If you are an avid internet user, you have seen your fair share of ads promoting forex and online trading platforms. There is no doubt that the buying/selling of stocks has seen unprecedented growth over the past few years. Particularly recently, due to stay-at-home measures and the whole GameStop debacle. The latter drew enormous public interest and caused that company’s stock to shoot up to $469 and fall to $115 in one afternoon.
The Reddit-influenced short squeeze situation of America’s famous video game retailer sent shock waves throughout the financial world, causing hedge funds to incur massive losses for their short sellers. It also attracted accusations that brokerage services manipulated the market, not letting the little guys prosper. The whole event inadvertently inspired new demographics that previously never considered online trading to get into it.
Trading platforms are software that gets used for placing offers for financial products through an intermediary. They stream live market prices and provide additional tools such as news feeds and charting packages that help users make more researched decisions. The internet is currently swarming with these platforms, and for newcomers to this sphere, it may be hard to pick out which are the credible ones at first sight. Some are even market specific. For example, UK residents can check out the best online brokers on betting.co.uk, which lists the premium options for Brits by type. What we list below is a breakdown of the current four most-established global such services.
TD Ameritrade
Founded in 1971, TD Ameritrade is now one of the largest online brokers. Though it offers multiple platforms for users of different levels of expertise, what makes it stick out is its extensive educational offerings that help sector newcomers grow to become confident in exploring additional asset classes.
For those already active in this field, familiar with its ins and outs, the platform offers all the tools necessary to locate prime market opportunities. In reality, many users find the sheer number of practical accessories on TD Ameritrade a bit overwhelming. It has extensive research capabilities and additional support channels that tie into social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Robinhood
Even though many brokerage services stopped trading on GameStop stocks, it seems like much of the anger and attention got diverted at Robinhood. Naturally, that likely stems from this being the world’s most popular trading app with a user base of over 13 million. Robinhood attained this status mainly due to it not charging commissions for options, stocks, or crypto trading.
They are no longer the only such service in town, but they target a young customer base by advertising using words like democratization and free. These are excellent for SEO and appeal to younger generations. Customers can try the Robinhood Gold service for 30 days before having to spend $5 a month for it. It provides access to things like Morningstar reports and in-depth market data. The app itself is simple to use, and customers get instant access to their deposited funds. Though, it should get noted that it does not publish its trading stats similar to other brokers.
TradeStation
The TradeStation Group is a corporation that has roots that go back to 1982. It got formed as Omega Research, which released the software TradeStation in 1991. It rebranded itself under this name in 2001, when it converted its operations from a trading software brand to an online securities brokerage. In 2019, it launched the education platform YouCanTrade and its crypto trading service titled TradeStation Crypto.
Statistical modeling of trading strategies is the most substantial advantage of this platform, which caters to smartphone users. It provides many powerful tools and accepts many add-ons found on the TradingApp store. Many of these get supplied by the TradeStation development team, but some also come from third-party developers. This online brokerage has an excellent reputation for stability and its commitment to superior customer support.
Fidelity
Fidelity Investments is a multinational financial services corporation from Boston. It got established in 1946 and is one of the world’s most massive asset managers. Its online brokerage platform is continuously evolving and is a substantial force in this sector.
In late 2019, it joined the zero-commission crowd but remained devoted to providing top-level education, quality research, and exceptional cash management. Its deep pool of data lets investors make super-informed decisions. Active Trader Pro is software that streams real-time data, which becomes automatically available to Fidelity users who have traded more than 36 times in a 12-month period.
