Is There Money In Freelance Trading?

By Z Halliwell
Self-employment and the gig economy have seen a rise in popularity as alternative employment in recent years. In fact, there are currently 53 million freelancers in America right now - making up an incredible 34% of the overall workforce. Which begs the question: if freelancing is the future of work, is it also the future of stock trading?

If you want to work where, when and how you want then it may be a career path you consider for yourself. Of course, being a freelance trader is a risky business. Not a role for the faint of heart. You need to exert patience and courage in equal measure, sometimes in the space of minutes!

However, for a person with the right mind for finance and stock this could be a dream come true. Here are a few of the ways freelance trading could work for you: 

Day Trading

One of the ways to become a freelancer in trading is to take up day trading, both for yourself and others. Doing so means you only hold the positions in stock for very short periods of time, sometimes on minutes depending on the volatility of the market, whilst also making numerous trades throughout the day.

Day trading requires more than just lucky guessing:

• Long-term strategy and real-time quotes to ensure they are always are of market changes.
• Access to live news from multiple sources.
• Insight into short-term market movements.
• PI Insurance - especially if you are trading on behalf of a client.
• Analytical software used to determine trade patterns instantly and half trade times.

Investment firms also hire people to do day trading for them, so you don’t necessarily have to work only for yourself in this case. If you do, be aware that it is your own capital you are trading and it is fully susceptible to being lost.

Penny Stock Trading

The name penny stock trading refers to low-cost, high-risk stocks. Many new investors may think this is an ideal way to start their trading careers, however, just because you are investing a small amount of capital does not mean it will be easy.

Of course, it is possible to turn a small investment portfolio into one with great monetary value if you make the right decisions with your trading. But you must be aware of the potential risk and scams that do occur with these short-lived trades.

Binary Options

Looking for a shorter option than day trading? If you have other freelance work in the pipeline and don’t have time to spend whole days dedicated to day trading, then binary option trading may be the perfect alternative for you. In this case, it is a simple process of answering a yes or no question.

For example, will a certain stock be above $1,000 dollars at 3pm on Sunday? You choose the answer you believe it will be, at precisely that time, and then sell the binary option. This may come across as highly simplistic, but it relies on a number of strategies and tools to actually get right. There are plenty of brokers who deal in this type of trading - with small deposits required to get started - so it’s an accessible way to start freelance trading for most people.

The key, no matter if you choose to trade full time as a freelancer or on the side of a full-time job, is to learn how to do it properly. Treating stock trading like a game of chance is the worst thing you can do, so beware!