Business investing and personal investing have a lot in common. Either way, you’re funding an account with a brokerage firm, then using that account to buy and sell stocks (or options, futures, etc.). You get access to the same stock market and the same stocks.
So what’s the difference? Mostly, it comes down to account types.
All the online brokers above offer accounts specifically for small businesses. That matters. You can get in big legal trouble if you try to fund a personal investment account with a business bank account (or if you put business funds in a personal bank account).
Unfortunately, many brokers for online stock trading don’t offer business accounts, so your options are much more limited than if you’re trying to get into personal investing. On the other hand, you’ll have many more options for brokers if you’re using your personal funds―like these popular online brokers:
- Acorns
- Ally Invest
- Fidelity
- Robinhood
- Stash
But again, if you’re using small-business funds, you need a small-business account. And in that case, we recommend the online stock brokers ranked above.