Get Started Investing Newsletter

What we’re chatting about this week…

Commsec v Raiz v Spaceship…
Which micro-investing app is best?

Today we compare three of the most popular investment apps - and help you discover which aligns best with your financial goals and investment style.

Bryce presents the case for Raiz, where you can start investing with just $5, choose from eight diverse ETF portfolios, and even snag rewards for shopping online. It's designed for set-and-forget investing, but fees can add up if your balance is below $7.5k.

Alec talks through Spaceship, which offers three actively managed portfolios for as little as $5, with a low ongoing fee and valuable educational content. You just need to make sure you're comfortable putting your trust in their investment team.

Sascha embodies CommSec Pocket. They simplify the process with an easy fee structure and seven ETF options, though it lacks some popular ETF options. It's perfect for new investors who want a straightforward experience but watch out for the $2 brokerage fee if you're only investing $50 – that's a whopping 4%!

We walk through fees, investment options, functionality and weigh up the pros and cons of each individual option. Don’t forget, we’re not alone in our investing journey either - join the Equity Mates community in our Facebook Discussion Group or ask us your questions at equitymates.com.

Do you want to be a thriving entrepreneur one day?

Embarking on a business venture demands immense dedication, but the rewards are huge! Think of it as a year-long preparation for a seemingly instant triumph. Sophie and Maddy are on a mission to connect with inspiring women who have turned their side-hustle dreams into flourishing realities.

Question from the Community

What is a dividend and what’s a distribution?
And how does this work with ETFs? 

Dividends are a payment made by a corporation to its shareholders, typically in the form of cash or additional shares. It represents a portion of the company's earnings that is distributed to shareholders as a reward for their investment.

Distributions represent the portion of income that investors earn from their ETFs or managed funds. Think of an ETF as a miniature, diversified collection of shares, reflecting an entire investment portfolio in one compact package. Just as you can enjoy income through dividends from individual investments in a portfolio, ETFs also generate income from the companies or securities they represent.

Imagine you invest in an ETF that follows an index consisting of the ASX's top companies by market cap or market value. By doing this, you essentially own a small part of each of these successful companies. This diverse collection of shares allows you to collect income distribution generated by each of these businesses.

As these companies disburse dividends periodically, your ETF's issuer gathers the payments from all of them and retains them until the income distribution date. These pooled payments, called distributions, reflect the income you earn from your ETF's investments.