Features to look for in a digital brokerage platform

PD

Brokerage platforms provide online investors and traders a wealth of money management opportunities. Choosing between brokers is a decision that affects financial objectives for as long as a brokerage account is used. In some cases, owning more than one brokerage account provides experienced traders with wider options. Paying close attention to account benefits, features and terms assists with evaluating the quality and potential of a digital brokerage service provider.

Service

Service is a substantial factor weighing into the decision to open an account with a digital brokerage platform. A physical address, trained customer service support and regulatory licensing are just the beginning. Additional considerations include multiple account types, online bill paying, direct ACH money transfer and secure transmission of financial data over the internet. Additional service factors to take into account are transaction fees, minimum balances and margin interest rates.

Speed

Reliability in the carrying out of transactions and user interface speed are also important aspects of a digital brokerage platform. This is especially true for those using speed based strategies such as event driven intraday currency trading. Furthermore, fast and accurate access to the best available rate spreads help customers make competitive bid and ask decisions in addition to effectively placing orders designed to take advantage of changes within securities markets.

Securities

Access to innovative financial instruments and products is advantageous to online brokerage account holders. This is because a diversity of financial products improves maneuverability in fluid securities markets. For example, being able to select from trading mechanisms such as spread betting, arbitrage and hedging benefits customers by providing them with the right products for each type of market environment and trading strategy.

Tools

Without specialised financial tools, traders of financial instruments would not be able to make informed decisions, perform technical analysis or carry out multiple trading techniques. Online tools such as stock screeners and historical charting allow enhanced assessment of financial securities with the click of a button, or the touch of a screen. Other useful tools including heat maps, trading simulators and programmable orders further empower the securities trading process.

Resources

Many firms that offer digital brokerage platforms also provide traders with educational tutorials and access to research studies or reports. Outside of an account these resources are not necessarily free, and are therefore a considerable advantage of brokerage accounts that provide them. Historical data such as fundamental statistics, intraday pricing patterns, relevant economic data and up to date news alerts are all informational assets when placing one's money into a brokerage account.