Investing Online: How and Where to Start? Practical Guide and Tips for Beginners

Dissatisfied with the bank? Today you can invest your savings online on your own. Here’s how to do it, where to put your money and what to know to avoid risks

Are you satisfied with the returns on your money in the bank? If the answer is no (as is often the case) here is a possible solution: learn how to invest online.

In recent years the world of investment has experienced a sea change. Thanks to the internet and technology, it is now possible to invest your savings without having to go to the bank: directly from home, independently or guided by a portfolio manager.

And that’s not all. Today you can start investing online starting from small amounts such as 100 euros, 50 euros or even 5€! You don’t need to have thousands of euros saved up to receive the attention of the bank advisor.

Where can you invest online? In practically anything, you just need to know where to look. You can buy gold bars and receive them at home, buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, create a portfolio of bonds, stocks, funds or even bet on the daily variations of commodities (oil, natural gas, copper, etc.).

You can start as a young person as well as in adulthood: it is not complicated to manage your investments, there are also courses to learn how to invest online or automated solutions, managed by professionals.

Are you interested in investing online but have many questions in your head? Let’s go and answer them in detail in this practical guide for beginners.

Investing online: how does it work?

The 2008 crisis has generated a certain climate of distrust towards banks. Years later, many savers prefer to manage their investments on their own (in whole or in part), looking for where to put their savings without consulting their bank.

The world of online investments has given a big hand to conscious investors. Today it is possible to allocate one’s own money in an independent way, avoiding uncomfortable conflicts of interest that characterize the financial advice of a bank (institutions sell to the client the products on which they can earn the highest commissions).

Investing without the intermediary becomes not only more efficient but also less expensive. In fact, those who buy and sell financial products online incur much lower fees than they would pay with a bank intermediary.

In addition, investment opportunities increase. A bank, in fact, in most cases offers fairly standard solutions such as the purchase of BTPs or mutual funds. The financial market, however, is infinitely broader.

And the returns? Often those who know how to invest online are able to guarantee much higher earnings. However, if you don’t have the skills to trade on your own, there is a greater risk of losing money. You need to be very careful or get help from independent online advisors.

Have you set aside some money and would like to start investing online? Let’s see what you can do.

Investing small amounts online

We often associate the term investment with men in suits who move millions of dollars in the financial markets. Investing online, however, is a different matter.

Many internet services are affordable for any type of wallet: don’t be afraid to start even if you have a small amount to commit. You can invest small amounts such as 100 euros, 1,000 or 10,000 euros online.

From the starting capital, clearly, many things depend on the assets you can buy, the expected returns, and how much to diversify the portfolio (a small amount can be put on one or two instruments).

That said, you can still invest a little money and start working your savings. Slowly that small investment could grow and become a nest egg.

Some platforms you can invest small amounts on online:

• eToro: is a regulated online trading broker that allows you to buy stocks, ETFs and other financial instruments from 200€;
• BullionVault: the world’s largest company in the trading of precious metals. It allows you to buy gold, silver and platinum in small quantities;
• Revolut: is an online account card that gives you access to the markets to buy stocks, ETFs, precious metals and cryptocurrencies;

Safe online investing

In addition to a question of budget, investing also forces you to evaluate risks and benefits. You have to commit savings and hope that the chosen strategy will generate a return: more risk means greater profit prospects and vice versa.

To find the perfect compromise, many people chase the myth of safe investments, but what does that mean exactly? Are there instruments that assure you high returns and zero risk? Unfortunately, no.

Safe online investing actually has two meanings:

• choosing a reliable broker;
• creating a prudent investment portfolio (low or medium-low risk).

First, safe investing means being able to distinguish serious companies from untrustworthy ones. When you make an investment online you are entrusting your savings to services that you only know virtually. You can’t talk face-to-face with a bank or advisor, and that can hide pitfalls.

You may have already heard of online financial scams, often related to trading or cryptocurrency. To avoid falling into these web traps, there are some tricks:

• check online reviews of the service;
• verify that the platform has the authorizations to carry out its activity;
• do a Google search before relying on the broker (using keywords such as “COMPANY NAME + opinions / reviews / scam? / is it safe?”).

The transparency of an investment service can also be recognized by the structure of the site, the clarity of its content, the approach to the customer (do they call to ask you to invest or do they allow you to practice with a free account? There’s a big difference..) and more.

As far as market risks are concerned, however, there is no online investment that does not include at least a minimum of them. Not even instruments considered unassailable such as BTPs or deposit accounts can do much in case of default of the State or the bank. Unlikely, of course, but still possible.

The only way you can invest safely online is:

• select low-risk instruments (bonds, commodities, money market funds, etc.);
• diversify as much as possible reducing the danger of too much exposure;
• get advice from experienced advisors.

Don’t know how to move? Here you can find a reliable and award-winning Italian service to invest online at low risk by creating a diversified portfolio in line with your goals as a saver.

What to invest in online

One of the clou questions when investing is what financial instruments to buy. At the bank you can often find an advisor to give you ideas, but online? You’ll have to do it all yourself, unless you request online financial advice.

To help you get some ideas here’s what you can invest in online right now.

A bond is an advantageous debt instrument because it has less risk than stocks. Basically, you buy the debt of a state or company and receive back the principal at maturity plus interest (you can still sell the bond before maturity).

Investing online in bonds is not easy because there are few trading platforms that allow you to do so. To buy or sell bonds you have two solutions:

• Open an online account with a bank and buy/sell bonds from their trading platform;
• Open an account at DEGIRO and access the Bond section.

A trading bank, such as Widiba for example, gives you access to a wide range of corporate and government bonds (e.g. BTPs, Bunds, US government bonds, etc.).

Degiro, on the other hand, is an independent broker and therefore will only offer you a restricted range of corporate bonds.

Invest online in real estate

Have you always wanted to make a good real estate investment but never had the money to get started? Today you can invest online in the brick market easily and without owning a substantial capital.

The merit is the real estate crowdfunding platforms, online companies that play the role of collectors of capital. Here you have a table with the best ones:

If you have a small amount and want to invest in real estate you can put your money on a real estate project and finance it together with many other people. If the project reaches the necessary amount of capital it can start, otherwise you will receive your money back.

You can choose to invest in real estate online in two ways:

• equity crowdfunding: you will become a partner in a real estate company and if the project is successful you will receive the returns as a small shareholder;
• lending crowdfunding: you will lend your money for the construction or restoration of the property and you will receive a periodic interest until maturity (when you will be repaid the money).

Investing online at Amazon (in stocks)

Think about one of the strongest companies of the moment where you’d like to invest: you mentioned the name of a famous e-commerce, didn’t you?

So many people every day monitor Amazon shares to try to earn from its fluctuations in the stock market.

Amazon is an undoubtedly valuable company, very solid and international in scope. Many novice traders start investing online wishing to buy shares of Jeff Bezos’ company. How to do it?

Thanks to the network today it is possible to invest in the stock market online in the main companies in the world without going through a bank. This activity can be carried out in the form of medium-long term investment or by trading online, that is opening and closing positions in the day.

The electronic platforms offered by authorized brokers allow you to choose the shares you prefer on international markets and operate from home, easily and independently.

Most, however, offer you trading in CFDs (derivatives). If you want to invest online in real Amazon shares (or CFDs) the solution is to choose a regulated broker like eToro.

The reason is twofold: first, eToro is the only broker market maker that allows you to buy stocks at 0 commissions. Second, with eToro you are guaranteed to choose a regulated company with a community of millions of investors around the world.

eToro allows you to buy Amazon shares online without paying a cent in commissions and to own the underlying asset (not the CFD) even for a medium to long period.

Invest online on Bitcoin

Interested in investing in Bitcoin the potential cryptocurrency of the future?

After the flare-up of 2017, the BTC has become an object of investment by large companies or small savers (even novice), and with Bitcoin all other cryptocurrencies for the potential value they may have in the future.

Clearly, being a 100% digital currency, the channels to buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are exclusively telematic.

To invest online in Bitcoin you can use cryptocurrency exchanges, platforms enabled to convert currency into cryptocurrency and vice versa. In the table you will find the best services on the net:

Otherwise, you can use solutions like Revolut, a prepaid card with an online account that allows you to exchange euros pounds or dollars into Bitcoin directly from the app.

Online investing courses

People who don’t know how to start investing end up in three situations:

• throwing in the towel;
• turning to the bank (with all the downsides that come with it);
• making a wrong approach and losing money.
• To avoid this happening, the best solution is to start by getting informed. Financial knowledge (even minimal) is essential to access the financial market and place any investment, especially if it is online.

If you want to improve your financial education, you can devote some of your free time to attend courses for online investing: you can find free or paid solutions, in the form of books, video courses and much more. Most of them are on-demand, so you can follow them from home at any time.

Learning is a prerogative to invest online independently without making mistakes. Find the course that suits you and take the time to practice, deepen and evaluate: once you have lost the capital you can not go back (better to be prescient).

Do you want to earn money online without investing?

Investing online in the stock market is not for you? A piece of advice: if you are afraid of making hasty gestures or losing savings that could come in handy, avoid taking risks.

Okay, but making some extra money wouldn’t hurt and online trading could perhaps be a solution. Is there an alternative to earn money with the internet but without having to commit savings? The answer is yes.

If you are serious about earning online without investing find a good, serious and profitable work from home job. The web allows you to explore hundreds of opportunities and if you have enough perseverance and talent you can get great returns from your online business.

Do you have a PC connected to the internet and some free time? That’s all you need – find an interesting idea, spend the right amount of time on it and you may be able to earn money without investing online.

Investing online – Frequently Asked Questions

How to invest in the stock market online?

If you want to invest in the stock market online you have to open a trading account with one of the best brokers, choose the instruments that interest you (stocks, ETFs, bonds, etc.) and start trading.

Are there apps for online investing?

Today you can control your investments even when you are not at your PC. In fact, there are apps that allow you to invest even when you’re away from home: a tap on the screen and you can sell or buy the assets you want. Find out which apps are recommended.

How do I invest 100 euros online?

Do you want to start investing a little money (e.g. €100)? There are online services that allow you to invest even small sums of money, quickly and easily: find out which ones.