I tried out 3 popular investing apps to earn more — and ended up going with my bank after all

I decided this year that I want to put more money in mutual funds and index funds, so I looked at several investing platforms I could use.

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• I want to pull some money out of savings, so I researched several investment platforms.
• I want to invest in mutual funds, so I decided against using Robinhood.
• I considered Charles Schwab since I have retirement funds there, but went with Ally, which I use for banking.

At the start of 2024, I took inventory of my finances and realized that I was sitting on too much cash. After spending a few years being diligent about sticking to a budget and reducing my spending, more than 60% of my financial portfolio was made up of cash sitting in CDs and high-yield savings accounts.

I decided that I wanted to take at least 15% of that cash and invest it in different mutual funds and index funds.

As a rookie investor who only started putting money into the market just a few years ago, I decided to test out a few of the most popular investment apps to pick one that was easy to use and offered a variety of opportunities.

1. Robinhood

I decided to ask a few of my friends what investing platform they use. Most of them said that they had been using Robinhood for a few years. I decided to test out the platform first.

I liked that there wasn't an account minimum or any hidden fees

I liked that there was a $0 minimum for brokerage accounts, which meant that I didn't need to move a chunk of cash over to the platform before diving in and getting started. It also was nice that there weren't any hidden fees to trade stocks or options. It's completely free, which is a perk for a rookie investor like myself who is often buying and selling as I learn what stocks, funds, or ETFs I want to hold onto long term.

Its investment opportunities are limited

As I browsed the platform, I noticed that you aren't able to invest in mutual funds or bonds on the platform, which was a big downside for me. My goal with investing this year was to diversify my portfolio more, and I wanted to include those two things. On Robinhood, you are only able to invest in stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency.

While I liked how the platform didn't charge hidden fees, my goal was to find one platform to use for investing, and I felt limited by its lack of mutual funds and bond offerings.

2. Ally Invest

I've banked with Ally for the past couple of years but didn't realize that it also have an investment platform. Since my cash is already sitting in savings accounts and CDs through the bank, I decided to check out its self-directed investing platform, Ally Invest.

I was able to invest in mutual funds and bonds through the platform

It was appealing that it also had no account minimum for investing and no hidden trading fees. However, there are some fees associated with option trading, but that's not something I planned to dive into anyway. Unlike Robinhood, you're able to invest in stocks, ETFs, options, as well as mutual funds and bonds.

You're limited to just investing in US markets

After spending some time diving into the platform, I realized that you are limited to just trading US markets, whereas other platforms sometimes offer non-US investments. This wasn't a dealbreaker for me at the moment, but it could be in the future if I decide to invest in international markets or funds.

3. Charles Schwab

At the start of the year, I moved my retirement fund to Charles Schwab and decided to take a look at its general investment platform and opportunities.

The platform has robust investment opportunities but no cryptocurrency

Out of all the platforms I tested, Charles Schwab had the largest selection of investment offerings, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETs, options, and futures. At the time, it didn't offer the ability to trade cryptocurrencies, though that isn't something I wanted to invest any more in this year. Just like the other platforms, there wasn't an account minimum or stock trading fees.

There's a $50 transfer fee

A downside of the platform is that it charge fees for transferring money out of your account. You'll pay $50 for a full transfer of your money to another account. While these fees were in line with what Ally Invest charged, Robinhood didn't have any fees for transferring money.

I decided on Ally Invest

After spending some time testing out each platform, I decided that Ally Invest was perfect for my current needs.

It allowed me to easily transfer money between my other accounts with the bank into my investment account. Plus, I was able to diversify my portfolio by investing in different securities, from mutual funds to ETFs. Every investment platform comes with perks and downsides, so it's important to know what matters to you and give a few a try before picking one that you use for your investing needs.

This article was originally published in March 2024.