One of my associates in my offline / online world had been nagging me for sometime to start Etrading with him and really REALLY wouldn’t let it go. I am talking two comments every week along the lines of; “You will be great at this” or “Its right up your alley with all your internet skills”. The comments were that often that I was really starting to believe that he was an employee of one of the online trading firms / houses and would be earning commission from my signing up! So I am taking sometime to do a little homework and either prove Roy right or wrong about Etrading online. Let the warning be on your head Roy!!
In the past I have talked about some of the options you have for Etrading online like Motif investing, Forex trading and Methods for new traders but today I am going to talk about the online portal my friend has been nagging me about!
Whats the fuss about Net Trading?
I am sure everyone has seen that working from home in its various forms is the flavor of the month these days. Employees in the past looked forward to the standard long commute and 50 hours work week but in todays age of internet and modern communication there has been a resurgence of all your work from home based businesses (did they ever disappear?) like Amway, Tupperware and all those mom type work from home enterprises. Just do a search for “work for home” and see how much pops up! Etrading online is a variation of the “You too can make money trading the stocks” idea. It takes advantage of the internet and its speedy access to information, trends and easy communication and puts the power of the decision making in your hands. Roy sent me the link to send me over E*trade to have a look around as that is who he uses / recommends (I still wonder if he works on commission basis!) Naturally enough their an Australian net trading company as both my friend and I live in here in Australia but a simple internet search can find a hundred alternatives for you in your location. Its probably best to work close to home than overseas in case tax or liability issues crop up.
Skeptical about it all like me?
Lets face it some of us are a bit cynical about new ways of investing working or making money. I know I lean towards this side of the fence so I immediately began to wonder whats in it for online trading portals (or Roy for that matter). Checking around some of my friends about who they trade with they all say there are a variety of fees associated with trading online whether you have a broker do the work for you or you do it yourself. Just like banks and other financial institutions Net Trading organizations exist to make money and prosper (just like us) but there biggest difference here is the level of control you have over your own destiny. E*Trade has a variety of different trading methods and fees associated those so I am not going to go into too much detail here until I have a chance to do some more homework on those. (Stay tuned for Etrading part two!)
They also seem to have a tonne of tools and information to help new traders get started and some videos on the setup involved. I noticed they may require some paperwork from us Australian residences before you can begin. Do you US readers have the same requirements?
Can your net trading be worse than the experts?
Here in Australia with the relative poor performance of super funds (retirement plans) self managed funds are the direction many workers and individuals are moving towards. Because lets face it your doing your job and working as hard as you can on your financial journey and all you see are the funds you place your trust (and hard earned money) in going backwards. If the experts aren’t doing very well then taking personal control of your own funds is natural step forward. What most people don’t understand is that their super fund is nothing but a small component of a large scale investment group who often invests in stocks and other trading options anyway! Once you have immediate control and have undertaken the paperwork trail required many people immediately look at become day traders using a system like the one I had a look at above. There are risks and there are rewards involved so please do some homework like I am doing now before I take this step!
Got an E*trade adventure to share?
Let us know your online trading experiences and adventures! Had some good results or some bad ones?
Is there a particular format of online trading you have used and have an opinion on?
Got a stock tip you want to share or a hot broker you might recommend who has made you good money?
Drop us a comment below or on facebook / twitter and let us know your experiences.
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***Photo thanks to Goatling, E*Trade & Dannels***
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