How to Expand Your Investment Services by Building a Stock Trading App

Stock advisor apps are another area that has moved online. DIY investments that are made through smartphones are becoming more and more popular. We decided to tell you how to build a stock trading app and what is required for this.

Investment Software Market Overview

According to experts, the value of the investment software market will reach $ 4,497.9 million by 2025. At the same time, the average annual growth rate will be 10.2% (in the period from 2020 to 2025).

Also, based on the data and forecasts from 2015 to 2025, the main players in the investment software market are PortfolioShop, Vestserve, Quicken, Elysys, Misys, etc. Today, the number of representatives of private online investment companies has increased several times.

As for the bidders, about 12.29% of the audience are people aged 18 to 29 years.

How an Online Investment Platform Works?

An investment platform is an online service that allows you to buy, sell and store investments. This can happen either independently or under the guidance of a financial advisor acting on your behalf.

Such applications can significantly add value to brokerage firms or provide independent services to a wide range of clients. In a way, such applications are similar to e-commerce applications.

In terms of taxation, investment platforms are highly efficient and thus attract businessmen and individuals. When you get to such a platform, you have access to a large amount of funds, the terms of sale and purchase of which differ depending on the providers. Investors can also manage multiple products under one roof as most platforms allow ISA, GIA, and SIPP to be used concurrently. You can choose any platform depending on your capabilities and preferences.

Types of Investment Platforms

There are 4 main types of investment platforms. Each of them has its own risks, advantages and disadvantages.

1. Investing in growth is a great idea for preterm play, for those who are able to withstand the mood swings of the market realities. SUDP includes stocks and real estate.

2. Defensive investments — are considered a less risky type of investment. They are mainly focused on stable income, but not on constant growth.

3. Cash — these can be different types of accounts with different interest rates. They have the lowest profitability, but significantly reduce risks.

4. Fixed interest is the most common type of investment. Basically, bonds are bonds, that is, a government loan from individuals and the payment of an interest rate in return.

Key Features of a Stock Trading App like eTrade

E * TRADE is essentially the world’s first online investment platform. The key property of this application is the ease of use of the application, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world. E * TRADE is great for traders and investors who want to work with only a smartphone.

The app works on most Apple and Android devices. Through the app, you can invest in stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and options (including two-, three- and four-sided spreads). At the same time, the application has a zero commission for online trading of stocks, ETFs and options that are registered in the United States. As well cash management is available using Transfer Money, Check Deposit and Bill Pay. This is how eTrade architecture makes money and tries to find other ways of monetization.

Read also: How Much Does It Cost to Make a Web Portal in 2021?

8 Tips to Create a Successful Investment App

An investment platform can have different functions and capabilities. This diversity is due to the goals and objectives that it must fulfill. Let’s take a look at some of the basic tips to keep in mind when developing such an application.

Simple registration

In the matter of finances, registration is indispensable, but it is important to think simultaneously about comfort and safety. Registration should be quick and easy, use biometric parameters, several levels of authentication, but everything should be extremely clear, intuitive and simple.

Provide a personal account

All user actions must be confirmed and displayed in his personal account. He should also be able to edit, delete and add any information related to his profile. It should also contain a large number of settings related to investment operations. All updates should be loaded instantly.

Include a wide range of trading instruments

The platform should offer a clear trading mechanism. This refers not only to the placement of shares, but also to tracking the movement of funds. Provide manual and automatic modes.

The ability to make deposits

Deposits are always a popular feature, which will attract significantly more users. Do not forget to describe the conditions for providing a deposit in the most detailed and understandable way. The process should be transparent and understandable, because your reputation depends on it.

Convenient search

Users should be able to quickly and easily search for active stocks and see their current rates. This will give your product great value and an expert level that will attract not only amateurs, but real professionals as well. The more convenient your product is, and the more money your customers can make with it, the greater your superiority over competitors.

Add analytics

Detailed reports with multiple visualizations will help your clients analyze their own successes and decisions. You can also provide hints as a built-in or optional feature.

Push notifications when needed

Any important changes and news should be communicated to users with lightning speed. The easiest and most effective way to do this is by push notifications. But do not forget to ask the user if he agrees to receive notifications. This is an important point from a legal point of view.

Add a news feed

This function will be useful both for ordinary users who found themselves on the platform for the sake of interest, and for experienced traders with extensive experience. Let them have the opportunity to keep abreast of all world trends and updates in the value and status of the shares they are interested in.

Data Protection in Trading

When developing a mobile application, it should be borne in mind that the data used by this application may be of certain interest to third parties. The value of this data varies widely, however, even the most simple private information, for example, an application login password, requires elaboration of its protection. This is especially important in light of the spread of mobile trading apps like eTrade to all areas of electronic services, including financial, banking, storage and transfer of personal data, and so on.

Pay attention to database security and encryption. Use, for example, an asymmetric algorithm with a private key known to the server. In the case of investment platforms, you can face a lot of scams, and your first priority is to protect your users.

Regulatory Compliance in Financial Services

In short, regulatory compliance is government-defined laws at the state and international level. All companies operating on the territory of states must comply with them when carrying out their activities.

In the case of investment, it is important to ensure that all participants are protected from money laundering and adhere to the Fair and Accurate Credit Operations Act 2003 (FACTA). All this guarantees the integrity of financial transactions and prevents identity theft.

Following all of these rules should lead to a complex but mature compliance scheme for financial services organizations. Any violation of these rules will incur penalties and legal consequences.

Alternative Top Applications Compared to eTrade

There are a huge number of different investment apps like eTrade. It makes no sense to list everything, considering the most top stock trading app.

MetaTrader

It is a trading platform for financial markets: Forex, stocks, futures and CFDs. It provides various tools for comprehensive price analysis (both technical and fundamental). It also makes it possible to use trading robots and trading signals.

Robinhood

Robinhood showed an alternative vision of investing in the stock market. Commission-free trades are available to sellers of stand-alone cash or margin brokerage accounts registered in the United States via mobile devices.

Seeking alpha

A platform that provides complete information about what is happening in the investment world. It also provides market analysis from experts to better manage investments and assets.

Schwab

The mobile application allows you to monitor the situation on the investment market and manage your own money. Access to the stock broker app is available from a smartphone, like all possible transactions with the user’s money and shares.

What Does It Cost to Create a Trading eTrade-Like App?

Most often, fintech projects use the Agile methodology. This implies constant communication between the customer and the contractor. This includes doing research and discussing details from the frontend and backend.

The development cost always depends on the complexity of the product and the company you have contacted. Among the main formats of cooperation are outsourcing and outstaff. You can also cover the need for in-house developing trading platforms or hire freelancers. In addition to the investment platform development cost, you should also take into account the cost of paying, for example, cloud services.

The average time it takes to create an investment app is from 5 to 10 months. At the same time, hourly wages can range from $ 10 to $ 150+. The average cost of a stock trading app can be up to $ 50,000.

How TopDevs Can Help in Trading Application Development

TopDevs has experience in working with fintech projects. Our team has developed a 24/7 payment system. Since the system was created for several countries at once, we dealt with the legislative framework and the international Stripe system, adapting it to our needs.

We have a strong team with deep expertise. For us, the priority is to satisfy the needs of the customer, therefore we carefully prepare for the stock trading app development and constantly give the status of what is happening.

Final Words

It is important to understand that investment platforms are a complex project that requires a lot of attention and involvement from both the customer and the contractor. You must clearly understand your target audience and all the responsibilities that you have to it.

High usability, constant updates and transparency of processes will make your platform popular and attract a large number of users. Let’s start custom software development!