Best Investing Platforms 2022: some of the top choices

Access to financial products is available in most jurisdictions for everyday investors, although some countries do make things easier than others. But in most cases, as long as you have easy access to the internet, you can get started with some of the best investing platforms within a matter of minutes. This isn’t just limited to desktop sites either, as the top platforms now have mobile apps that can be installed on Android and iOS too. With this said, we believe that the following three sites are some of the best investing platforms available:

• eToro - best overall investing platform
• Pepperstone - best investing platform for enthusiasts

eToro - visit here

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

At the time of writing, eToro has over 15 million active users. Now, that’s quite a membership base. How has eToro built such a large following? Well, these guys have removed trading fees across the board, they allow social trading, and the product offering seems to be expanding all the time. eToro now supports stock trading, CFDs, cryptocurrencies, commodities trading, and more. This is all packaged into a user-friendly mobile app that even those who are brand new to investing will find easy to use.

The benefits of choosing eToro don’t end there either. The platform also serves up state of the art risk management tools, an ‘eToro academy’ for people to learn about investing, and you can even open a demo account to experiment with different strategies. Without question, eToro has one of the most extensive and top-quality platforms out there right now, and you can register with eToro in less than five minutes!

And when it comes to platform security, you’ll struggle to find much better. eToro is licensed in multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, USA, Australia, Europe, and many others too. To date, the platform has safely opened more than 360 billion trades for users, and this number is rising constantly. 

>>> Sign up to eToro here <<<

Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in most EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk. CFD crypto trading is unavailable for clients residing in the UK and US. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Pepperstone - visit here

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Pepperstone is a site that is designed for the more active investor, as opposed to the passive type. That’s because Pepperstone has some of the most advanced trading products and tools available right now. With both MT5 and MT4 software supported, alongside tight spreads and low fees, it’s one where traders really get the most bang for their buck. And if you do choose to sign up with Pepperstone, you can invest in almost 15 stock markets from around the globe, Forex markets, commodities, ETFs, and even engage in CFD trading too. In total, the site has 1,200+ financial instruments, and the range is increasing quite rapidly for emerging markets such as crypto. 

>>> Sign up to Pepperstone here <<<

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 72.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

What Is an Investing Platform?

The clue is somewhat in the name here, for investing platforms are online sites that allow you to invest your hard-earned cash into a range of financial products. For a quick refresher, our number one recommendation is eToro, and you can sign up here whenever you are feeling ready. As for what these investing platforms have to offer, that’s what separates the best from the rest. The top platforms give you exposure to a range of assets, often extending into the hundreds in number. After funding your account, you can then take a swing at whatever product or asset takes your fancy - as long as it aligns with your investment goals, of course.

And to state the obvious, when you do choose to invest, your capital is at risk. While yes, the value of your investments can go up, the value can also go down. The performance of your investments obviously depends on what you invest in, among other factors that are beyond anyone's control.

>>> Invest with eToro here <<<

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

How Do Investing Platforms Work?

Investing platforms exist for one specific reason - to give users exposure to the financial markets with greater ease than ever before. Since these platforms are now packaged up into sophisticated mobile apps and desktop sites, investors can stake their cash in global products - all through a few taps of the screen. Of course, the platforms themselves help to facilitate all trades that take place, and since everything is run using state of the art software, everything can be tracked with absolute precision. 

How to Sign Up to an Investing Platform

As great as many investing platforms are these days, you can’t gain access to their products and services without setting up a new account. The reason for this is that regulated investment platforms must verify who you are before allowing you to make any investments. This is all part of the KYC process, and regulated platforms take this very seriously. With that said, setting up your account is very easy to do, and we’ve given you a quick guide below:

1. Open an account with your preferred investing platform
2. Upload your proof of ID - driving licence or passport - and proof of address - recent bank statement or utility bill - to verify your account
3. Deposit funds into the account. Popular methods to do this include bank transfer, debit card and PayPal
4. Choose from the plethora of investing options and make your first investment

>>> Open an account with eToro here <<<

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

How to Choose the Best Investing Platform

While no investing platform is absolutely flawless, there are certain platforms out there that have far more positives than negatives. Of course, that’s what we tend to look for when reviewing the main investing platforms out there. And on that note, there are specific areas to investigate to ensure that a platform will satisfy the needs of the end-user. Here they are:

Design and Ease of Use

If a platform is designed well, you will automatically feel like you are using a more professional investment site. But great aesthetics and simple navigation systems are just half of the battle - the other half involves how easy the platform is to use in a broader sense. For us to view an investment platform as easy to use, it has to boast quick response times, obvious links to products and subsequent assets, and no page should take more than a few clicks to reach. If a site also shows filters or search tools you can use to find where you want to go, even better!

Trading Options

Needless to say, different investors prefer to allocate money to different resources. But the best way to guarantee that your desired product is available is to choose a platform with as many supported assets as possible. As demonstrated earlier, some platforms have more than 500 assets for you to choose from these days, and there are multiple ways to gain exposure to these assets too. So in short, finding investing platforms with a multitude of trading options is always going to be a good thing.

Fees and Commissions

Since investing platforms all facilitate trades by acting as a medium of exchange, many of them will take a cut for providing such services. However, the more modern-day platforms have removed fees or commissions for trades, which ensures that your balance isn’t depleted through unnecessary charges. With that said, some sites will still charge fees for deposits, inactivity, or withdrawals, and you should assess these as early as possible. Of course, the fewer fees that a platform has in place the better.

Reputation

There are obviously certain investment platforms that are more well-known than others. And those that already have thousands, if not millions of users, usually have a string of online reviews for you to assess. This is the best way of checking out what kind of reputation a trading platform has before you decide to sign up. But in addition to this, you can also investigate customer testimonials on the main site, or look at comparison sites for an accurate and in-depth platform review. Exploring reviews through a range of resources is the best way to paint the most accurate picture.

Minimum Investment Required

Everyone has different levels of cash that they are able to invest. But if you are on the lower end of this spectrum, it’s worthwhile to look at the minimum investment required. After all, there is no use signing up with a site that has great products if you’ll be unable to meet this threshold. However, we have good news on that front, for many sites let users get started with as little as $10 or $20 these days. Of course, the less you invest, the less potential you have to generate significant returns. But then again, this is all relative, and you should only invest what you feel you can afford.

Educational Resources

This is an area that all great investment platforms have started to explore in order to stand out from the crowd. Rather than simply offering various investment services for those who sign up, the great platforms now educate investors too - all free of charge. The reason for this is to broaden the overall understanding of products and services that they offer, and also to ensure that members fully understand what they are doing. In a way, this could be viewed as a way to encourage ‘responsible investing’, which is in the best interests of everyone. 

As an added bonus, some investing platforms even let you take a run with a demo account to experiment with products and strategies. All of this is available before going for the real deal, but of course, you don’t have to use such a resource.

>>> Get started with eToro here <<<

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Final Thoughts

After running through all of the information presented above, you should feel more confident with where to invest, how this is done, and what kind of products you can expect. Of course, before you actually pull the trigger and make your first investments, it’s important to do your due diligence and assess the risks vs potential rewards. This is good practice for all forms of investing, and as a reminder, your investment value can go up, as well as down. That’s why you should never invest more capital than you can realistically afford to lose, at any one time.

But to conclude, if you do want the best investing experience in 2022, we highly recommend that you register with eToro. Few sites have been able to make the world of investing so easy and so accessible, even for those without any specific industry knowledge. You may use eToro through your smartphone, laptop, or PC too, and the range of products these guys offer is improving all the time. Believe us - once you’ve signed up and experimented with their services, you won’t look back.

And finally, we wish you all the best with your investment adventures!

>>> Sign up to eToro now <<<

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

FAQs

Are investing platforms regulated?

Yes. For investing platforms to be able to offer their products and services in the first place, they have to be regulated. Different countries have different regulatory bodies at work, of course, but you can see details of these on the homepage of your chosen platform.

Which is the best investing platform?

In our opinion, the top investing platform available right now is eToro. These guys have been able to break down many barriers for young investors, and features such as social trading, fee-free trades, and a great native app really have changed the game. If you want to give eToro a try, you can easily sign up here.

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Is it safe to use investing platforms?

Yes. Not only are investing platforms regulated, but they also make use of software, encryptions, and protected servers to keep things as secure as possible. All of your deposits, withdrawals, and trades are shielded to keep sensitive details out of the wrong hands. You can also further protect your account by setting up things like PINs, 2FA, and backup emails too.