How to Use Apps to Find Stocks or Funds

When you’re just getting started with investing, the first challenge is knowing where to begin. With thousands of stocks and funds available in the U.S. stock market, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Fortunately, technology has made the search process easier than ever. Today, you don’t need a Wall Street advisor or expensive software to find good investment opportunities—you just need a smartphone and the right app.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use beginner-friendly apps to search for stocks and funds. These tools are designed to make investing simple, intuitive, and accessible to everyone, no matter your experience level. They help you explore your options, filter by important categories, and analyze essential data—all in just a few taps.

Why Use Apps to Find Stocks or Funds?

Before diving into how the apps work, let’s understand why they’re useful.

Apps make investing approachable. They strip away the complexity and offer clean, visual interfaces that allow you to search by company name, industry, performance, or popularity. Some apps even suggest stocks based on your interests—such as technology, healthcare, or green energy—making it easier to connect your investments to things you understand or care about.

You can also get real-time information. Instead of relying on outdated lists or third-party tips, these apps show you up-to-date prices, trends, and summaries to help you make your own decisions.

And perhaps most importantly: they’re safe and regulated. Many investing apps available in the United States are registered with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and offer secure, insured platforms for investors. So when you use them to research stocks or funds, you're accessing legitimate, trustworthy tools.

Top Apps for Beginners

Here are a few investing apps that are commonly recommended for beginners:

Each app has its own style, but the core features are similar. They allow you to search for stocks, explore company profiles, and follow market trends.

How to Start Searching for Stocks or Funds

Let’s walk through the basic process of using one of these apps to search for a stock or fund:

  1. Create an Account
    Before you can access the full features of any investing app, you’ll typically need to create a free account. This will require personal information like your name, address, and possibly your social security number (for U.S. residents). This step is necessary to comply with financial regulations, even if you’re just exploring.
  2. Use the Search Feature
    Once inside the app, look for a magnifying glass icon or a search bar. This is where you can type in:
    • The name of a company (e.g., Apple, Tesla)
    • A stock symbol (e.g., AAPL, TSLA)
    • A general category (e.g., clean energy, semiconductors)
    • The word ETF to explore available funds
    As you type, most apps will provide suggestions to help you refine your search.
  3. Filter Your Results
    Some apps will let you filter results by:
    • Top gainers or losers (stocks that moved the most that day)
    • Market sectors (e.g., technology, healthcare, energy)
    • Dividend yield (for income-focused investors)
    • Volatility (higher risk vs. more stable stocks)
    This helps you narrow down your choices based on what matters most to you.
  4. Explore the Stock or Fund Profile
    After selecting a stock or ETF, you’ll be taken to a detailed page. Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything at first—just focus on the basics for now. You might see:
    • Current price and recent performance
    • Company description or fund overview
    • News related to the stock
    • Simple charts showing how the price has changed over time
    Later in this module, we’ll go deeper into how to read prices, charts, and data. For now, your goal is simply to get comfortable browsing and exploring.
  5. Add Stocks or Funds to Your Watchlist
    As you discover companies or ETFs that interest you, you can add them to a “watchlist”. This is like a personal favorites folder inside the app. It helps you keep track of the stocks you're considering without having to search for them again later.

Many apps will also notify you when prices change or news breaks about the items on your watchlist. This keeps you informed and engaged as you learn.

Getting Comfortable Before You Buy

At this stage, the goal is not to buy yet—it’s to explore. Think of it like browsing an online store before you make your first purchase. The more time you spend looking around, the more confident you’ll feel when the time comes to actually place an order.

You might be surprised by how quickly you learn. The act of searching and clicking through stock profiles helps you become more familiar with company names, industries, and terminology. Soon, you’ll start to notice patterns: which companies are trending, how ETFs are described, and what types of headlines affect stock prices.

In upcoming sections, you’ll learn what an ETF actually is, how to interpret prices and charts, and how to make a safe first purchase. But for now, mastering the search process is your first big win.

Summary

Learning to use apps to find stocks or funds is your entry point into the world of investing. These tools make it easy to explore your options, discover new companies, and start building your knowledge—no spreadsheets or financial jargon required.

Think of this as your digital compass. You now know how to navigate the map. In the next steps, you’ll learn how to read it more deeply and decide exactly where to go. For now, enjoy the process of exploration—it’s the beginning of something powerful.