The investment industry has historically been very complex, lacked transparency, been loaded with fees and sophisticated advice mostly catered to the wealthiest 1% of our country. But, thanks to financial technology (FinTech), those days are gone. Each month, I’m reading about a new company popping up who is challenging the status quo and changing the way we invest for the better. Low-fee financial advice is now being replaced by free automated investing. Low cost stock trades are now being disrupted by free trades. Dare I say, there has never been a better time to be an individual investor.

On the flip side, it can be overwhelming to choose where to put your money when there are so many choices. It’s almost as difficult as ordering from the Cheesecake Factory’s menu #analysisparalysis. So, I thought it would be helpful to share which companies stand out from the crowd and are built to last (that is, until the distruptors become the disrupted).

The Best Investing Apps – 2018

Leaders of the Pack

• Vanguard

Vanguard was the original disruptor when the company launched in 1975. Their founder, John Bogle (who has a die-hard fan base known as the “Bogleheads”) found that most mutual funds under-performed the broad stock market because of expensive management fees. So, he set out to create the first “index fund” which simply tracked the market at the lowest possible cost. 40 years later, his hypothesis is still believed to be accurate and Vanguard has grown to become the largest mutual fund company in the world (#2 for ETFs) with $5.1 Trillion in Assets Under Management (AUM). Part of what makes Vanguard great is that the company is owned by the funds which means the company is really owned by it’s customers.

• Betterment & Wealthfront

Betterment (2008) and Wealthfront (2009) were the first two companies to offer automated investing into low cost, diversified and tax-efficient portfolios for a nominal fee. Both companies, at this point, are charging .25% for their similar services. Betterment has accumulated $13.5 Billion in AUM while Wealthfront is close behind at $10 Billion. Both companies are great in their own right, but for now I’m calling it a tie.

• Blooom

Most people’s biggest investment sits inside of their 401(k). Unfortunately, most 401(k)s have limited fund choices and are loaded with fees. Blooom recognized this and became “the 401(k) optimizer.” They offer a free analysis of your current employer-sponsored retirement plan, help you understand what you’re invested in and make recommendations to minimize fees. Then, for $10/month, they will manage and monitor your 401(k) so you can sit back and relax.

• Acorns

Acorns is popular with the millennial crowd and it’s easy to see why. With 44 Million Americans saddled with an average of $37,000 of student loan debt, recent grads aren’t exactly crushing it. The good news is that even though they’re scraping by, they’re extremely educated and understand the importance of investing early and watching their money grow. Enter Acorns – which allows the spare change from everyday purchases to be rounded to the nearest dollar and invested automatically into diversified portfolios.

Honorable Mention

(A list of #OldSchool companies I trust and #NewSchool companies I’m watching)

The Established Players

Index Funds & ETFs

• Fidelity
• iShares

Low Cost Trades

• Charles Shwab
• Ally Invest
• Merrill Edge

The Disruptors

Automated Investing (Robo-Advisors)

• M1 Finance
• WiseBanyan
• Personal Capital

Thematic Investing

• Motif

Real Estate Crowdfunding

• FundRise
• RealtyShares

Low Cost Financial Plans

• LearnVest
• Grove

Impact Investing

• Swell Investing

Are there any companies I left off the list that you recommend?