It is crucial to have a realistic plan and not jump ahead before understanding the basics of stock trading. Besides, taking a small amount of time in perusing the rules of online stock trading will surely be rewarding later. Specialists’ advices recommend trusting yourself, choosing wisely, taking responsibility for your actions and staying focused. Do not lose yourself in the vast sea of traders, separate your techniques from the rest and trade cautiously. You also have to understand that sometimes, in order to make money, you have to first lose some and learn from your mistakes. Of course, if you don’t want to choose this method, research before online stock trading or try using the web for consultations from an experienced broker.

There is a multitude of advantages to going online and starting stock trading. Online stock trading constitutes of buying and selling shares automatically, almost without any human intervention. The first step is to check out the online brokers, then to open up an account so as to deposit money for stock trading. There is also an execution-only broker which offers no advice and just follows your demands. There is a limited amount of time to accept or turn down the offered price.

Online stock trading is an efficient and secure way to browse the stock market and make investments. You will need a computer, an internet connection and of course the two musts of online stock trading – method and discipline. Understanding money management is another advantage. Actually, not knowing anything about this is the reason why most traders fail even if they take as little risk as possible.

Trading futures is a method used to eliminate or diminish the risks that may appear when the prices in the market fluctuate. Nowadays, trading futures on the web is sometimes preferred to online stock trading, and without question to traditional “live” trading of any kind. A law in the stock trading business states that prices are induced by the supply and demand of the market. If there are more buyers than sellers, prices will go up and the other way around.

There are two groups of future traders. First are the hedgers who prefer taking the safe road. This is where their name comes from – they are always seeking to hedge out the risks of changes in prices. The second category consists of the speculators who are interested in making a profit based on predicting the changes in the market. Speculating may bring a higher profit, but may also bring loss to those who can’t afford it. The profit comes from buying at a certain price today and selling the shares at a higher price in the future. Hedging may also be the best way to trade as it protects against the fluctuations of the market prices.

A high risk for an inexperienced trader might be trying to predict and speculate without having enough resources or experience in the stock trading deal. A beginner in online stock trading may receive advice from a professional broker on private message boards because many brokers offer their services for stock trading mainly online. However, experts advise against acquiring stocks just on pointers. Doing your own research, accumulating as much knowledge on online stock trading as possible, finding reliability first – these is the best advice you’ll ever receive.

Swing stock trading is a short term method in which the stocks are kept for a brief period of time. It is a tehnique situated between day-trading and long term invesments. Most interesting is that it never relies on the market index and it is influenced by the minor variations in stock prices. This type of online stock trading is based more on the short-term investment and on price patterns of shares rather than on the fundamental value. Risks are lower because there is far less competition from the long-term investors. It is best suited for newbies considering the low risks and quick profit. Still there are some drawbacks to swing stock trading: not waiting for the perfect timing and trading when there is a significant price fluctuation and the incapacity of applying in a market where share prices are raising or falling rapidly.

A question that rises in the online stock trading business is FOREX or FUTURES? FOREX is the largest financial market in the world. It is more fluid and, as opposed to the FUTURES market, it is open 24 hours a day, everyday. There are no commisions and the brokers make profit through the spread that is the breach between the buying and the selling price. Most transactions are executed immediately offering a better price control of your trades than in the FUTURE stock trading market.

What you need to know about this online stock trading affair is that it is simple, exciting and prosperous. It is risky and you may lose some money before hiting the jackpot, but it is all worth it. No matter which types of stock trading you choose you are in for a one wild ride on the carousel of money. And it pays!

Fear of Missing Out

Every trend always has its doubters, but I often notice that many skeptics of a trend will slowly become converts due to the fear of missing out on profits or the pain of losses in betting against that trend. The fear of missing out can also be characterized as greed of a sorts, for an investor is not acting based on some desire to own the security – other than the fact that it is going up without him on board. This fear is often fueled during runaway booms like the technology bubble of the late-1990s, as investors heard their friends talking about newfound riches. The fear of missing out came into play for those who wanted to experience the same type of euphoria.

When you think about it, this is a very dangerous situation, as at this stage investors tend essentially to say, “Get me in at any price – I must participate in this hot trend!? The effect of the fear of missing out is a blindness to any potential downside risk, as it seems clear to the investor that there can only be gains ahead from such a “promising” and “obviously beneficial” trend. But there’s nothing obvious about it.

We remember the stories of the Internet and how it would revolutionize the way business was done. While the Internet has indeed had a significant impact on our lives, the hype and frenzy for these stocks ramped up supply of every possible technology stock that could be brought public and created a situation where the incredibly high expectations could not possibly be met in reality. It is expectation gaps like this that often create serious risks for those who have piled into a trend late, once it has been widely broadcast in the media to all investors.

You may have read the notion that personality plays a role in how a person views the world in the sense of the “glass half-full, glass half-empty” saying. A pessimistic person has a tendency to think the market is heading lower while an optimistic person has a tendency to think the market is heading higher.

Assuming a person knows one’s own personality traits, that person would be well advised to indulge in behavioural modification – in essence suppressing or controlling that which will be harmful to stock trading actions. This is where discipline is needed to keep psychological (emotional) influences in check. Furthermore, conducting research and analysis is not only good preparation but also beneficial to impose objectivity into stock trading activities.

A person may not be able to change one’s personality and outlook, and a person is not able to control the stock market, but a person is able to control one’s reaction to the vagaries of stock market movements. For a long position, if the trader observes an up-trend, continue holding the position; for a down-trend, continue to be out of the stock; for a trend reversal, open or close the position as the case may be. By observe, I mean through the use of a trend following system.

Those that can control the stock market can skip the next sentence but do so at your own risk. For the rest of us, we must recognize our own personality traits, impose a methodology and system of trading, do our homework and preparation, acquire tools and resources, and proceed with objectivity and confidence.

StockTradersPlace (http://stocktradersplace.com) provides a trend following system based on candlestick technical analysis. http://stocktradersplace.blogspot.com provides a “Stock Trading with StockTradersPlace” companion guide. Empower yourself and show that you can repeatedly execute winning trades using StockTradersPlace as an element of your trading tool box.

Feb 23, 2009 copyright © David S.Y. Wong, published in ArticlesBase.com

Stock trading, once the domain of a select few stockbrokers, is now accessible by anyone with the required finances, and a computer with internet access.

The main attractions of Online Stock Trading are the significant reduction in both, the transaction costs, and time involved. Once you have set up an account with an online broker, a transaction can be undergone almost on the spot, and for only a few bucks per trade.

Everyone else has a “Top 10 List”, so here are my “Top 10 Points To Consider Before Selecting Your Online Broker”!

1. Find out if the stock quotes and account updates you receive are real-time or delayed. Most services have some sort of delay. Real-time quotes are usually available, so find out if they are, and at what cost, if any.

2. Some online brokerage firms specialise in certain types of securities. Some specialize in penny stocks, some only trade the major markets, some trade overseas, some specialise in options. Make sure your chosen brokerage firm “really” know your market.

3. Check out the procedures for entering and canceling orders (market, limit, and stop loss). Familiarize yourself with all your brokers procedures so that the administration of your account goes as smoothly as possible.

4. If you are contemplating a margin loan, check out the conditions and rules. Margin loans are dangerous for even experienced investors, so tread warily. Remember, margin accounts can be called in at the whim of the brokerage firm.

5. Make sure that the firm has an alternative way to execute trades if their website happens to be offline. Most will allow phone calls directly to brokers for no additional fees in the case of computer problems.

6. Take a look at the brokers privacy and personal information policies. The last thing you want is a flood of junk mail from the “quick buck” merchants. Most reputable firms won’t sell your personal information, but it pays to be sure.

7. Look very closely at their brokerage commissions, transaction fees, and conditions that apply to any advertised discount on commissions. Check for any hidden fees or penalties in the fine print. Double check anything that looks too good to be true.

8. Test their customer service. Don’t take their assurance of quality service at face value. Make an enquiry by email and test their response time. Call them with an “interesting” question. It’s no use finding out later that they have an answering machine, and don’t return calls or emails for 3 days.!

9. Check with your local securities authority to verify the legitimacy of the online brokerage firm and any disciplinary history they may have. If they are on any securities watch list, find another firm, quickly. The website at www.sec.gov is a good place to start.

10. Ask for testimonials. You need to know that they have a string of satisfied customers. You’re going to invest your hard earned money, so you need to see proof of their ability to deliver the service you require. If they can’t, or won’t show you the proof, move on.!

All the really cool lists have a bonus tip, so here’s mine, and it’s biggy!

11. Educate yourself. The well educated investors make their money off the uneducated investors. Luck will only carry you so far. You need to be a smart investor to survive and profit in the long term.

This list is so cool, I’ve decided to throw in a bonus bonus tip!

12. Take your time. Take your time before you jump into stock trading in the first place. Take your time choosing your online broker. Take the time to do your own market research. Take the time to learn all you can about the market you want to trade in.

As with anything else you do that involves money, you need to do a little homework to make sure that you find the online broker that best serves your needs, at a price you are happy with. Some research up front can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.