VectorVest was founded by Bart DiLiddo, an MIT graduate mathematician, and is an American company that operates an application for stock market analysis and portfolio analysis. Hardbacon is a mobile application designed to help its users become wealthier by managing their money better in three areas: planning, budgeting and investing. In terms of investing, VectorVest can be compared to Hardbacon.
VectorVest: the advantages
VectorVest provides company financial data, watchlists, investing ideas and stock alerts. In this regard, VectorVest is comparable to Hardbacon, as all of these features are available in Hardbacon’s “Invest” section.
VectorVest has an interesting feature enabling its users to make investments directly from the application via certain brokerage platforms (only with Questrade in Canada), a feature not available on Hardbacon.
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VectorVest provides more advanced solutions to manage your investments from your computer. The application can generate stock charts and provides a means to practice investment strategies. VectorVest therefore looks a lot like a lower-priced Reuters or Bloomberg terminal. Many paid features are also available to push the platform’s limits, including backtesting and algorithmic trading solutions, features not provided by Hardbacon.
VectorVest also has a feature that displays which stocks are climbing on the market and which are falling. This is very convenient and allows you to quickly see what is going on in the stock markets.
VectorVest: the disadvantages
As for the disadvantages, the most obvious is VectorVest’s inability to connect to an investment account other than Questrade. Therefore, if you don’t invest using Questrade, you’ll need to manually enter each of your trades to benefit from VectorVest's portfolio analysis features. Hardbacon, on the other hand, can connect to more than 100 Canadian financial institutions.
In addition, VectorVest does not provide any budget management or planning features. So this is a significant problem, because when it comes to investing, it is essential to determine your long-term goals and to save accordingly. To help its users accomplish this, Hardbacon has the ability to connect multiple bank accounts and will categorize your expenses automatically.
Unlike Hardbacon, VectorVest does not offer personalized performance reports. Investors using Hardbacon can view performance reports and view their portfolio scores, which helps assess the risk-adjusted performance of their investments.
How much does it cost?
VectorVest has various subscription plans. For $69 USD per month, you can get access to very limited use of the platform, including investment ideas, stock and market analysis, and a watchlist. In addition, alerts are not sent in real time, but are sent only at the end of each day. For $129 USD per month, you get access to advanced stock research and additional watchlists.
Hardbacon offers a free version of the app and a premium version for $12.99 (CAD) per month or $99.99 (CAD) per year. The free version includes connection to an unlimited number of bank and investment accounts, as well as budgeting and planning tools. The premium version, on the other hand, obviously includes all the features of the free plan, as well as features related to investing, such as stock alerts, portfolio analysis and stock market data.
Is VectorVest available in Canada?
VectorVest is available in Canada through their website or from the App Store and the Google Play Store, in English only. Keep in mind that VectorVest only connects to Questrade so that you can place your orders directly through the application. This means that the major Canadian brokers are absent and that you will have to manually modify your portfolio on VectorVest on a regular basis to properly monitor your investments.
VectorVest or Hardbacon?
VectorVest and Hardbacon are applications that offer quality tools to support investors investing on the stock market. Both solutions offer similar functionality when it comes to investing, although VectorVest is distinguished by the ability to transact without leaving the app. However, VectorVest is only an investment solution, whereas Hardbacon offers a much wider range of tools relating to investment, budget and planning.
If you liked this article, you’ll definitely like Hardbacon’s mobile app, which links to your banking and investing accounts, helps you plan your financial goals, budget, and invest better. The basic version of the app is free, but you can do more with Hardbacon Premium. As a loyal reader of our blog, you can get 10% off any Hardbacon Premium subscription. To take advantage of this promotion, use promo code BLOG10 when subscribing through our website.
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About The Author: Enguerrand Sueur
Enguerrand est analyste financier chez Hardbacon. Passionné de finances, il s’intéresse tout particulièrement à la gestion de portefeuille et à l’analyse de titres. Chez Hardbacon, il est responsable de la rédaction d’articles sur l’investissement. C’est également lui qui compile les listes d’actions et de FNB disponibles dans la section «Explorer» de l’application mobile de Hardbacon.
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