Take your chances, they say. They said it was just a small loan. The water is warm. This is what I hear in my head every time I open the Robinhood app and see an ad for opening a margin account.
Yes, no. go through. Been there, done that. I lost thousands of dollars in the market because I didn’t understand what I was getting into, and in the meantime, the market plummeted. The last thing I want is to be forced to sell my investments at a loss. again.
A great flu that Robin Hood and I had
Robinhood is a modern investing app tailored for beginner investors. It has many free features and the best user experience on the market. The application is smooth as butter and the bright greens and reds are like Christmas coming early. I like it. But it could be better.
Bonus Offers: Unlock top-notch benefits with this brokerage account
read more: Best Online Stock Brokers for Beginners
My biggest complaint about the platform is that it actively promotes margin accounts. A margin account is a high-risk investment account that allows you to borrow money from a brokerage firm to purchase stocks. If your stock performs poorly, you are forced to sell to the brokerage at a loss.
Robinhood is considered a beginner-friendly platform, but the same cannot be said for margin accounts. They are definitely at risk. So why are there ads? Why is it offensive? No matter how many times I ignore the ads, they reappear near the top of my screen every time I open the app.
The worst part is, they work. Every time I’ve been in this situation, the temptation to buy leveraged chips has blinded me against my better judgment. If this is true for me, an investor who has lost thousands of dollars investing on margin, then it is certainly true for less experienced investors. not good.
how i dealt with it
I’m using the Robinhood iPhone widget to handle Robinhood’s aggressive advertising. It allows me to check how my stocks are performing without opening the app. This way, I’m not forced to scroll through tempting ads.
Here’s how to add the Robinhood widget to your iPhone:
- Press your finger on the home screen. Hold it until the app shakes.
- Press the “+” button in the upper left corner of the screen.
- Scroll to the Robinhood Portfolio widget.
- Place widgets on your home screen.
It’s super easy and took me less than 60 seconds to set up. Now I can see my positions at a glance. I open the Robinhood app less often and am no longer tempted by leveraged investing.
alternatives to robin hood
Robinhood is a top investing app. But it’s not the only modern broker. Experts at The Ascent say the best stock brokers for beginners include standouts like SoFi (Social Finance), Fidelity and Charles Schwab. They are easy to use, inexpensive, and educational.
SoFi is an all-in-one banking app that I’ve had my eye on for a while. It offers some of the best interest rates on savings accounts, as well as a simple platform for investing in stocks. SoFi is my second favorite publicly traded stock broker after Robinhood.
Fidelity and Charles Schwab are household names. They’ve been around for a while and offer a ton of features, including ETF trading and low-cost mutual funds. If these types of investments appeal to you, they’re worth looking into.
Currently, Federal Reserve interest rates make high-yield savings accounts very popular among savers. Interest rates have risen significantly, and the best savers can enjoy annual returns of 5% or more. You can open a high-yield savings account and start earning interest on short-term savings.
bottom line
My biggest gripe with Robinhood is aggressive margin account advertising, and I combat it by using my Robinhood Portfolio iPhone widget to watch my daily stock performance. You can do this too, or you can avoid Robinhood entirely by putting your money elsewhere.
Our best stockbrokers
We’ve pored over data and user reviews to find the rare picks that earn a spot on our list of the best stockbrokers. Some of these top picks include valuable perks, including $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs. Get started and check out our best stockbrokers.