Plum, the smart money app, is today launching two new smart features for stock investors. These features are aimed at improving customer understanding of their portfolio and providing them with timely information to make decisions about their investments. 

Plum customers can now monitor financial instruments that interest them via ‘Watchlists’, before deciding whether to purchase them. This will enable customers to track stocks in one place, empowering them to improve their understanding of both their portfolio and the wider investment world. 

In addition, Plum is introducing ‘Price Alerts’, which will allow customers to set target prices on stocks. The app then automatically notifies the customer when the share price rises or falls to the level set by them. Customers can set up as many of these smart notifications as they would like, and manage them at any time on the app. This customised feature means investors can easily monitor all the stocks on their radar for purchasing, with Plum updating them automatically on price movements important to them.  

Plum launched stock investing in May 2022, and now offers up to 3,000 single US stocks for customers to invest in. One-fifth of the investors on its platform are choosing this method to grow their money over the long-term. 

Elise Nunn, Plum’s wealth product manager comments: “Thanks in part to increased awareness of and access to the stock markets over the past few years, we’ve seen lots of customers join our platform to try stock investing for themselves. But what we’ve noticed is that these customers need a balance between automation and control to ensure they are able to invest wisely.” 

“Both of these new features have automation at their heart, breaking down barriers that might have once made investing inaccessible. In the same way that you’d favour an item of clothing while online shopping, you can now track stocks through watchlists and receive alerts from Plum when a set price is hit. This will help put customers in the best possible position to make informed investment decisions and build their wealth.”

Recent research from Plum into young people aged 18-44 showed that knowledge and interest in investing is growing. Two-thirds (67%) of young people think that new technologies make saving and investing easier to understand, while close to one in four (23%) are considering investing in stocks to make their money work harder. 

However, the cost of living crisis has impacted appetite for risk, with nearly three-quarters (72%) of young people agreeing that the state of the economy has made them less likely to take risks with their cash. The stock market has been increasingly volatile over the past 12 months, with the VIX index at a 4-year high in March, making savvy investment strategies even more critical. 

Nunn adds, "Investment platforms need to ensure they are equipping customers with the right tools to help them invest confidently in this challenging environment. Both first-timers and more experienced investors need to be ready with the right knowledge at the right time about their portfolio. These improvements to our platform will ensure that our customers feel empowered at every stage of their wealth-building journey.”