Whether you are an active trader of a hands-off investor, you can check your progress on the go with these 5 best investing apps - like this one from Fidelity.
(MONEY Magazine) -- What kind of investor are you? What kind of updates do you want?
Whether you are an active trader of a hands-off investor, you can check your progress on the go with these 5 best investing apps.
Essential app: Fidelity
Great for: Easy-to-read financial news, whether or not you have a Fidelity account
Price: Free
Available for: Android, iPhone, iPad
Financial news isn't hard to find on your phone, but this app gives you lots of it in an easy-to-read format: coverage from our partner CNNMoney, as well as MarketWatch, Reuters, and TheStreet.com. You can also get market updates and create watch lists. (The iPad version boasts videos and podcasts too.) Fidelity account holders can pay bills, trade, set up alerts, and more.
TDAmeritrade Mobile
Great for: Borderline obsessive investors
Price: Free
Available for: Android, iPhone, iPad
Like most brokerage apps, TDAmeritrade's lets you feverishly follow markets and buy and sell fast. The watch list options are notably extensive. "It's got great tools and you can make a trade really quickly," says Blain Reinkensmeyer of StockTradingToGo.com. With the Snapstock function (phone only), you can take a picture of a bar code and look up the public company behind the product.
WikInvest Portfolio Manager
Great for: Active, but not day, traders
Price: Free
Available for: Android, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7
This secure app lets you pull together your account info from just about anywhere (60 brokerages are available, including Schwab, Fidelity, and E*Trade). See your portfolio's performance over time, and read up on what fellow investors think.
iTrade Stock Market Simulator
Great for: Imaginary traders and investors
Price: Free
Available for: iPhone
Want to dabble in the markets without losing your shirt? Make it a game. Literally. With iTrade, you deploy your $100,000 in seed money to buy and sell using real-time quotes, with realistic delays for trade executions. Your reward is not a rich retirement -- it's a high score against your fellow virtual traders.
TIAA-CREF
Great for: Long-term and hands-off investors
Price: Free
Available for: iPhone
Pull up TIAA-CREF's retirement projector in its Savings Simplifier app (tap the "Financial IQ" tab), enter your age and pay, how much you've saved, and how much you sock away monthly, and you'll get a savings target tailored to the lifestyle you want, plus an assessment of your chances. Not on track? See how adjustments like saving more or working longer can help.
Best money apps:
6 best banking & budget apps
5 best car apps
Available for: iPad, Nook, Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy Tab
Download this issue and past editions of the magazine to your device. Print subscribers get Money's tablet edition for free. Go to money.com/allaccess to sign up.
Additional reporting by Zain Asher-Ejiofor, Lisa Gibbs, Anne C. Lee, Susie Poppick, Donna Rosato and Tali Yahalom.
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