Public is a stock and ETF trading app, that was launched in 2019. Like many modern online brokers, Public does not require a commission and does not require a minimum deposit to start investing.
It also does not use pay-per-order flow, where brokers are compensated for routing orders to third parties to complete a trade. Instead, Public has a tip feature for deals. You can tip the broker to complete the transaction. This helps to eliminate conflicts of interest between brokers and clients.
It has also social media, which is the app, that makes your portfolio transparent to other users and consequently gives you the ability to view the other users’ portfolios.
Another big advantage of Public is that the app allows you to buy fractional stocks (which it calls “parts”). This means that you can purchase less than one share in its entirety. Fractional stocks come in handy when you are looking to buy, say, Amazon, which is currently trading at over $ 1,880 per share.
While Public organizes the processes of buying and selling stocks and ETFs in a free and easy way, its functions are somewhat limited, when we compare it to other larger brokers, which also gives you the opportunities to trade stocks and ETFs without paying commissions. The public does not support mutual funds, bonds, or other investments and has some limited research on each stock.
However, Public’s motto is “Every Investor.” If you’re looking for an easy-to-use app that lets you buy and sell in the stock market, this app does a great job with those needs. However, keep in mind that it just doesn’t have all the features, research, and tools that you find with other online brokers.
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La información contenida en este artículo es meramente orientativa. No constituye asesoramiento financiero, jurídico o fiscal, ni una recomendación o solicitud de inversión. Algunos hechos pueden haber cambiado desde el momento de su redacción.
Who should use Public.com?
Public can be a great tool that can be recommended to several types of investors, including:
- People who do not have much funds but want to invest
- Newbies who know little about investing and are looking for advice and inspiration.
- Investors looking for a fast and simple user interface
- Investors who like to combine a social element in their investments
- Anyone who wants to save on commissions
- People who want to invest with a debit card
How does Public.com work?
Opening public accounts is quick and easy. You will complete the new account registration process in less than five minutes.
Once you’ve signed in and funded your account, it’s very easy to navigate, search for stocks and ETFs, view other user’s portfolios, and start buying and selling. Plus, you don’t need to link your bank account to fund your public account. You can use a debit card, which is great for people who are hesitant to link third-party websites with their banks.
At the moment, Public only offers individual, tax-deductible brokerage accounts. There are no IRAs or joint accounts.
You can view basic information about each supported security. This includes price history, analyst ratings and price targets, upcoming financial events, breaking news, and key fundamentals.
There is enough information to get you started, but it may be a good idea to do additional research before buying or selling. This is a lot of information for a beginner to assimilate, but very easy for an expert or advanced investor.
Download the app – it’s available for iOS and Android devices
Public currently has apps for both iOS and Android, and new and improved versions are constantly being released. In my opinion, this is definitely good news for users. All you need to get started is to enter your mobile number to get the link and then download the app to get started.
Create your investor profile
The next thing to do after downloading the app is to answer a few basic questions in order to apply. This step involves filling in some information about yourself, such as your age (18+ only), social security number, and bank details.
Select stocks and start trading in real-time
Public offers over 5,000 stocks to choose from. They are divided into different categories called themes so that you can discover new companies in terms that reflect your own perception of the world.
You can select a category, view the list and select the company you are interested in. Public has a lot of information about each company, including trends, comments, and company history. One interesting piece of information they include is a list of sub-brands that the parent company may own. So, you can learn a lot before investing.
However, before you can start trading, you need to connect a bank account or debit card to transfer funds. To set this up, click on the Account icon in the lower right corner of the screen, select Banking & Payment Methods, then enter your bank account or debit card number.
The greatest advantage about this app is its fast work. You can start investing as soon as you open an account with whatever balance you have deposited. So, once the translation is cleared, you are ready to start trading in real time. This means that as long as the market is open, whatever you decide to buy and trade is executed immediately.
As a bonus, if a current user recommends an app to you, you’ll start with a free stock of up to $ 50. And your friend will also receive a free piece of stock.
Start tracking your investments
Once you’ve chosen and invested in your stocks, it’s time to relax and let the market do its thing. Obviously, with small shares of stock, you won’t be able to make significant amounts of money overnight. But every dollar is in count.
By default, Public automatically transfers dividends to your account. If you want to use the service so that Public will automatically reinvest your dividends, you can send a message to the support team and they will connect you. It is recommended, as it means your money can automatically accumulate over time if your investment pays off in your favor. You can also make money with the uninvested money in your account.
Public.com features
Due diligence must be exercised before making any investment.
Compared to other investing apps, it is very easy to open an account on public.com. Complete the login process in a couple of minutes, find your account, and start navigating stocks and ETFs.
The social aspect of the public is a great way to browse user portfolios and see what others are buying.
Below are some of the other cool features of the app.
Themes for Stocks and ETFs
One of the best features of the app is themes. Topics allow users to research stocks without the typical jargon.
In addition, with the help of themes, you can find stocks and funds according to their respective categories; for example, you can see the correct classification of different stocks and ETFs.
This way, you will be able to make informed decisions about the most promising companies to invest in.
It organizes promotions by topic, which are mostly more user-friendly categories. So, if you’re passionate about women-led companies or new age industries, for example, you can browse these sections and invest in a company that matters to you.
Just to give you a taste of some of the Public topics: the future is women (S&P companies with women leaders); New Kids on the Block (recently IPO companies) and Cannabis. There is also BioTech, Self-Driving Cars and the list goes on.
Fractional shares
In keeping with Public.com’s mission to make investments available to everyone, the website offers fractional stocks.
This allows users to buy fractional stocks and own small portions of any stock or ETF on the trading platform.
For as little as $ 5, you can get started and purchase stakes in multiple companies.
Live trading
Most investment platforms do not fulfill orders immediately. The problem is that you don’t get an accurate picture of the real value.
Public users can trade and execute orders directly. Public fulfills your stock order immediately, so you can see in real time exactly what price you’re getting. This is a more accurate picture that investors value.
So, if you are looking to invest, this is a great way to take advantage of hesitation when buying or selling stocks.
Opciones de inversión
Public.com provides users with a wide range of investment opportunities that are ideal for day trading.
With over 3,000 stocks and ETFs available on the app, this is a great place to build a portfolio. All available shares are publicly traded on major US markets.
This is a great way to keep investors safe and avoid too risky investments. Using the themes option, you can find investments that are suitable for your investment portfolio.
Social functions
This is one of the most unique features of the app. It brings a social media feel to stock trading and helps you connect with several other investors.
You can see what your friends are investing in and share your thoughts on your profile page, just like on Facebook and Twitter. Public allows you to follow other investors and see their portfolios, and share ideas and insights.
There is also a community feature that allows you to connect with other investors. With this feature, deals are posted on the community forum for other users to like and comment on the deal.
This opens up discussions about the advantages or disadvantages of transactions. With its many social features, Public.com is a great way to learn and grow, even if you’re building your investment portfolio.
Another important social feature of Public is that you can donate shares to family and friends. Finally, Public offers everyone in the US (even non-users) a referral bonus of up to $ 50 (in promotions).
Public performance
Looking for professional advice from financial experts and professional advisors? Public also regularly hosts virtual events where experts share their views on the markets and on a host of other interesting financial topics.
This is a great way to keep people in the loop while dealing with complex financial issues. Visit the company’s official website to sign up for an event or view a list of upcoming events.
Study
In case you have any questions about the stock market that you are interested in, this feature will give you all the answers. Public.com gives answers to the most frequently asked questions about investing.
This feature is also a great way to find the best time to buy or sell a stock, or how to calculate dividends.
Public education focuses on three main areas: investing, stocks, and retirement planning.
Ticker Time Machine (TTM)
One of the common questions that keeps investors awake at night is, “How much money can I make from these stocks in a given period of time?” With this tool, you will be able to check how much dividends you will receive from your investment in stocks at a particular time frame, so that will help you to understand how much time you have to reach your investment goal.
New investors love this option because it allows them to assess and anticipate the future of their investments.
Replenishment of an account with a debit card
In case you have obtained a wide variety of investment apps, you have probably noticed that most of them require you to link a bank account to get started. Every time you need to transfer money to buy shares, the app will withdraw money directly from your bank account.
But Public is unique in that it allows you to transfer funds using a debit card. The best thing about this option is that it is faster. ACH transfers can take anywhere from three to five days, but debit card transfers are instant. This means that you no longer have to wait to take action on a promotion.
You’re capped at $ 1,000 for a debit card transfer, so you can keep your ACH account as an additional funding source. After you will be able to use your debit card in those cases in which waiting for ACH can cost you a very valuable opportunity.
Accepting debit cards, Public makes trading more interesting. You no longer need to worry about having a technologically advanced bank to build your portfolio with an investment app.
How much does Public.com cost?
Let’s see how much does the Public cost and how much commissions and fees your will face to pay.
Public.com is without commission
Public is a completely free tool that is great if you are just getting started with investing or if you only have a little extra money to spend.
But here’s another great thing: Public does not charge any fees for investing in any stocks, so you can also process transfers of funds to and from your account for free.
Founder Jannick Malling said rather succinctly:
“Investing $ 10 in your favorite company doesn’t make sense if you pay $ 10 in commission.” So, Public is doing everything it can to keep fees at zero.
However, they have several other advanced service fees that require payment, including:
- Telephone transactions with a broker – USD 30.
- Domestic bank transfer – USD 30.
- Domestic night checks – $ 35.
- Bounced Checks or Stopped Payments – $ 30.
- ACAT outgoing – $ 75
- Paper extracts – $ 35
Public does not charge any transfer fees
What I found very generous was the government transfer policy when transferring funds from another broker. Public does not charge you for this service, and furthermore, if the original broker does, Public will likely cover the costs for you.
Security
One of the main principles of Public is security and trust. The brand uses due diligence to ensure that users’ money is as safe as possible. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Public protects accounts with 128-bit AES encryption and TLS 1.2 to protect data. While stocks can generally be risky, Public.com identifies and labels those that are too risky.
When Public buys stocks or ETFs, Public labels any product that the SEC deems too dangerous for your safety.
The company is also insured by the Securities Insurance Corporation (SIPC); this means that each client’s investment is protected up to $ 500,000.
Public.com is also a member of other regulatory bodies such as FINRA and the SEC.
Customer support
There are several ways to contact the Public.com team. You can start by checking the platform specific FAQs, which address the most common issues that users encounter with the app.
There is also an online chat available for all registered users in the application. This chat is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST.
To access the messaging feature, click the account icon in the menu, and then click Customer Support. You can also contact the broker at hello@public.com or contact their physical address in New York.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- No minimums on the account
- Ability to buy fractional shares
- Commission-free trading
- An active and transparent investment community that has a lot to learn from
Cons:
- Access only to a mobile phone account
- Only stocks and ETFs from major exchanges are available
- No retirement or joint accounts
To sum up
Investment is the driving force behind wealth and prosperity creation, so it is important that you have the tools and access to a platform that supports your growth as an investor.
Unfortunately, most people do not invest in stocks due to lack of financial literacy, which means that uninvested cash is left idle and does nothing when it could be used for much more.
Offering investors the ability to trade, connect with other traders, and learn through educational resources, this app can be a one-stop trading platform.
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Adam es un autor reconocido internacionalmente en temas financieros, con más de 830 millones de respuestas en Quora, un libro muy vendido en Amazon y colaborador de Forbes.
