Before the recent digital revolution, it was a bit of a hassle when it came to trading in the stock market. It required finding a broker, and executing trades through them, at a high commission or fee.
NASDAQ revolutionised stock trading in the 1970s by providing automatic stock quotes and eventually paved the way to have stock trades executed electronically. Eventually, with the internet, there were more and more online brokers, offering ever-smaller trade fees per transaction, where some started even offering a certain number of free trades for a certain time period.
The rise of mobile apps.
Fast forward to our present-day and there are numerous apps out there, and all that is needed is a few minutes to set up and register an account, deposit funds and enable trading.
This allows anyone and everyone who has a bank account and a smartphone to be able to purchase any stock they want usually. Keep in mind there may be some limitations based on which country you’re based in and what stock or investment vehicle you may be able to choose.
Finding the right app.
This has also led to a market saturation of which app to select, and the folks at Nachgefragt.net for example reviews the current trading and investment app marketplace to work on, always providing the best recommendation for any type of investor.
When it comes to trading apps that make stock trading and investments more accessible what works is the combination with education. There is so much content out there with experts in the field constantly analysing stocks and technical analysis, earnings reports, and other indicators for stocks that we are able to read up and absorb and make informed decisions through these types of apps.
In the past, these were locked behind paywalls of large investment and research firms that used this as a source of advisory revenue when it came to picking stocks. Now, most of this information is possible to find publicly and easily shared online, offering everyone a chance to read, analyse and buy (or sell) stocks as they see fit.
Adding in social responsibility.
What makes these apps so popular is that they stray away from what was once a secretive part of the investment industry, and use real people to provide a sense of authenticity to the discussion.
These people may not always be licensed investment bankers or professional analysts, but instead, have a day job, and invest as a point of interest. They share their investment portfolios and future strategies in a social setting, showing that every man (or woman) is able to make a return without having to have millions in the bank, and without the need for an investment banker.
This type of social investing works well as there is a minimal gain for the person, other than people following them for advice in the future. These trading apps are great for beginners as well because you can simply copy someone else’s successful portfolio without having to know what stocks to pick, when to buy, and when to sell, as the community experts will handle that with their ever-growing knowledge.
Old Features – New Accessibility.
Although not exactly a new concept, it has become more prevalent due to so many trading apps and relaxed regulations, and that is fractional share ownership. One share of some of the most popular and successful stocks may be in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars per share.
That means that it may take a while to even own one. Yet since a lot of these apps forego trading fees, you can do small trade increments that buy a fraction of these shares with each purchase, and help you grow your portfolio as the stock grows, without having to buy upfront an entire share, or a lot of shares.
Brave new world.
Don’t hesitate to become an investor yourself, because it’s always a good idea to start as soon as you can. The earlier you start, the longer timeframe you have for your investments, and you are able to possibly be more risk-averse.
These apps provide safe and secure ways to tie in your current bank accounts and do automatic monthly stock investments to a certain limit. It then becomes more about a savings account with a potentially higher return and stock ownership versus the traditional route of trying to amass large savings to then begin their investment journey.
These trading apps have put those days behind us, and have opened up the world of investing for everyone.
