The Penny Hoarder’s Survey of Funding App Customers

The fintech revolution is right here and funding apps are main the cost. 

Robinhood, Acorns, Betterment and different apps have simplified the funding course of for on a regular basis People by eradicating once-common obstacles to entry, like complicated jargon and excessive buying and selling charges. 

Funding apps shook up the archaic monetary panorama by giving individuals user-friendly platforms to entry the inventory market with as little as $5. 

Then got here the COVID-19 pandemic, which coincided with financial worries, stimulus checks and rising curiosity in investing apps and cryptocurrency.

This proved to be an ideal atmosphere for app use to speed up — particularly amongst new and younger traders. In a brand new survey of practically 2,000 People performed by The Penny Hoarder, 66% of respondents solely started utilizing an funding app in 2020 or 2021, and two out of three stated the pandemic led them to turn into extra severe customers. 

The Penny Hoarder’s survey discovered extra hanging findings about funding app customers, who’re getting their toes moist in a inventory market as soon as roped off for white collars and Wall Avenue elites. 

• They’re new to the scene: About half stated that they had little to no investing expertise previous to utilizing an app. 
• They’re beginning small: About half of respondents have lower than $1,000 invested on an app. 
• They’re utilizing this new entry to: Dabble with crypto, fractional shares and meme shares.
• Social media is a main supply of investing recommendation: Most funding app customers flock to Fb and YouTube for funding recommendation, though 18-to-24-year-olds additionally closely favor TikTok and Instagram.
• Celebrities additionally maintain sway: 44% of all respondents stated they’d be extra more likely to put money into a inventory if Elon Musk tweeted about it. Amongst high-income earners — these incomes over $150,000 — 67% stated they’d be more likely to observe Musk’s recommendation.

Covid-19 Spurs New Wave of Funding App Customers 

Funding apps aren’t new. 

Acorns, a robo-advisor app that encourages small, common investments, debuted in 2012. Robinhood, a self-directed inventory buying and selling platform that includes fractional shares, adopted in 2013. 

But 71% of survey respondents aged 18-24 acquired began in 2020 or 2021. 

And investing apps aren’t simply well-liked with Gen Z and Millennials both: 37% of respondents had been 45 years or older. Of these age teams, 67% started utilizing an app within the final two years.

Over half of respondents (53%) stated that they had little to no investing expertise previous to utilizing an app. Solely 21% stated they had been very skilled once they took the funding app plunge.

Almost three out of 4 respondents (73%) stated they’d use customized recommendation from a pc algorithm if their funding app provided it. Robo-advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront provide this sort of service. 

Funding App Customers Are Beginning Small

Additional time, stimulus money and simple digital entry to a surging inventory market enticed a brand new wave of traders. 

However they’re beginning small. Over half (52%) reported having lower than $1,000 invested in an app. Solely 24% stated they’ve $5,000 or extra at work in any given funding app. 

That stated, when individuals discovered themselves flush with cash thanks to a few rounds of stimulus checks, many jumped to speculate it. Greater than half of respondents stated they invested stimulus cash in an funding app, together with 57% of these making lower than $25,000 a 12 months.

Investing apps are drawing traders of all earnings ranges. Some 78% of respondents incomes $25,000 or much less stated they began utilizing an funding app in 2020 or 2021, whereas 56% of respondents incomes $150,000 or extra began throughout the pandemic.

Expertise and Training Make a Distinction

Extra skilled and educated merchants reported higher outcomes utilizing funding apps than traders with much less expertise and training. 

Individuals who discovered investing fundamentals and greatest practices of their teenage years had been significantly extra more likely to report a optimistic return on their investments than those that discovered investing fundamentals of their 30s or later (60% vs. 43%).

Survey respondents with a university diploma had been extra more likely to report a optimistic return on their investments than these with solely a highschool training (58% vs. 42%). 

About 60% of people that stated they had been very skilled with investing previous to utilizing an app reported a optimistic return, whereas 42% of respondents with no prior investing expertise reported a optimistic return. 

Not surprisingly, greater earnings earners are extra acquainted with investing total. About 30% of respondents with incomes between $25,000 and $49,999 stated that they had no prior investing expertise, whereas simply 12% of respondents incomes $150,000 or extra reported no prior funding expertise.

Are Customers Making Dangerous Choices With Funding Apps?

Funding apps are easy and accessible, however they’ve been criticized for gamification ways that observe consumer exercise, encourage trades, ship alerts, make use of leaderboards and reward customers with badges once they hit milestones.

Giving individuals unrestricted entry to complicated monetary merchandise carries an inherent danger that some traders might use funding apps to have interaction in gambling-like conduct. 

Over half of respondents (56%) say they used an app to purchase and promote shares in the identical day — a typical day buying and selling observe — whereas practically 30% stated they think about cryptocurrency a low-risk funding.

A rising pool of funding apps lets customers dabble in crypto buying and selling, together with Robinhood and Webull and money-transfer platforms like PayPal and Money App. 

About 58% of respondents stated they used an funding app to commerce crypto for the primary time in 2020 or 2021.

It’s straightforward to get cash invested with these apps, however survey respondents appear to reap the benefits of straightforward withdrawals too: About 55% stated they pulled cash out of an funding app in 2021.

However withdrawing funding cash early can come at a price by the use of short-term capital features tax or potential IRA withdrawal penalties. 

It additionally goes towards tried-and-true longer-term investing rules.

Will the Funding App Revolution Proceed?

Funding apps have carved out their spot within the fintech revolution — however are they right here to remain?

Traders appear to suppose so. 

A majority of survey respondents (60%) stated they plan to place extra money into funding apps in 2022 than they did in 2021. 

Almost two-thirds (66%) stated they deliberate to strive a brand new investing app this 12 months.

Rachel Christian is a Licensed Educator in Private Finance and a senior author for The Penny Hoarder.

Concerning the Survey

The Penny Hoarder performed the random nationwide survey in partnership with Pollfish from December 15-18, 2021. Pollfish screened respondents by asking if that they had used a minimum of one funding app usually inside the previous 12 months: 3,581 individuals responded to the screening query, with 2,000 individuals who used a minimum of one funding app usually advancing to the survey’s 20 questions. The Penny Hoarder analyzed the information and eliminated 82 responses that weren’t legitimate, bringing the response rely to 1,918. Responses had been weighted for age and gender so that every response is consultant of the U.S. inhabitants. The general survey’s margin of error is +-2 proportion factors at a 95% confidence interval.