How Technology Has Made Investing Easier for Beginners

Editor’s note: I don’t need to convince you that our world is rapidly transforming. These changes include personal finance in general and investing in particular. Today, I offer you a post on the ways in which technology has democratized investing and made it easier for beginners written by Kayla. She is a colleague personal blogger with passion for all things money.

It’s no secret that technology is ever changing, offering us more goods and services to make our lives easier every day. The same can be said for update to financial technology. Technology has made it easier than ever for us to manage our finances through the use of online banking, budgeting apps, and more.

Technology changes impact the investing world as well. Here are some ways technology has made investing easier than ever, especially for beginners.

Electronic Devices

The changes that technology has brought to the computer industry in the last twenty years or so have been phenomenal. We have gone from large, bulky monitors and towers to thin flat screens and laptops that can hold massive amounts of information and can be accessed faster than ever before. Laser thin tablets, smartphones and other devices are affordable to almost everyone these days, allowing anyone who has one to seek out investment opportunities from almost any location. For the beginner investor, this can be a very valuable research tool, allowing them to find information and advice on everything from real estate, to stocks, to precious metals, and more.

Internet

The rise of the internet has brought with it the ability to track your investment portfolio without having to contact a financial advisor for every little thing or leaf through massive reports as in years past. The ease of having your portfolio literally at your fingertips at any given time is an enticement to beginning investors because it helps to uncomplicate the process of investing and provides more accurate and up to date data.

Furthermore, as a beginning investor, you can find social investing sites where other people will provide advice and information on what has and hasn’t worked for them, and explanations of some of the more complicated aspects of different types of investments. Just be careful because not all friendly advice is actually helpful.

Investment Opportunities

Beginning investors can now research the internet for the types of investment opportunities that appeal the most to them. In addition, as a new investor, you might not have a lot of money to get started investing. You can find sites, such as Acorns, that can help you get started investing with minimal amounts of money and risk.

Less Need for a Financial Advisor

I’m not saying the beginner investor, or even a seasoned investor for that matter, should completely do away with their financial advisor. However, with the tools technology has provided, the beginner investor has information available they would previously have needed to go to a financial advisor to get.

That said, as a new investor, a financial advisor can offer professional advice based on a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as financial planning advice tailored to your specific needs.

With technology’s constant changes and upgrades, it should continue to get easier to manage your investments in the years to come.

Did you think of other ways technology has made investing easier for beginners?

photo credit: Kirsche auf Tastatur via photopin (license)