Simply defined, online trading means buying and selling financial assets such as shares, currencies, bonds and commodities through the internet. This translates to mean that all you need is money to trade and internet connection to begin your journey as an online trader. Given that most people can now gain access to the internet from wherever they are across the globe, trading has opened up to anyone with keen interest unlike the older days when it was reserved for the rich.
With the two basic start tools, the next step is to find one of the best online trading platforms run by a broker or a bank to help you complete your trading activities. The platform servers as the point where trading decisions are made before been sent to the broker, which is only possible via the internet.
Advantages of Online Trading
- Diverse Order Types- Online trading platforms allow traders easy access to a number of order types which make it easy for you to set a plan for your activities.
- Unrestricted Trading- traders get to personalize trading to their preference by choosing from diverse styles such as; long term trading, short term trading, intra-day or week trading or swing trading.
- Multiple financial instruments available- from foreign exchange, CFD Bonds, Crypto currencies, shares, indices, to stocks, there are always many options for a trader to choose from. However, the number and type of options available is dependent of the trading platform a trader picks.
Selecting an Online Trading Platform
Like every other online service, selecting a trading platform needs a trader to make the best choice. Before signing up with any online stock broker, you need to consider aspects such as simplified trading, access to financial markets and compatibility with your investment goals. Some qualities to consider when looking for a trading platform include;
- Reputation: The more popular and recognized a broker is, the better the chances that they are good. Look out for reviews about them in the market, the type of licenses they have and if they have won any awards. A reputable platform will make your trading experience easier and possibly more profitable.
- Types of market options available: This aspect depends on what you are looking to trade in and the more the options the better. Beginners might be tempted to pick up a platform that offers less options but as you gain more experience you may want to increase the trading options available, so it does not hurt to choose a diverse platform from the beginning.
- Support, training and education tools: This is among the most important features for every trader including those with experience. Look for a platform that offers you learning materials such as articles, courses, instruction pages, videos, podcasts, user forums and whatever other material you find will boost your knowledge. User forums are especially great learning and interaction spaces so be sure to check it out too.
- Quality and Ease of Use: You may have all the learning tools at your disposal but all these are useless if you have a hard time navigating the site to access them. Everything depends on your preference so be sure to confirm all the resources suit and fulfill your needs. Test each platform by simply going through their resources and if you spend over half an hour trying to understand, the platform is not suitable for you. In addition to this, it is important to check other trader’s feedback regarding how the platform performs during high trading traffic times. You do not want a platform that will crash when you are looking to make a deal.
- Trader Friendly Features: Your trading activities will not will not be limited to opening and closing transactions, there is so much more you need to do to stay ahead. A good platform will offer access to other trade related tasks such as; using indicators, financial analysis news, tracking for open and closed trades, chart analysis, multiple account switching options and equity trading options.
Making the Choice
There are a lot of options online that you could use for online trading but with metatrader4 download you are assured that all the qualities you seek in a trading platform are available. All you need is an internet enabled device and the platform will let you trade from anywhere.