Well, I imagine you probably know what stocks are, and no, I am not talking about your grandmother’s vegetable broth, but of stocks and investments. Chances are, you probably already have a few, maybe even have a nice, healthy portfolio you watch like a hawk, or you could be a complete newbie and can't tell stocks apart from fixed deposits.

Well, either way, you can probably do with some help in either managing your affairs or getting started. Fortunately, there are many apps and websites, both for the seasoned investor and the greenhorn.

So let’s get right into it.

How To Start Investing?For the sake of the newbies, let’s start with the basics and ask ourselves what exactly a stock is. A stock, also called a share, can be seen as a unit of ownership in a company. By buying a stock, you are essentially investing your money in that company’s financial well-being. If the company does well, you make money; if the company makes a loss, so do you. There is also the matter of dividends, which are payments made by the company to its investors on a quarterly basis, allowing investors to share directly in their profits. Once upon a time, buying and selling stocks required calls to the stock market, or use of a website, but now there are thats that essentially function as a share trading app, allowing users to perform many of these functions from their phone.

So, how do you invest? Well, you need a dematerialised account, which functions as a digital wallet to let you store and trade stocks and other securities. Many trading platforms now offer what might be called a demat account app, allowing users to perform all the necessary functions of buying, selling and trading from their phones.

What Are The Benefits Of These Apps?These apps have made trading much easier. While online share investing has been around for a few years, it was once restricted solely to the desktop; these apps have brought it to the mobile phone.

Indian investors are now able to access the Indian stock market directly from their handheld devices. And there are a host of other benefits too:

• Convenience: you can perform all stock market functions from the app; trading, SIP investment, options trading, and others
• Quicker transactions: due to the convenience of the phone, this allows for quicker transactions than the website, as users can make transactions on the go, wherever they might be
• Security: the phone apps may have some additional features, such as easier security with face or fingerprint recognition.
• Easier portfolio management: due to your phone always being in your pocket or within arm’s reach, you can easily keep track of your portfolio at any time of the day.
• No middleman: unlike with some digital platforms, there is no broker or middleman with app trading.
• Easy to use: many of these apps have a simple and very user-friendly interface.

Conclusion: As stated, there are many benefits to using a stock market trading app, but one should be careful when choosing an app. Choose an app that works best for you, with a user-friendly interface and no hidden costs or terms, and you can get started on your investment journey.