Online trading is simply buying and selling assets through a brokerage's internet-based proprietary trading platforms. ... Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options, futures, and currencies can all be traded online. Also known as e-trading or self-directed investing.
online trading platform, is a computer software program that can be used to place orders for financial products over a network with a financial intermediary. Various financial products can be traded by the trading platform, over a communication network with a financial intermediary or directly between the participants or members of the trading platform. This includes products such as stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, derivatives and others, with a financial intermediary, such as brokers, market makers, Investment banks or stock exchanges. Such platforms allow electronic trading to be carried out by users from any location and are in contrast to traditional floor trading using open outcry and telephone based trading. Sometimes the term trading platform is also used in reference to the trading software alone.
7 benefits of online trading
It is convenient
When it comes to online trading, you only need to open a trading account via internet and you’re good to go. You’re not bound by time and place as long as you have an internet connection. Hence, online trading is convenient and accessible from anywhere with limited hassle. It also saves time.
It is cheaper
In online stock trading, the stock broker fee which you will have to pay is lower when compared to the commission charged by traditional method. If you trade in a sufficiently large volume of stocks, it is possible for you to be able to negotiate your broker’s fees.
You can monitor your investments anytime
Online trading allows you to buy or sell shares according to your convenience. It offers advanced interfaces and the ability for investors to see how their money is performing throughout the day. You can use your phone or your computer to evaluate your profit or loss.
It almost eliminates the middleman
Online trading allows you to trade with virtually no direct broker communication. Apart from reducing the overall trading cost, this benefit also makes the trading hassle free, making this service much more lucrative.
Investor has greater control
Online traders can trade whenever they wish to. On the other hand, in traditional trading, an investor may be stuck until he or she is able to contact their broker or when the broker is able to place their order. Online trading allows nearly instantaneous transactions. Also, investors are able to review all of their options instead of depending on a broker to tell them the best bets for their money. They’re able to monitor their investments, make decisions and buy/sell stock on their own without any outside interference; thus, giving them greater control over their investment.
Faster Transactions
Online banking is fast and efficient. Funds can be transferred between accounts almost instantly, especially if the two accounts are held at the same banking institution. All it takes to be able to buy or sell stocks is a single click of the mouse. Through this, a quicker exchange can be made which may also ensure quicker earnings.
Better understanding of one’s money
This is a hidden advantage of online trading which you wouldn’t want to pass up on. Just like conventional stock trading, you can predict the market behavior and use this to predict a rise or fall in price of the stock. You’ll be handling your own finances and be responsible for them. Over time, you become more experienced in understanding the market, and good investment opportunities from the bad ones. This knowledge about money is very useful, and having this on your resume makes you more marketable to companies looking to fill a well-paying position in the finance department. So while making a quick buck, you also manage to become financially smarter, in both your professional and personal life.
How to start trading in 5 steps
Millions of neophytes try their hand at the market casino each year, but most walk away a little poorer and a lot wiser, never reaching their full potential. The majority of those who fail have one thing in common - They haven't mastered the basic skills needed to tilt the odds in their favor. However, if one takes the adequate time to learn them then they will be well on their way to increasing their odds of success.
with a self-examination that takes a close look at your relationship with money. Do you view life as a struggle, with hard effort required to earn each dollar? Do you believe personal magnetism will attract market wealth to you in the same way it does in other life pursuits? More ominously, have you lost money on a regular basis through other activities and hope the financial markets will treat you more kindly?
Whatever your belief system, the market is likely to reinforce that internal view over and over again through profits and losses. Hard work and charisma both support financial success, but losers in other walks of life are likely to turn into losers in the trading game. Don't panic if this sounds like you. Instead, take the self-help route and learn about the relationship between money and self-worth.
Once you get your head on straight, you can embark on learning trading, starting with these five basic steps.
1. Open a Trading Account
Sorry if it seems we're stating the obvious, but you never know. Find a good online stock broker very important in trading and open a stock brokerage account. First will say you should start up first with a demo account. Even if you already have a personal account, it's not a bad idea to keep a professional trading account separate. Become familiar with the account interface and take advantage of the free trading tools and research offered exclusively to clients. A number of brokers offer virtual trading (more on that in step five) make your research online to get the best broker.
2. Learn to Read: A Market Crash Course
Financial articles. Stock market books. Website tutorials. There's a wealth of information out there, much of it inexpensive to tap. And don’t focus too narrowly on one single aspect of the trading game. Instead, study everything market-wise, including ideas and concepts you don't feel are particularly relevant at this time. Trading launches a journey that often winds up at a destination not anticipated at the starting line. Your broad and detailed market background will come in handy over and over again, even if you think you know exactly where you’re going right now.
Here are five must-read books for every new trader:
.Stock Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager1
.Trading for a Living by Dr. Alexander Elder2
.Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy3
.Winning on Wall Street by Martin Zweig4
.The Nature of Risk by Justin Mamus5
Start to follow the market every day in your spare time. Get up early and read about overnight price action on foreign markets. (U.S. traders didn't have to monitor global markets a couple of decades ago, but that’s all changed due to the rapid growth of electronic trading and derivative instruments that link equity, forex and bond markets around the world.)
3. Learn to Analyze
Study the basics of technical analysis and look at price charts, thousands of them, in all time frames. You may think fundamental analysis offers a better path to profits because it tracks growth curves and revenue streams, but traders live and die by price action that diverges sharply from underlying fundamentals. Do not stop reading company spreadsheets, because they offer a trading edge over those who ignore them. However, they won’t help you survive your first year as a trader.
Your experience with charts and technical analysis now brings you into the magical realm of price prediction. Theoretically, securities can only go higher or lower, encouraging a long-side trade or a short sale. In reality, prices can do many other things, including chopping sideways for weeks at a time or whipsawing violently in both directions, shaking out buyers and sellers.
The time horizon becomes extremely important at this juncture. Financial markets grind out trends and trading ranges with fractal properties that generate independent price movements at short-term, intermediate-term and long-term intervals. This means a security or index can carve out a long-term uptrend, intermediate downtrend and a short-term trading range, all at the same time. Rather than complicate prediction, most trading opportunities will unfold through interactions between these time intervals.
Buying the dip offers a classic example, with traders jumping into a strong uptrend when it sells off in a lower period. The best way to examine this three-dimensional playing field is to look at each security in three time frames, starting with 60-minute, daily and weekly charts.
TRADING STRATEGIES BEGINNER TRADING STRATEGIES
Learn How to Trade the Market in 5 Steps
Want to trade but don't know where to start?
Millions of neophytes try their hand at the market casino each year, but most walk away a little poorer and a lot wiser, never reaching their full potential. The majority of those who fail have one thing in common - They haven't mastered the basic skills needed to tilt the odds in their favor. However, if one takes the adequate time to learn them then they will be well on their way to increasing their odds of success.
World markets attract speculative capital like moths to a flame, with most throwing money at securities without understanding why prices move higher or lower. Instead, they chase hot tips, make binary bets and sit at the feet of gurus, letting them make buy and sell decisions that make no sense. A better path is to learn how to trade the markets with skill and authority.
Start with a self-examination that takes a close look at your relationship with money. Do you view life as a struggle, with hard effort required to earn each dollar? Do you believe personal magnetism will attract market wealth to you in the same way it does in other life pursuits? More ominously, have you lost money on a regular basis through other activities and hope the financial markets will treat you more kindly?
Whatever your belief system, the market is likely to reinforce that internal view over and over again through profits and losses. Hard work and charisma both support financial success, but losers in other walks of life are likely to turn into losers in the trading game. Don't panic if this sounds like you. Instead, take the self-help route and learn about the relationship between money and self-worth.
Once you get your head on straight, you can embark on learning trading, starting with these five basic steps.
1. Open a Trading Account
Sorry if it seems we're stating the obvious, but you never know (remember the person who did everything to set up his new computer—except to plug it in). Find a good online stock broker and open a stock brokerage account. Even if you already have a personal account, it's not a bad idea to keep a professional trading account separate. Become familiar with the account interface and take advantage of the free trading tools and research offered exclusively to clients. A number of brokers offer virtual trading (more on that in step five). Investopedia has the Best Online Brokers Awards with reviews to help you find the right broker.
2. Learn to Read: A Market Crash Course
Financial articles. Stock market books. Website tutorials. There's a wealth of information out there, much of it inexpensive to tap. And don’t focus too narrowly on one single aspect of the trading game. Instead, study everything market-wise, including ideas and concepts you don't feel are particularly relevant at this time. Trading launches a journey that often winds up at a destination not anticipated at the starting line. Your broad and detailed market background will come in handy over and over again, even if you think you know exactly where you’re going right now.
Here are five must-read books for every new trader:
⚫Stock Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager1
⚫Trading for a Living by Dr. Alexander Elder2
⚫Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy3
⚫Winning on Wall Street by Martin Zweig4
⚫The Nature of Risk by Justin Mamus5
Start to follow the market every day in your spare time. Get up early and read about overnight price action on foreign markets. (U.S. traders didn't have to monitor global markets a couple of decades ago, but that’s all changed due to the rapid growth of electronic trading and derivative instruments that link equity, forex and bond markets around the world.)
News sites such as Yahoo Finance, Google Finance and CBS MoneyWatch serve as a great resource for new investors. For more sophisticated coverage, you need look no further than The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and, well, us at Investopedia.com.
3. Learn to Analyze
Study the basics of technical analysis and look at price charts, thousands of them, in all time frames. You may think fundamental analysis offers a better path to profits because it tracks growth curves and revenue streams, but traders live and die by price action that diverges sharply from underlying fundamentals. Do not stop reading company spreadsheets, because they offer a trading edge over those who ignore them. However, they won’t help you survive your first year as a trader.
Your experience with charts and technical analysis now brings you into the magical realm of price prediction. Theoretically, securities can only go higher or lower, encouraging a long-side trade or a short sale. In reality, prices can do many other things, including chopping sideways for weeks at a time or whipsawing violently in both directions, shaking out buyers and sellers.
The time horizon becomes extremely important at this juncture. Financial markets grind out trends and trading ranges with fractal properties that generate independent price movements at short-term, intermediate-term and long-term intervals. This means a security or index can carve out a long-term uptrend, intermediate downtrend and a short-term trading range, all at the same time. Rather than complicate prediction, most trading opportunities will unfold through interactions between these time intervals.
Buying the dip offers a classic example, with traders jumping into a strong uptrend when it sells off in a lower period. The best way to examine this three-dimensional playing field is to look at each security in three time frames, starting with 60-minute, daily and weekly charts.
4. Practice Trading
It’s now time to get your feet wet without giving up your trading stake. Paper trading, aka virtual trading, offers a perfect solution, allowing the neophyte to follow real-time market actions, making buying and selling decisions that form the outline of a theoretical performance record. It usually involves the use of a stock market simulator that has the look and feel of an actual stock exchange's performance. Make lots of trades, using different holding periods and strategies, and then analyze the results for obvious flaws.
Investopedia has a free stock market game, and many brokers let clients engage in paper trading with their real money entry systems, too. This has the added benefit of teaching the software so you don’t hit the wrong buttons when you are playing with family funds.
So, when do you make the switch and start trading with real money? There’s no perfect answer because simulated trading carries a flaw that’s likely to show up whenever you start to trade for real, even if your paper results look perfect.
Traders need to co-exist peacefully with the twin emotions of greed and fear. Paper trading doesn’t engage these emotions, which can only be experienced by actual profit and loss. In fact, this psychological aspect forces more first-year players out of the game than bad decision-making. Your baby steps forward as a new trader need to recognize this challenge and address remaining issues with money and self-worth.
5. Other Ways to Learn and Practice Trading
While experience is a fine teacher, don't forget about additional education as you proceed on your trading career. Whether online or in person, classes can be beneficial, and you can find them at levels ranging from novice (with advice on how to analyze the aforementioned analytic charts, for example) to pro. More specialized seminars—often conducted by a professional trader—can provide valuable insight into the overall market and specific investment strategies. Most focus on a specific type of asset, a particular aspect of the market, or a trading technique. Some may be academic, and others more like workshops in which you actively take positions, test out entry and exit strategies, and other exercises (often with a simulator).
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