Best Investment Software For Mac 2023

Effective investment management can make or break your future and so we’ve looked at the best investment tracking software for Mac to help optimize your portfolio.

Financial planning is one of those things in life that many people put off until its too late.

The shocking evidence is not nearly enough of us actively invest and manage our finances.

A Gallup Poll found that 24% of US investors barely even look at their portfolio while only just over half have actively sought financial advice.

While it’s understandable that people shy away from the complexities, risk, expense and time of investment management, “winging it” like this is arguably even riskier for your financial future.

The good news is that if you want to get on track for early retirement, your Mac can be your most effective investment instrument.

There’s some incredibly powerful investment tracking software that can do the hard work for you and cut out expensive financial advisory fees.

Most of these portfolio management software tools cost a fraction of what it costs to consult a financial advisor and in some cases even offer free investment software.

Investment Software vs Personal Finance Apps

Before jumping-in head first into our look at the best ones, there’s an important distinction to be made between personal finance software and investment management software.

Investment tracking apps are mainly dedicated to managing and optimizing your investments. They are different to personal finance tools which are more focused on budgeting and getting your finances in order.

Of course, many personal finance apps also “do” investment tracking but we’ve found that they are nowhere near as effective as dedicated wealth management software which is what we’ve focused on here.

If you’re also interested in budgeting applications on Mac, we recommend taking a look at some of our selection of the best personal finance software for Mac users (particularly if you’ve had enough of Quicken For Mac which still has poor investment tracking support).

It’s also important to be aware that these are not day trading tools. The investment apps reviewed here are designed to be used for investing over the long term, not buying and selling stocks every day.

You May Also Like:

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Best Investment Software For Mac

With this in mind, here then is our list of the best investment software for Mac of 2023 in order of ranking.

1. Empower (Free)

 

 

When it comes to investment tracking, few apps cover more angles than Empower which was known previously as Personal Capital.

Empower is 100% focused on investment management and does it extremely effectively.

Empower was previously known as Personal Capital which has long been the best personal finance app for Mac users but Empower acquired it in August 2020.

It wasn’t until February 2023 that Personal Capital was finally rebranded as Empower although nothing has changed in the product itself.

Empower uses a unique business model that only charges you a commission if you choose to consult with one of its financial advisors.

The app itself is completely free to use for as long as you want and can instantly optimize investments. Here’s some of the things that we liked the most about Empower:

• It brings all your investment accounts into one place
• It doesn’t actually touch your assets – it merely syncs with your investment institutions
• It instantly reveals insights into spending, saving and retirement goals
• You can run useful “what-if” scenarios based on investment decisions or life changes
• You can analyze fees to see where brokers and fund management commissions are eating into your investments
• If you need guidance, you can choose to consult an Empower financial advisor. What we really like about this is that their advisors are fiduciaries which means they have a legal and ethical responsibility to advise you in your best interests – not those of a fund manager or investment house.

Overall, we’ve found nothing that does personal investment tracking better than Empower which is why we’ve rated it the best portfolio app for Mac users.

You can start using Empower now for free to try for yourself.

You can also check out our complete Empower review for a more in-depth look.

Pricing: Free.

2. Good Advice (formerly Future Advisor)

Good Advice is a slick personal investment tracking software by Ritholtz Wealth Management that tracks and recommends investment portfolios.

The software was formerly known as Future Advisor by Blackrock until Ritholtz Wealth acquired it and re-launched it as Good Advice in 2023.

Whereas Future Advisor required funds to be deposited with Fidelity and TD Ameritrade Institutional, Good Advice requires your funds to be held by Ritholtz Wealth.

Good Advice also requires a minimum investment of $15,000 and charges a maximum fee of 50 basis points or 0.50% of assets managed.

Good Advice manages accounts holistically to ensure that you’re getting the maximum tax advantages and growth from your investments no matter how spread-out they are.

Everything in Good Advice is managed by an algorithm to optimize your holdings. What’s reassuring is that like Empower, Ritzholtz Wealth is a fiduciary which means it’s legally and ethically bound to put your interests first.

Good Advice suggests balancing your portfolio based on fundamentals such as your age and risk tolerance.

In terms of up-front cost, the Good Advice retirement planning features and 401(k) advice is completely free. This alone is worth a test drive just to see how it could help you save for your pension.

Good Advice charges 0.5% annually on managed assets which is slightly higher than other products although we think it’s still very reasonable for what’s a slick, effective and easy to use portfolio optimization tool.

Overall, Good Advice is definitely one of the best investment apps for individuals of all ages backed by the investment knowledge of Ritholtz Wealth.

3. Axos Invest

Axos Invest (formerly WiseBanyan) is a free portfolio management software that doesn’t charge any investment management, trading or re-balancing fees.

Axos Invest is a mix between a robo-advisor and traditional financial advice service with a particular focus on small time investors with no minimum investment fee required to use it.

Axos Invest mainly makes money from its tax harvesting tools which amount to 0.25% of assets being managed.

Axos Invest works by asking you a few simple questions about your investment needs and then creating a customized portfolio of exchange traded funds based on your risk tolerance.

There are also Axos Invest mobile apps for iPhone, Android and even iWatch to track how your assets are performing.

It’s important to be aware that whereas tools like Empower never actually touch your cash (it only links to your accounts) – Axos Invest handles your investments directly.

However, all cash and securities held in Axos Invest accounts are protected by SIPC up to $500,000, with a limit of $250,000 for cash but it’s something to bear in mind before opening an account.

Although it’s free to use, there are also add-ons that cost a few dollars which enable you to track clusters of stocks such as Blockchain Stocks, Internet Innovator Stocks and Socially Minded Stocks.

Withdrawals from Axos Invest can take up to 7 business days and while it’s not unusual for transfers to require clearance from investment services, this is longer than most services.

Nevertheless, if you’re a small investor, Axos Invest is one of the few investment tracking tools that’s free, whatever your balance.

Pricing: Free.

4. Quicken Premier For Mac (Subscription Only)

Quicken is one of the most well-known personal finance software out there and Quicken Premier is the most complete version of it.

Quicken Premier For Mac includes specific focus on investment and is the only Quicken product you should be looking it at if you need investment tracking features.

In our opinion, some of the strengths of Quicken Premier For Mac are:

• It allows you to see how investments are performing with informed buy/sell decisions
• We like the Portfolio X-Ray tool from Morningstar which drills down into your portfolio diversification
• You can quickly see realized and unrealized gains with updated quotes
• It gives recommendations to minimize tax on investments
• There are customizable investment portfolio views with IRR & ROI
• Investment Lot tracking

However, it’s considerably behind the other investment tools featured here because ultimately that’s not the main focus of Quicken products. Quicken Premier is primarily for those that want a budgeting tool and investment tracker rolled into one.

However, if that’s what you’re looking for Quicken Premier is definitely worth trying although one big drawback is that it’s now only available on subscription.

For a more in-depth look at Quicken, check out our full Quicken 2018 review.

If you’re already a Quicken user and are thinking of switching, also check out our look at some of the best replacements for Quicken on Mac.

Pricing: $62/year.

5. SigFig

SigFig is an excellent tool for minimizing your tax liability as it constantly reinvests and re-balances your portfolio.

SigFig is free up to the first $10,000 managed but after that it charges an annual 0.25% fee. You also need a minimum of $2000 to open a SigFig account.

SigFig only works with specific instutions but if you want it to, SigFig will automatically transfer funds from your accounts to TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab and Fidelity.

Like Empower, SigFig also offers a “Concierge Service” which is basically a personal investment advisor.

A consultation with a SigFig financial advisor is free but unlike Empower, be aware that they’re not a fiduciary.

6. Mint.com

Mint is from Intuit, the makers originally behind Quicken and is basically a simplified, free web-based version of the Quicken personal finance software.

If you’re looking for simple free investment portfolio tracking software on a Mac, Mint is perfect. It doesn’t offer much advice when it comes to optimization of your funds but it does clearly display how they’re doing.

You can compare your portfolio to market benchmarks and see all of your accounts in one place including 401(k), brokerage accounts, mutual funds and IRAs.

Although Mint can’t optimize your investments, it can spot where financial advisor fees, commissions or brokerage fees are eating into your assets.

For a free and easy to use investment tracking solution, Mint is ideal for simple loans and investments.

Pricing: Free.

7. M1 Finance

 

When it comes to intelligent investment tracking, M1 Finance is all about growing your money fast.

Even better you can use M1 Finance for free to automatically invest your stocks and ETFs.

Some of the things that make M1 Finance the best investment tracking software out there rare:

• No investment management fees, highly customizable portfolios and rock solid security
• It makes investing understandable for anyone and optimizes your investing for the long term so that you can retire earlier.
• M1 Finance spreads your portfolios into themed pies based around specific industries and works on the principle of fractional shares and intelligent automation to invest your funds.
• M1 is also unusual in that it allows you to borrow from a margin account based on your portfolio with some very attractive borrowing rates compared to major lenders. In fact you can borrow up to $10,000 from M1 with no extra paperwork or admin required based on your investment pies.

We also like the fact that you can setup direct deposits and even spend with an M1 debit card so you don’t have to transfer everything to your checking account if you don’t want to.

More recently M1 Finance has added the ability to track cryptocurrency investments within the app if you trade cryptos on your Mac.

If you’ve been using Robinhood to manage your investments up until now, you’ll find M1 Finance a breath of fresh air with many former Robinhood users happy they switched.

Mac Portfolio Management Software For Advisors

So far we’ve only looked at investment apps for individuals on Mac.

The following tools are aimed more at investment professionals, investment houses or small businesses that want an integrated investment and accounting software solution for Mac.

These private equity deal software are aimed mainly at institutions or businesses. Although these services are all Cloud based, they can easily be used on Mac.

Here then is a quick overview of some popular software programs for investment managers that work on Mac.

eFront

eFront is for professionals looking to invest in private equity, real-estate, infrastructure, Private Debt and Funds of Hedge Funds. eFront provides solutions by asset class, investor type or need. eFront specializes in alternative investments and works with 850 clients across 48 countries.

VestServe

VestServe has been around since 2001 and is a fully integrated investment management and accounting solution. VestServe is ideal for businesses looking to integrate front, middle and back office operations into one solution, VestServe manages over $100B in assets and provides integrated portfolio-management and accounting to major financial institutions and investment houses.

FundCount

Need something that combines accounting with investment analysis? FundCount is a powerful solution for accounting and investment analysis aimed mainly at investment management professionals. FundCount is designed for small businesses, family offices, hedge funds, fund administrators and private equity firms to optimize efficiency and integrate accounting processes. FundCount is ideal for organizations looking for a portfolio partnership, general ledger accounting and reporting.

Running Windows Investment Tools On Macs

There are still some Windows only desktop investment apps that aren’t available on Mac. Notable examples include programs like Investment Account Manager and Fund Manager.

In these cases, the only option is to run Windows on your Mac using virtualization software such as Parallels.

Parallels allows you to run Windows and macOS simultaneously so that you can switch between Windows and your Mac whenever you want.

However, running Windows on a Mac is not without problems.

For one it takes a lot of your Mac’s memory and hard drive to run Windows and can end up slowing down the rest of the applications you’re using.

It also doesn’t always give you the same features that PC users enjoy anyway, so you have to settle for certain features not working.

The latest Apple Silicon Macs with the M-series chips can also only run the ARM version of Windows which many financial planning software are not compatible with anyway.

Our strong advice is to use one of the investment apps for Mac we’ve reviewed here rather than go down this route.

We hope you find these financial investment software tracking tools help make the most of your money but if you have any experiences, suggestions or comments about the apps featured here, let us know in the comments below.