Technology is leveling the playing field for investors around the world. Trading complex financial instruments like foreign currency or options is no longer reserved for institutional players and high-rollers alone. Thanks to the Internet, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, online trading platforms like the one offered by Octa broker arm everyday investors and traders with many of the same tools, analysis and insights as their professional counterparts.
Thanks to technology, traders now get real-time access to global markets and multiple asset classes. Executing trades and testing ideas is easier, faster and more efficient than ever, thanks to the advancements in technology.
Doing More Than Leveling The Playing Field
Beyond leveling the playing field for millions of investors across the globe, technology has made online trading cheaper and more transparent. Technology automates many aspects of trading, enabling online brokers to lower their commissions and fees – passing along those savings to their customers.
Thanks to advances in technology, information sharing has improved – whether it's parties trading on a blockchain or traders using the Internet to research a strategy. Big data allows online brokers that leverage AI to analyze large amounts of financial information and create actionable tools for their traders. All that information sharing empowers traders to make smarter decisions, potentially increasing their total returns.
The information sharing can also be found in the advanced tools traders now have access to. Take Octa's pattern recognition trading tool as one example. Launched in December, the tool automatically searches for technical analysis patterns using a large dataset of expert-curated content and AI-powered models that pick relevant figures from historical data. Once displayed on the AI Pattern Recognition tool screen, the patterns can then be transferred to the user's trading chart in a couple of clicks. The AI Pattern Recognition tool comes in handy for those trading on faster timeframes, empowering speedy, efficient decision-making and reducing cognitive load.
Enhanced Transparency In Financial Operations
Technology also makes trading more transparent. Reading the fine print is a lot easier, thanks to technology. Customers can find all the pertinent information in the FAQ sections, including fees, transaction charges and interest. There's no need to pore over quarterly statements to see all the fees eating away at your investment dollars after the fact. If the online broker isn't transparent, it should raise a red flag that something is amiss.
Transparency is something Octa spends a lot of time thinking about. To win the trust of its traders, Octa makes sure nothing is hidden, enabling traders to make informed decisions without having to comb through the fine print. It's across the board. Octa says it ensures transparency in all trading operations, clearly reflecting conditions in the terms and conditions to enable traders to make informed decisions. That level of transparency breeds mutual respect and loyalty and is a win-win for everyone, says Octa.
Protecting Traders From The Nefarious Side
The Internet is a great equalizer but it can also pose harm for investors trading online. Hackers look for ways to steal money and information and manipulate trades. Hacks can come from mistakes made by users themselves – clicking on a link from a murky source or sending sensitive information on a public WiFi – or from a third party like a cloud hosting provider.
Either way, advances in technology are protecting users from the threats coming their way. Take multi-factor authentication, for example. Anyone logging in to an account has to confirm their identity through a password and another device, making it much more difficult for hackers or scammers to infiltrate a platform. Ensuring software is up to date is another way to keep hackers out. If there are no security holes, there's no way in.
Those two features and many more are the backbone of Octa and other modern brokerages' platforms. They take security seriously and make sure their platforms and the third parties they contract with have secure and safe systems that adapt to the ever changing threat landscape.
Risk Management Through Technology
With trading come several associated risks, such as getting out too early, staying in too long, following the pack, taking too many chances and so on. Mitigating these risks is half the battle for any trader, and technology is a useful weapon. Thanks to technology, investors and traders can set parameters to prevent costly mistakes.
Take stop-loss orders. Traders can set up automatic stop-loss orders so that if the position falls to a price specified by the trader, it will be closed out. It's automatic and takes the emotion out of the trade. Traders decide in advance how much risk they can stand and won't find themselves clinging to a trade in hopes it goes back up. If your online broker doesn't offer stop-loss trades, it’s not doing enough to protect you.
To learn more about how Octa is leveraging technology, click here.
Leverage is another area that can be risky for traders. Leverage trading or margin trading allows traders to purchase stocks or currencies with borrowed money from the brokerage. In Forex trading, leverage tends to be higher than with stocks and the higher the leverage, the more risk there is. In addition to losses, investors may face a margin call or liquidation. That occurs when the money in the account falls below the margin level set by the broker. In that situation, the trader has to fund the account or close positions to meet the margin call. If the trader fails to do so, the broker could liquidate all the positions, resulting in even bigger losses.
To help mitigate that risk, Octa's proprietary trading platform offers a change leverage tool that lets you open new orders with any leverage you choose without affecting the leverage of existing orders. This unique feature allows for greater flexibility and offers additional scope to those using various instruments and timeframes during a single session. The global broker offers clear and transparent terms and conditions for traders and provides clear and understandable terms for how to responsibly use leverage.
Technology is leveling the playing field, opening trading to a new class of investors. It’s protecting them, increasing transparency, mitigating risk and making it more affordable to everyone involved.
Disclaimer: Trading involves risks and may not be suitable for all investors. Use your expertise wisely and evaluate all associated risks before making an investment decision.
Featured photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash.
This post contains sponsored content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.
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