The Beginner Investor’s Guide to Trading Platforms

For the newbie investor, utilising trading platforms may seem pretty daunting. If you are new to trading, here’s a beginner’s guide to investing with trading platforms, featuring Webull. Read on also for investing tips and strategies to get started on your wealth accumulation journey and build a solid investment portfolio.

Types of Trading

It is common for investors to use multiple types of investing strategies to build an investment portfolio or for portfolio diversification. This guide will get you acquainted with three key types of trading that will help you get a headstart on reaching your investment goals. They are also available on trading platforms like Webull Singapore, where you can start investing with zero commission for one month (for new users who sign up and open an account) if you invest in US stocks and ETFs.

Stocks Trading

Stock trading is one of the most common ways for individuals and institutions to invest in financial markets and potentially grow their wealth. When you buy a stock, you are essentially buying ownership of a public-listed company.

The goal of stock trading is to buy stocks with high growth potential for dividend yield or make profits through stock price fluctuations. However, different trading strategies such as long-term trading, day trading, swing trading and high-frequency trading may have a different time horizon and goal.

Options Trading

This is a type of financial derivative trading whereby you are buying the right (but not the obligation) to purchase a stock or an underlying asset at a specified price by a specific time on an exchange.

Options trading may be riskier than stock trading but it offers more flexibility to initiate a buy or sell decision according to where you think the market is heading. You can also use options as a hedging strategy to reduce risk exposure and limit losses when there is a sudden price drop in an asset in your investment portfolio.

Margin and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) Trading

Margin trading refers to investing in securities such as stocks or ETFs using borrowed funds from brokerages with investment platforms or financial institutions. This strategy helps to expand your investment potential which can lead to much greater returns than using your limited funds.

On the other hand, ETFs trading may offer more peace of mind if you are a low-risk and budget-conscious investor. It is ideal for portfolio diversification since you spread the risk by investing in blue-chip indices instead of buying individual blue-chip stocks. Because ETFs are traded on exchanges and are highly liquid, they are extremely useful for investors who want to profit from quickly moving in or out of a market.

Risks and Benefits of Trading

Before you dabble with different types of trading that may help you grow your wealth and optimise your idle funds, you must be mindful of the potential pitfalls that may negatively impact your portfolio.

Investment of any kind comes with risk of varying degree. Here is an overview of what you need to assess before jumping on the investment bandwagon.

Related: The Most Popular Types of Investment in Singapore (And How to Get the Most Out of Them)

What To Look For In An Online Trading Platform

Investing with trading platforms that complement your investing strategies can make your experience more rewarding. If you are in the midst of selecting the right investment platform, there are seven factors you must take note of.

Trading Fees

Pay attention to trading commissions, fees and any additional costs that may affect your overall cost of trading. Always look for platforms, like Webull, that offer transparent fees structure.

Ease of Diversification

An efficient investment platform should allow investors to spread their funds across multiple deals, risk-bands and geographies. These traits are essential for portfolio diversification.

Smart Portfolios

Trading platforms that have a decent range of investment products and market accesses can offer more growth potential than one with limited choices. More product choices also allow investors to diversify their trading risks.

For example, Webull’s Regular Savings Plan is a convenient service for investors to stay invested with minimum effort. You just need to decide the investment amount, the frequency and when to start, and the platform will use a dollar-cost averaging strategy to create a diversified portfolio accordingly.

User-Friendly Interface

The platform should be intuitive and easy to navigate. A platform with a sloppy user-interface can impede your trading experience and even increase the risk of making trading mistakes.

News and Analyses

Look for platforms that offer robust research tools such as real-time charts, watchlist, technical and fundamental analysis, news feeds and screeners. These features can help you make more informed decisions.

For example, trading platforms should be equipped with common technical analysis tools like Line, Bar, and Candlesticks to guide your trading. The Line charts offer an overall view of price action and analysing economic indicators while the Bar charts show you the price range, opening price and closing price for a specific period. Candlestick charts highlight four price points – open and close in the thick body, and high and low in the “candle wick”. It is useful for predicting price movement based on past patterns.

Extended Trading Hours

Platforms that offer pre-market and after-hours trading can provide investors with many unique opportunities. Trading with one that has extended trading hours can let you take advantage of those opportunities.

Accessible on Both Mobile and Desktop

This is a must-have feature to meet the needs of modern-day investors who want to trade anytime, anywhere. Efficient trading platforms like Webull Singapore will always offer both mobile and desktop interfaces to suit investors’ needs.

The downloadable mobile application allows you to gain access to live data and trading functions 24/7, no matter where you are. The desktop interface, on the other hand, enables highly customisable trading capabilities for product comparisons, charting and analysis.

What Webull Offers

Webull is an online broker with an all-in-one self-directed investment platform that provides quality user experience and advanced tools and services. It is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and holds a Capital Markets Services (CMS) Licence under the Securities and Futures Act 2001.

Webull prides itself as a global asset distribution platform characterised by low-cost trading, free real-time quotes, full extended hours trading and 24/7 in-app help centre. Key features that you can look forward to when trading with Webull include:

Special Features

Webull offers two additional features to help you enrich your idle cash:

*Figures shown are based on seven-day USD yield (P.A.) of the USD Cash Fund in Moneybull as of 13 October 2023 and not an indication of future performance.

Step-By-Step Guide to Making Your First Trade on Webull Singapore

You can start your trading journey with Webull in five simple steps.

Step 1. Open a Webull Singapore account by downloading the mobile app. You can register an account using your Singpass MyInfo or manually by completing the in-app application. Your account will be ready within a day.

Step 2. Log in to your Webull account using your user ID and password. Once you log in, you will be presented a myriad of information to help you make informed decisions.

Step 3. Fund your account to start trading with Webull. Deposit the amount of your choice because Webull does not impose any minimum deposit.

Step 4. Research the investment products available to you on the Webull trading platform. Once you have carefully studied the products suitable for creating a diversified portfolio, you can start placing the order.

Step 5. Select the product and quantity you want to invest in. Make sure you have enough deposited funds to cover the trade before executing it. Submit your order by clicking on ‘Buy’.

Conclusion

Investing does not have to be intimidating or require loads of startup capital. With intuitive features available on an advanced trading platform, a global community, and this handy beginner’s guide to investing, you too can become a seasoned trader in no time.

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Disclaimer: No content shall be considered as a recommendation or solicitation for the purchase or sale of securities, derivatives or any other investment products. Any advice or recommendation is intended for general circulation and does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any particular person. Please seek advice from a professional financial adviser regarding the suitability of the investment product before investing. Tools provided by Webull may provide general analysis upon your input but shall not be construed as providing investment advice or recommendation.

This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Terms and Conditions apply. For detailed terms and conditions and full disclaimer, please refer to our website at https://www.webull.com.sg/.

This post was sponsored by and written in collaboration with Webull. ValueChampion (part of AMTD PolicyPal) remains committed to maintaining our editorial integrity by providing the most accurate information and reviewing products with an objective lens. We strive to be an unbiased source of news and content, and are dedicated to helping our readers in their financial wellness journey.

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