Investors sunk trillions into the stock market in 2021, only to see much of it flee those equities markets in 2022.
The Dow Jones, S&P, NASDAQ in general lost about 25% of their value during the year, and investors are just a little fatigued by the market recession. A few bear market rallies have shown they’re eager, and maybe impulsive about sinking more money into stocks.
Stock trading platforms are seeing much lower volumes and retail investor interest in buying and selling stocks right now. But it’s likely Robinhood, etrades, Trade Station, Charles Shwab, Merrill Lynch, and other platforms are eagerly awaiting the end of the market dip to get back into the profit of the next bull market.
Is there a better alternative to trading stocks? Bonds are paying higher yields for sure, but is too late to jump on that train? If inflation is ended in 2023, will interest rates drop thus making bonds unattractive?
To get the most from stock trading you’ll want to look for a good investment platform. Some will offer low commission fees on online trades. Some will also provide outstanding technical charts, advice, and updates on individual stocks.
You’re Not a Day Trader
Day traders, those gamblers of the stock market world, use the self-directed investment platforms, yet they look for advanced, more responsive real-time tools, forecasts, expert predictions, and technical charts to execute daily trades. Your needs might be less, given you’re not trying for immediate profits today on Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ stocks. A reliable stock market forecast source for 3 months to 5 year projections will help you get informed.
By researching, you’ll discover what each forecaster, expert or advisor missed. That could save you from big losses due to naivete.
Playing on hourly gains and drops is only for those who can suffer big losses. These trading pros are at another level so don’t think like a day trader. That takes excellent research skills, forecasting, trading histories, and real time news and other data sources.
Self-Directed Stock Trading
Self-directed trading has become very popular, yet even with guidance and tools provided by the online investing platforms, individual investors may lack insight, experience and wisdom to perform well. There’s no doubt some individual investors have take big losses with the big stock market slide in 2022.
Stock trading isn’t for the faint of heart in late 2022. On the verge of a recession, it is difficult to know which stocks will perform well in the next few years, and survive intact. Add on technology changes and internationa trade changes, and even the best institutional investors have trouble navigating. They also lost a lot of client money in the 2022 market slide.
If a market collapse is ahead in 2023, do you know how you’ll hedge against potential losses?
Self-Directed Trading Options
For online trading you have lots of options. You can invest in common stock, depository receipts, unit trust funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), preferred securities, and forex.
You can open an account, connect a funds source, transfer them, and be trading within a short time. But avoid being impulsive. You may have heard Bitcoin, Gamestop, and Twitter are good bets, but an economic downturn could hit all risky stocks hard. This is the time to do your investment research.
Some of the top stock trading platforms to consider are:
- Fidelity Investments (fidelity.com)
- Robinhood (robinhood.com)
- TD Ameritrade (tdameritrade.com)
- Webull (webull.com)
- Trade Station (tradestation.com)
- Merrill Edge (merrilledge.com)
- E-Trade (etrade.com)
- Charles Schwab (schwab.com)
- Zacks Trade (zachstrade.com)
- Interactive Brokers (InteractiveBrokers.com)
- Ally Invest (ally.com)
- Firstrade (firsttrade.com)
It’s a huge list, each with their own unique value proposition for customers. Which one is the most significant for you?
Questions you’ll have with each choice:
- how should I rate each trading platform?
- what services/information are most important to help me succeed?
- which is the least expensive platform?
- are my funds protected and insured?
- which type of account should I open?
- when can I start trading online?
- do they offer guidance/recommendations on stocks?
- are these platforms integrated with my retirement investment account (IRA, 401k)
There’s a lot to know about trading on your own versus hiring a stock broker/adviser. If you’re a newbie to investing, consider stocks that are more stable and read stock market predictions from reliable sources. Investing in oil stocks seems like a sure winner, yet a recession can take all stocks down. Even ETFs come with risk.
Check out all the data provided by Barchart, easily the best source of stock trading data going. They offer Institution-Grade Tools, Priced for Individual Investors including their stock screening tool for smart stock traders.
