The Beauty Of Online Stock Trading

Online stock trading differs from the term "online trading" in that online stock trading refers to the online trading of only stocks and stock options. Online trading in general can refer to online trading of stocks, stock options, futures, futures options, etc.

Today's best online stock trading platforms give traders "information at their fingertips". Many will include quotes, charting, and even portfolio management. Useful stats include, portfolio by sector, portfolio by position, value by sector, value by position, and more.

When I first started online stock trading on of my favorite features was being able to see my account equity in real-time. Knowing exactly how much was in my account at any minute gave me a feeling of more control. Some of the account statistics available to you include net worth breakdown, profit & loss summary, commission and fee summary,
profit/commissions ratio, etc.

Another great online stock trading feature is the ability to "park" orders. This is also one of my personal favorites. Parking and order simply means that you enter the order and save the order for later use. This is helpful because you can plan ahead and you don't have to enter and execute your orders at the same time or at the last minute. You will find the ability to prepare for your trading day both useful and empowering. This fits in nicely with those who trade according to the "Plan your trade and trade your plan philosophy"

Online stock trading gives you a great deal of control by having all your trading
information integrated into on nice, neat package. Many platforms give you so many useful bells and whistles that you may not know where to start. Make sure that your online trading platform works for you and not the other way around.

Keep it simple and leverage your online trading platform to keep you focused, disciplined, and organized.

Stock Trading Review is dedicated to helping you succeed as a trader by sharing with you simple and easy to follow tips and techniques. Join our FREE "Stock Trading Review" Online Stock Trading Newsletter to get your hands on some real world "insider" stock trading tips and techniques. Discover more insider secrets and strategies to help you trade stocks profitably: http://www.stocktradingreview.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Spann

What are Your Investments Costing You?

Your investments are impacted by frictional expenses that are basically costing you money. If you are able to lower your expenses, you are able to increase your long-term rate of return through lowering your overall cost basis.

The most common and encountered frictional expense is brokerage commissions and fees. Discount brokers have significantly reduced the cost of buying and selling over the past few decades. For example, by calling and having a broker execute a trade, an investor could expect to pay $31 plus 1.50% of the principal value of the investment on a trade of $2,500 on 1,000 shares of stock. The investor pays $68.50 in fees. If the investor places the order online, he may only pay a commission of $29.95. The cost has been reduced by 50%. Same trade, same bank, just a lower fee.

Look at this in a bigger way. If there was a dollar cost averaging plan in effect, the additional commission expense would add up to $462.60 annually. If you consider the long-term appreciation rate of 12% on the investment, over the next 40 years, the added commission cost would add up to $354,856 in lost wealth.

Asset management fees can cost you even more over the long term. Many companies will charge fees of 1.5% of assets. A family with $10 million of net worth would pay $150,000 a year in fees -- even if their investments lose money.

In addition to the fees associated with trading stock, you need to be aware of the capital gains tax. You are in control because you get to decide when the tax bill will come due. Each year that goes by without selling your appreciated securities, the value of the deferred taxes increases.

The frictional expenses of mutual funds, including management fees and sales loads, are the reason that actively managed funds have not outperformed non-managed counterparts such as index funds. In order for an actively managed fund to break even with the market, it would have to earn several percentage points higher in returns in order to pay the associated frictional expenses. Index funds are usually a group of non-managed stocks that rarely change, therefore they don't require the frequent sale of securities and the additional costs associated.

When looking at your portfolio and investment decisions, you can't just focus on the gains. You must look at how the frictional expenses will affect your investments over the long term. Know exactly what your trading costs you. You may find that you need to change some of your strategies or investment methods. Don't let the frictional expenses cost you wealth. Mitigate your costs and take control of your potential earnings.

RateEmpire.com, http://www.RateEmpire.com, an internet consumer banking marketplace is a destination site of personal finance, investing, taxes and mortgage rates. RateEmpire.com provides mortgage guides and financial rates and information. RateEmpire.com also operates a financial portal #1 American Financial, found at http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com and online shopping portal #1 Shopping Online http://www.1ShoppingOnline.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Lukac

Benefits of Futures Simulated Trading

Have you recently learned about the trading of futures? The commodity trading market is one that many are able to profit off of. For that reason, when many individuals, possibly just like you, first learn about futures trading, they often wonder if they can make a profit with it as well. Of course, you can, but to up your chances of success, you may first want to think about taking part in futures simulated trading, as there are a number of benefits to doing so.

Before examining the many benefits of futures simulated trading, you may be wondering exactly what it is. In a way, a futures simulated trading program is like a practice run. Simulate futures trading programs are offered by many futures brokers. These programs are designed to allow you to trade futures with a simulated account. You are given a set amount of “money,” to do with as you please. Futures simulated trading is just like “real,” trading, but without the risk of losing your hard earned money. Many futures brokers allow you to try their futures simulated trading programs free of charge, for around thirty days.

As for the benefits of futures simulated trading, there are an unlimited number of them. One of those benefits is the experience that you will gain. Futures simulated trading is ideal for anyone who is looking to try their hand at futures trading, but it is perfect for those who are just getting started, as most don’t have a large understanding of the futures commodity market or trading. Being able to buy and sell commodities, in real market time conditions, is the perfect way to learn tips, as well as what works and what doesn’t work, in terms of making a profit.

Another benefit of futures simulated trading is the knowledge that you will walk away with. Many of the futures brokers that offer simulated futures trading also provide participants, like you, with a knowledgeable broker. This broker can be contacted if you have any questions or concerns. You may also be able to learn helpful trading tips from your broker. In fact, you may be so pleased with the broker assisting you that you may want to use their services when you start trading!

Another one of the many benefits to first trying simulated futures trading is that you will get a good idea as to whether or not futures trading is something that you would be interested in perusing. Although many individual enjoy futures trading and make a profit with it, there are others who do not. Simulated futures trading lets you test out futures investing to see if it is something that you could see yourself doing in the future. If, by chance, you find that futures trading isn’t right for you, you won’t have to find out the hard way, by losing your money.

As outlined above, there are a number of benefits to futures simulated trading. With most brokers offering free futures simulated trading; you have nothing to lose by at giving it a try.

Ulysses Faust is a writer for Transworldfutures.com where you can find accurate information about Futures Simulated Trading and other related information. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ulysses_Faust

Charting Basics - What Is On The Charts?

‘A picture speaks a thousand words’, as the old maxim goes. This maxim holds just as true for charts. Charting is the graphical expression of a stock’s behaviour over a period in time: Charts can be used to afford a bird’s eye view of an entire year’s behaviour or to get up close and personal with the current day’s trading!

The most basic charts are bar- and line charts. If you are new to the trading game and not a Ph.D. in Statistics, these humble charts are the way to go. In fact, even if you are an experienced trader, bar and line charts probably still have a special place in your daily trading life. These charts are simply indispensable!

Stocks have four different trading points throughout a day. They are: opening price (O), closing price (C), absolute high price of the day (H) and the absolute low price of the day (L). All of these points appear on the charts.

The opening price (O) is the first trade of the day. Individual traders tend to place orders when the market opens, in reaction to the previous day’s close. This price will normally be based on emotional decisions and could well indicate how the first half - or the whole day’s trading is going to pan out. The closing price (C) is the last trade of the day. It is generally institutional investors that place orders towards the day’s close. Unlike the opening price, the closing price will normally be representative of decisions made by reason and research – not gut feel. The day’s low (L) and the day’s high (H) are pretty self-explanatory. The difference between the high and low on the charts is referred to as the Range.

Purely looking at these five points on the charts will not be enough to plan future trades. You will also need to be mindful of how control and commitment has influenced the charts and then figure out what the trend is likely to be going forward.

Control To trade, you need to have two parties: The buyer and the seller. If there are more buyers than sellers, it results in a demand greater than the supply. This imbalance will result in upward pressure on the price of stocks, which will persist until the imbalance is corrected. If there are more sellers than buyers, it means that the supply of the stocks is greater than the demand. This results on downward pressure on the share, which will remain until equilibrium is regained. Whoever exerts the pressure is said to have control. If you are doing short term trades, it is extra important to know how to spot a change in control when interpreting charts.

Commitment The market’s response to the rise or fall in share price indicates commitment. As stocks are traded, we can discern something about the emotions of the traders. Those who continue to trade in spite of high prices, show that they believe in the future of the stock - the result is a high price for the day. This is bullish trading. The opposite is true for low trades. It tells us that sellers are worried about the future; therefore they continue selling their stock in spite of lower prices. This is bearish trading.

Conclusion Charting is not a crystal ball – charts do not foretell future market behaviours or predict stock prices. What charts do exceedingly well though, is offer you a concise and accurate history. In the history lies a trend and it is from this trend that you may extrapolate data on which to base your projections of the probable future market behaviours and stock price changes. Therein is the greatest value of using charts.

Discover awesome, proven techniques for trading online; stocks, shares, currencies, FOREX etc. for both the novice and experienced trader at TradingOnline4u.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_C_Jackson

Profit Magic of Stock Transaction Timing by J.M. Hurst - Review Part II

In the first part of our extended review of the Profit Magic of Stock Transaction Timing by J.M. Hurst (Prentice-Hall, 1970) we laid out the basics of Hurst's price-motion model. The keynotes are that Hurst determined by mathematical modeling that 75% of stock price movement is due to relatively foreseeable fundamental factors. Aside from being a confidence vote for Wall Street's traditional fundamental analysis methods, this finding confirms that old saying that you will never make a silk purse from a sow's ear. No matter how technical your trading method you need to be involved only with trading vehicles whose trend direction can be logically and fundamentally explained.

The price-motion model attributes only an accumulative 2% of stock price movement to news events, extrinsic shocks, and purely random individual investment decisions. Although the immediate, short-term affect on stock prices can be substantial, it is clear enough that you cannot make a successful trading plan based upon these random factors.

The remaining 23% of stock price movement is attributed to semi-predictable, accumulative cyclical factors. And, indeed, most of Hurst's book is an explanation of how to capitalize on this 23% factor.

As important as how is why. Remember, the title of the book is "Profit Magic…" Appropriately, Hurst's first chapter is an explanation of where the magic comes from. Although Hurst did not address it this way specifically, this first chapter is the foundation of a wealth building trading plan.

Imagine three fictional stock market participants who start with $10,000 each and are equally adept at making exactly 10% per trade, but who trade at different frequencies. Trader A buys and sells once a quarter, Trader B once a month, and Trader C once a week. If each trader reinvested his profits in his next trade, and continued trading at the same frequency, and earning exactly 10% profit per trade for one year, how different would the accounts of each of our fictional traders look at the end of one year?

Trader A trades once per quarter: $14,641

Trader B trades once per month: $31,384

Trader C trades once per week: $1,420,429

Did you imagine that the results would be so overwhelmingly different? The message is clear. If you are starting with a limited amount of capital, and want to build wealth from the stock market, you need a trading plan that incorporates an acceptable risk/reward method for short term trades. The mathematics of profit compounding are immutable.

Hope or desire is not a plan, however. The 30,000 hours of computer research underlying Hurst's book were all aimed at one target - a reliable method to shorten the holding period per trade. As Hurst put it, "improved timing permits shortened trades." If you thought the Profit Magic of Stock Transaction Timing was just a good read about stock market cycles you missed the magic, and the point.

In subsequent reviews we will cover how Hurst welded the laws of compounding into his price-motion model to produce a practical method of extracting the profit magic from stock transaction timing.

(C) Tradingfives. You can download Hurst's method of stock transaction timing at tradingfives.com along with an easy reading explanation of how to use WD Gann's Square of Nine. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Amaral