We all know that investing some of our spare cash makes sense. As we all start to live longer, putting a proper retirement plan in place is vital to protecting your financial future. It is not only the long term where investing can be handy though. Good investment management can provide a decent secondary income stream to bump up your salary and, if you do it full-time, even become a career in itself. Of course, the extra money that proper investing brings can then be used in the shorter term for events like kids going off to college or buying a new car.
There are lots of different ways you can invest any spare money you have. From the stock market to currency to Roth IRAs, bonds and mutual funds, the choice is wide. It is generally advisable to keep your investment portfolio diversified so that you spread your risk across a number of sectors or assets.
With this in mind, it becomes key to find a way of managing your portfolio and all the various assets you have in it. For the individual investor, this makes it much quicker and simpler to keep an eye on your investments.
Of course, the traditional way that many people go about this type of management is to invest through investment management companies. This makes checking on your portfolio simple by getting in touch with the investment organization for an update or checking your portfolio out online via their website.
Goldstone Financial Group is one such company that offers this service to its customers. As one of the most trusted investment companies in the US, they demonstrate how easily you can look after your investments in this way.
But what if you would rather handle it all yourself? In this case, you would be best served to use a piece of dedicated investment software to manage your portfolio. Here are a few of the best software programs currently available:
Personal Capital
This piece of software is packed full of powerful features as well as being totally free. This is perfect for the individual investor who may not have a lot of spare money to spend. The easy to use platform makes it simple to view all your investments in one place and see how they are faring.
This complete, 360-degree view of how all your various assets are performing is vital to make rational decisions. The tools contained will not only help you to analyze your open investments but also review how your assets are allocated and perform an investment check-up. With quick automatic updates included, this is a great piece of software to use.
Mint
Another free, yet powerful, piece of investment software is Mint. This web-based interface makes it familiar to use and navigate around. It essentially links all your accounts and investments together so you can easily review them all in one place.
A good feature here is how it highlights the investment fees you may be paying so you can include them in any calculations you make. For the new investor, there is also an online portal that provides advice on passive and active investing. With investment tracking tools and budgeting options, this is very simple to use and would be ideal for a novice investor looking to manage their money.
Quicken
One big name in terms of investment portfolio management is Quicken. This has been the go-to investment management tool for a lot of people in recent years, which is evidence of how effective it is. It makes it easy to analyze and view your investments in a single place.
Once you have synced all your accounts and investments, you are ready to make use of the many fabulous tools it contains. Particularly useful are the investment management reports which are fully customizable, so they show exactly what you want them too. Tracking all your investments is simple from its user-friendly platform and there is even a retirement planner tool to protect you into old age.
Getting The Right Software Is Crucial
Of course, as with any kind of package or software, a lot depends on personal preference. Some people who like Quicken will hate Mint and vice versa. What this article does demonstrate with certainty though is that, if you plan to look after your investments personally, getting the right software package to help you do it is key.
For those who do not feel comfortable doing this or investing purely on their own, using an external investment firm is still the best option. If you are looking for some top investment software packages however, those listed above are certainly worth considering.