T
he stock market is an omnipresent factor in many people’s lives.
News anchors report of the state of the stock market daily and anyone with investments is likely at least peripherally aware of the state of the stock market at any given time.
Even if you don’t have a single stock to your name, you likely know at least the minimum about the stock market.
Today’s trading floor is a very different animal than it was even ten years ago.
Technology has influenced every aspect of today’s trading floor, making things easier and also faster in many ways.
The future appears to be wrapped up in digital markets, which can mean a lot of changes to the reality of investments from the standpoint of investors.
Day trading and mobile trading are easier than ever to get involved in and many investors are managing their own investments to great advantage.
Mobile phone apps offer another great way to monitor, buy and sell stocks, even when you are away from your desk.
Day traders are able to set up their own focused portfolio to save for a home, build up retirement savings or buy and sell quickly to try and maximize their returns.
Different apps offer different perks, so traders can work with multiple platforms to make sure they are getting the most bang for their buck.
Learning the rules for this type of trading is essential and many investors start out on penny stocks and work their way up to bigger investments.
Purists will argue that traditional stock trading on the trading floor is superior to electronic trading because the human element is missing with electronic trading.
Rather like poker, complex trades done in person tend to proceed with better prices when done in person.
The efficiency of electronic sales, however, cannot be denied and the freedom to work on your own portfolio is so attractive to traders and investors that the chance of a return to the old methods of the trading floor is almost nil.
While there is some talk about possible increased trading taxes and other fee increases, for the moment, these factors are not a limiting factor for most traders.
Even if the fees involved should increase, the chance that overall monetary gain will not outweigh this change is negligible.
Traditional stock and bonds will likely continue to decrease in popularity while technology stock and shares related to giant companies like Amazon will likely continue to grow in popularity.
Another area that will likely continue to see growth are eco-friendly stocks.
These changes will likely positively affect many areas of trading for the better.
An interesting development that could have both positive and negative impact is the possible demise of hedge managers.
Another area that will likely change the face of the trading reality as a whole is a trend toward automation.
Automated trades are essentially handled at the orders of an algorithm, making it possible for stocks to be traded without a real person having to any hands-on work on the transaction.
Things like automated trading will likely eventually remove much of the guesswork from the trade process and it can make it possible for traders to work on various portfolios and stock options without having to even pay attention to the trades being done.
As an added plus, automated trades can be done based solely on things like price or other factors, making it a great way to control a stock portfolio without any errors.
No matter how you look at it, brief whispers a few years ago that the stock market would decline out of existence have been put to rest by more recent years’ evidence.
As the backbone of investments in the US and also the backing for nearly every type of retirement account, the stock market will simply evolve and will not fade away.
While this does not mean that trading has become any less about knowing the nature of a company and its stock before you buy, management of stocks that are owned has become increasingly easier and will only amount to more secure financial futures for everyone.
