smart tool?

• Asset Class: Different investment vehicles have different amounts of risk. What you choose could determine the amount of return you may receive. This is called the risk-return trade off.
• Portfolio Options: This determines the flexibility that you can have in your investments and the amount of diversification of risk that is available in the choices offered.
• Level of Advice: Whether or not something is a DIY Tool or is Targeted mostly relates to how much guidance the tool provides you about investment choices based on answers to questions about your financial situation and level of risk you are willing to take. This also generally helps you understand how passive or active you may be in the investment selection process.
• Fee Structure: The fee structure is most definitely an important issue as it can determine whether or not you earn a sufficient return for your efforts; After all, there is no point in investing your time and efforts into investing only to have to use all your earnings to pay the transaction or subscription fees. A service will generally be either free, for a subscription, transaction fees, performance fees, or fees based on the value of assets invested.
• Free Trial Availability: An important consideration for all the commitment-phobes out there, free trial allows you to try before you buy letting you see if you’re truly getting bang for your buck!

Robos that address this issue include: Raiz (formerly Acorns), AtlasTrend, QuietGrowth, Aleda Capital, Clover, FirstStep, Macrovue, SelfWealth, InvestSMART, brightday, and netwealth.

More about smart tools:

Adviser Ratings, a partner of Together Australia, has expanded its platform and now serves as a way for consumers to learn about, find, rate, and review on lots of smart tool solutions (with more to come!) that they can access to help navigate their finances in Australia’s rapidly changing advice landscape.

Access the Register here.

And do not forget to go into the draw to win 1 of 5 $400 Grocery Vouchers – complete our 5 minute survey HERE