I have been trading and investing for over 20 years. In that time I have tried more platforms, tools, and systems than I can count. The ones below are what actually survived that process -- things I still use, still trust, and would recommend to anyone serious about building wealth.
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Investment Platforms
Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
My primary brokerage. I switched to IBKR because it's the only platform I've found that lets you place stop-limit orders after hours -- a feature that matters a lot when you're managing positions outside of regular trading. Low commissions, global market access, algorithmic trading capabilities, and institutional-grade research. The interface takes some getting used to, but the depth is unmatched. I wrote about how I use it here.
Open an Account →Charles Schwab
My go-to for years before I added IBKR to the stack. The thinkorswim platform is excellent for charting and options analysis, the research library is deep, and customer service is genuinely good. No account minimums, commission-free trades. A strong primary account for most investors.
Open an Account →Wealthfront
The best hands-off option I've found. Wealthfront charges just 0.25% per year -- a fraction of what a traditional advisor charges -- and handles tax-loss harvesting automatically. I use it for accounts I want to grow without actively managing. Their high-yield cash account is also worth a look. Use my link for a +0.75% APY boost on cash for the first three months.
Get Started →Robinhood
I opened a Robinhood account specifically because of the margin rates. At around 5.75% for standard accounts, and the first $1,000 in margin free for Gold members, it's among the lowest I've found anywhere. The mobile experience is also cleaner than any other platform, which makes it useful for quick decisions on the go. Gold members also get a 3% IRA match, which is hard to beat for retirement savings.
Join Robinhood →Research & Analysis Tools
TipRanks
The tool that changed how I evaluate analyst recommendations. Instead of just reading price targets, TipRanks shows you each analyst's historical accuracy -- their success rate, average return, and ranking against thousands of peers. A "Strong Buy" from a 5-star analyst with a 90% success rate means something completely different than the same rating from a 1-star analyst. I also use the Smart Score, which aggregates fundamentals, technicals, and insider activity into a single number. Read how I use it in practice.
Try TipRanks →Morningstar
Essential for long-term investors. Morningstar's fair value estimates and analyst reports take a longer view than most Wall Street coverage, which tends to chase quarterly numbers. The fund data is also excellent if you're evaluating ETFs or mutual funds. Not a trading tool -- a thinking tool.
Learn More →Books Worth Reading
One Up On Wall Street — Peter Lynch
The book I credit with my early understanding of what individual investors actually have going for them. Lynch argues that ordinary people have a real edge over professionals because they notice great companies in their daily lives before Wall Street does. I bought Netflix because I loved the product -- that instinct came directly from reading Lynch. His voice is also one of the most readable in all of finance.
View on Amazon →The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
Not a how-to book. A why-we-fail book. Housel explains why smart people make terrible financial decisions and why behavior matters more than intelligence when it comes to building wealth. I've given this to people who claimed they weren't interested in investing. They all finished it. Required reading before you open a brokerage account.
View on Amazon →The Little Book That Still Beats the Market — Joel Greenblatt
Greenblatt's "magic formula" is elegantly simple: buy good companies at cheap prices, repeat systematically, ignore the noise. The formula works. The hard part, which Greenblatt is honest about, is that most investors abandon it during the stretches when it underperforms. Short, sharp, and worth rereading every few years as a reminder of what discipline actually looks like.
View on Amazon →No Place Like Home — Fritts Causby
My own book on real estate -- the market I've spent 20 years writing about professionally. It's for people who want to understand how real estate works before jumping in, told through the lens of someone who has seen both sides of the transaction. Available on Amazon.
View on Amazon →