Investments are great ways to attain financial freedom as they provide a means of passive income and stock trading has been steadily picking up throughout the world since the advent of electronic trading in 1970.
The Nigerian stocks market has attracted a significant number of investors, both local and foreign investors. If you are looking for an alternative investment opportunity other than Nigeria stocks or real exchange, then the stock trading app is a very good platform to venture in.
Thus, this article aims to highlight some of the best stock apps you can use in Nigeria, together with their pros and cons. But before going into the nitty-gritty of the subject, let’s take a look at some related terms.
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What Are Stocks?
Stocks are a type of security that portray shares of ownership, which shows that you have a claim of ownership in the company either a common or preferred shares. Most of the companies who sell shares of stock usually do so to grow and develop their business.
Stocks are not stable in price as they could rise and fall depending on the progress of the business. Stocks are a form of investment one makes to produce profit in the long run. A stockholder is entitled to a proportion of a company’s profits and assets.
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What Is Stock Trading?
Stock trading refers to the buying and selling of shares from the stock exchange with the main aim of making profits. In the early days of stock trading, you need to purchase and sell stocks through a broker which was stressful and not cost-effective.
Today with the emergence of Trading apps, you can easily trade stocks from the comfort of your home through some of the best trading apps in Nigeria. These apps are developed by fintech and are great for beginners who need to learn about stock trading.
What Is Stock Investment?
Stock investment refers to accumulating stocks for a long time before selling. In stock investment, the stock trader is buying and stores up the stocks to sell in the long term.
Who Is A Stock Trader?
A stock trader also known as a share trader is someone who trades equity securities such a person could be an agent hedger or a stockbroker. The main aim of stock traders is to generate profit by selling stocks at a profit or buying stocks at a cheap price to sell in the long run.
Apps To Buy US Stocks From Nigeria
With the emergence of technology, stock trading has become a lot easier and more conducive as people no longer have to use the traditional means of trading stock through a broker now everything can be done with as much as using their mobile phone as various Apps have been created to foster this means and there are two types of stock trading apps in Nigeria.
One allows you to trade stocks directly and sell at your discretion, while the other trades on your behalf while you provide the funds. Below are some of the best apps to buy US stock in Nigeria with their pros and cons.
1. Trove
Trove is a digital investment platform that covers a wide coverage of stocks across the globe. This platform provides access to stocks, bonds and exchange-traded funds ( ETFs) and other securities of public-traded companies in the U.S China and Nigeria and the app allow you to trade stocks directly. Trove was founded by Oluwatomi Soanke, in July 2018 and the company is led by Oluwatomi Solanke, Dasayo Ajisegiri, and Austin Akagu.
Investment using trove is very affordable as you can invest for as low as 10$ and trade depending on how much you want to invest and it’s convenient as you get to do it directly from your smartphone or computer. It provides a range of services including cryptocurrencies, government bonds and mutual funds and you can trade as much as you want from your mobile phone or computer.
It partnered with Sigma Securities (Nigeria) and DriveWealth ( United States) to bring borderless investments to Nigeria.
Pros
- Low commission of 1% when you purchase or sell stocks above $200 and you would be charged a $2 flat fee for anything below $200.
- It allows access to stocks and securities across Nigeria, U.S.A and China with as low as N1,000
- It offers both Naira and dollar wallets for investing in domestic and foreign stocks.
- Troves allows trading in cryptocurrency
- It has a wonderful user interface and it’s easy to navigate
- Its design makes it simple for anybody to use.
Cons
- It takes a relatively long period to verify the account.
- The app is slow, especially during the open market.
2. Risevest
Risevest platform is worldwide asset management that provides a simple option for Nigerians to invest in dollar-denominated investments in the United States and other markets, allowing them to make profits. This app is ideal for those who just want to start off investing.
The assets they offer include Fixed assets, Real Estate or Stock asset investment. Risevest was launched in February 2020 by Eleanya Eke and Bosun Olanrewaju to make investments easy for Nigerians. This trading app trades on your behalf while you provide the stuff.
Pros
- Risevest connects you with experts who help guide you in your investment journey and make you have more confidence in your investment decision.
- Risevest provides a prepared portfolio to invest in
- It provides a great community experience where you have access to others for advice.
- It gives updates on any change in the app that may occur.
Cons
- It takes a longer withdrawal time.
- Risevest app feature does not give room for autonomy in constructing your portfolio
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3. Chaka
Chaka is a global trading and digital investment platform that offers access to stocks which are listed on the Nigerian and U.S stock exchange market. Its stocks are available in dollars and naira. And it was founded by Tosin Osibodu in 2019.
Chaka is a platform that provides local investors with the opportunity to explore international markets and also gives its users the added advantage of reaching the African and global capital market and this facilitates its users to have access to a bigger and larger market. The app allows you to trade by yourself.
Pros
- You can trade in both domestic and foreign stocks.
- It has a much fast withdrawal time.
- It has customer service that is available 24/7 to answer any questions that may arise.
- It has a low minimum deposit fee of N1000 for domestic stocks and 10$ for global stocks.
- The platforms create frequent webinars and a functional community to help customers understand the market better.
- It provides a flexible system in assisting users to invest in both local and foreign stocks without restrictions and this has made it one of the most sought investment platforms in Nigeria. investment platforms in Nigeria
- It gives access to users to track their dashboards with ease.
- It features a calculator that helps investors calculate investment shares and their prices.
Cons
- It gives automated feedback to most of its responses that don’t address users’ questions.
- The app is prone to crash
- It has a slow customer service
4. Bamboo
Bamboo is one of the biggest stock apps in Nigeria and it provides unlimited amounts of stock from your mobile phone, It is an investment platform that gives its users free access to over 3,000 equities listed on the Nigeria and US stock exchanges such as stocks, exchange-traded funds (EFTs) and American depositary receipts ( ADRs) and all this is done at the convenience of one’s mobile phone.
This is an online stock market platform where everything about investing is made simple. The minimum trading amount on the bamboo app is $20 and Investments made on the app are well secured as it also boasts a low commission rate and a diversified portfolio.
It was founded by Yanmo Omorogbe and Richmond Bassey in 2019 and the company partners with DriveWealth in the US and Lambeth capital in Nigeria to bring users access to stocks from all over the world. One unique feature of the app is that it allows you to gift stocks to another user and it’s a trading app that gives you access to trade by yourself.
Pros
- This platform trades and positions are well protected as it is insured by SIPC(Securities Investor Protection Corporation) and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).
- It offers high-security protection with its two-factor authentification and verification process to secure all accounts.
- They have excellent customer service in case of any challenge.
- You can easily buy and sell stocks on US stocks knowing that your money is safe.
- It is easily accessible to everyone which means anyone can make use of the app.
- It provides the added option of stock gifting which means it allows one to gift stocks to anyone.
- Bamboo charges a 1.5% commission when you buy and sell stocks on the US stock markets.
Cons
- It doesn’t have a price alert feature to inform users of changes in the price of certain stocks they are watching.
- It offers only a dollar wallet which simply means you can’t invest in naira.
- It is not available on the web.
- It takes a relatively long withdrawal processing time.
- It requires a minimum deposit of 20%
5. Afrinvestor
This is an online trading and investment management portal of Afrinvest Securities Limited(ASL). This platform enables you to trade in Nigeria stocks online and offers equities and trading which allows you to see live prices of shares.
Pros
- It is a trading platform that features excellent customer service.
- There is no minimum initial deposit needed.
- They provide daily updates on any change that may occur.
6. Investnow.Ng
This app offers a wide online trading platform for Nigerians. one of its unique features is to provide frequent stock recommendation options for new investors and offers services including dividend management, handling of registrars and certificate management
Pros
- They have a good customer support service.
- The platform provides a relatively low brokerage fee of 1.35%
Cons
- It requires a high minimum opening balance of N50,000
7. Stanbic IBTC
The app is owned and controlled by one of the biggest banks in Nigeria, and they are also one of the biggest stockbrokers in Nigeria. This platform was founded in 2016, and you get to trade in real time.
Pros
- They are a registered and secured broker.
- They require a relatively low brokerage fee of 1%.
Cons
- It requires a very high minimum opening balance of N5,000,000.
- The app is available only on an android phone.
8. AMERITRADE
Ameritrade is a publicly-traded online brokerage that provides services to both individuals and institutions that invest. The app is owned by meristem securities and it provides a secure platform for traders to trade from their mobile phones, It also offers a wide array of stocks to choose from both domestic and foreign assets and it’s one of the best stock trading apps for beginners.
This investment platform offers a range of investment products including stocks, bonds .mutual funds. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options contracts and forex futures also offer bitcoin futures for investors looking for cryptocurrency access.
Pros
- They have decent customer service.
- They provide a relatively low brokerage fee of 1.35%.
- They provide in-depth educational programming for its customers.
Cons
- It requires a high minimum balance of N10,000
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Advantages Of Using Stock App
- It is convenient and easy to use.
- It eliminates location and distance barriers.
- It is simple to understand.
Conclusion
The stock market remains one of the feasible ways to invest and its needs studying to be able to navigate your way through it or you could end up with unexpected losses. Investing in stocks has indeed proven to be one of the most profitable ways to build wealth. Stock trading apps eliminate stress as a person does not need to go through the traditional method of using brokers and it allows you to trade directly from your mobile phone.
