ETF trading platform

Online trading has revolutionized the stock market.

Trading has always been for the elite, especially for powerful investors. Since the investment market is governed by complex financial rules and instruments, it usually takes a lot of experience and knowledge to penetrate this area.

However, with the advent of the Internet, online trading changed everything. Online trading has popularized this financial market and made its practice available to the general public. Even without special education, investment activity is now available to everyone! This, of course, does not mean at all that you do not have to study the intricacies of the exchange business, but it is much easier to do this in modern conditions.

Physical trading has several stages and therefore takes longer. The online trading process is shorter and faster. This is the reason why online trading has become more popular and dominates the market in many countries around the world.

Trading is the trading of securities through an online trading portal and can include various financial instruments such as mutual funds, stocks and commodities. The online trading platform allows traders and investors to buy / sell these financial instruments.

Today we will look at such an interesting financial instrument as ETF.

So, the topic of our today's brief review is the ETF trading platform.

Investing in ETFs

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are a stock market instrument that combines the best features of mutual funds and stocks.

The purpose of exchange-traded funds is to repeat the dynamics chosen as the basis of the index. For example, if the stock index of a particular company grows 30% during the year, the exchange-traded fund that copies the index should also grow 30% excluding costs.

Another important characteristic of exchange-traded funds is their high liquidity.

Exchange-traded funds are very popular with investors, amid a noticeable decline in interest in traditional investment funds. And this is not surprising, because exchange-traded funds have many advantages in use compared to conventional funds. According to official estimates, about a third of the volume of trading in the United States accounts for transactions with exchange-traded funds.

Today the line of ETFs is not limited to stocks and indices only. Bonded, commodity, metal, currency exchange-traded funds, funds of individual countries and regions, real estate funds, mixed funds, funds of a certain management style (for example, defensive or growth funds), leveraged funds, inverse funds, etc. are actively created.

How to Invest in ETFs?

Exchange-traded funds are listed on the stock exchange like ordinary securities.

If you are interested in investing in ETFs, you should first find a reliable ETF broker.

Finding a broker doesn't have to be difficult. Today's brokerage market is oversaturated with offers. For starters, a reliable brokerage company must be licensed to conduct brokerage activities. Sort companies by eligible permissions, selecting only licensed companies. Then study the activities of the selected brokers and select the one with good reviews, acceptable commissions and a convenient trading platform.

With ETFs, you can invest in company stocks and bonds, real estate, commodities, currencies, and more. Today there are about 6,000 ETFs.

Best ETF Trading Platform

Having chosen a reliable broker for online trading, you have to register on the trading platform that this broker offers to work. An online trading platform is software with which you will have access to all transactions on the exchange. In addition, high-quality platforms offer access to up-to-date information, offer convenient trading and analysis tools. We have selected the best platform for ETF trading, in our opinion. This platform features easy registration, a demo account, a wide selection of deposit options and available limits. Let's take a closer look at these benefits.

How to register?

Registration does not take much time and does not require a large amount of personal data - a new user will lose only a few minutes by filling in only a few lines in the registration form, such as “name, surname” and “e-mail address”. At the first registration, this data is sufficient. It is also possible to use personal information from social networks. Confirm the registration using the standard method using an email by clicking on the automatic link that the system will send you. Your account is ready to use.

Later, when you need to withdraw money from your account on the platform, the system may request additional data, such as copies of documents confirming your identity. These are additional security measures for the safety of your funds. Just follow the system prompts - it's really easy.

Using a demo account

Open a demo account. This is an exact replica of a real account, the only difference being that the real account will already contain your real funds, while the demo account is credited with fictitious money for test operations. With a demo account you can make test operations on the platform in order to understand how it works: how to buy or sell assets, how to activate a certain function, such as a stop loss or multiplier, and so on. You will not risk any real money. On the balance of the demo account you will immediately see the amount of dummy funds in the amount of $10000. You can use this amount as many times as you need. There is no time limit on using the demo account either.

Get to know the platform and all of its available tools before you sign up for a live account. 

A demo account allows you to try your hand at trading without any real risk. Only start trading with real funds once you have tried out the demo account.

Account replenishment

To start trading on the platform, you will need to activate your live account by funding it with at least the system's minimum deposit limit of $10. Topping up your account is very easy. To do this, click on the 'make a deposit' option on the platform and use one of the funding methods offered by the platform. You can make a deposit using a bank card or through online payment systems such as WebMoney, AdvCash, Skrill, Perfect money or Neteller.

You can withdraw money from the system later using the same methods. The minimum withdrawal amount is $2.

Platform tools for successful ETF trading

On the platform it is possible to connect stop orders, called stop loss and take profit. Stop orders are a universal risk management method used in trading to effectively limit potential losses. It gives traders the flexibility to trade with confidence. In most cases traders use stop orders to set a certain price level at which an existing order will automatically close if the price touches it. A stop loss automatically closes the placed position when the price reaches the set price level. A StopLoss order can close a trade for either the entire volume at once or for 1 individual trade (lot). The opposite order, the main purpose of which is to fix profit from the transaction, is Take Profit.

Having the ability to set stop orders is one of the advantages of a quality trading platform.

Indicators

Another advantage of the platform is the availability of indicators to enable technical analysis.

Technical analysis indicators are algorithms that provide information about future prices using data about quotes over a certain period of time.

Every technical analysis indicator is based on a formula. This formula is used to make calculations. Depending on the type of the indicator or its purpose, the formula may vary. For instance, one formula calculates the average price for a certain period, another calculates the closing or opening price of the market, and so on.

The platform contains almost all of the known indicators. This is very convenient, so it also plays a big role when choosing a platform.

What ETFs does our chosen platform offer?

The platform we have chosen offers 23 ETF options for trading. Let's take a look at some of them:

• S&P 500 ETF (ticker SPY)  - one of the largest and most popular ETFs in the world as it tracks the S&P 500 Index. Managed by State Street Global Advisors, it offers full index returns with no expenses included. SPY has managed to become an extremely popular fund among traders as it switches between risky and safe-haven assets. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF tracks the performance of the 500 largest and most liquid US blue-chips listed on US stock exchanges. As a result, the ETF's performance is influenced by prevailing general economic conditions affecting the US economy, such as interest rates, inflation levels, economic activity, US dollar strength, geopolitics, industrial production, trading activity and company-specific fundamentals, such as income and earnings growth, currency volatility, wage levels and investor sentiment.

• Semiconductor ETF (ticker SMH) VANECK Vectors Semiconductor - is an ETF operating in the US. The fund tracks the performance of the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. The fund invests in the largest and most liquid companies listed in the US that operate in the semiconductor sector. The ETF has a rule of thumb: hold no more than 20% in any security. The fund invests mainly in large US semiconductor companies, so its performance is influenced by factors affecting companies in the semiconductor sector. Because of its high concentration in US equities, the fund's results are affected by geopolitical events and trade wars, which can affect the performance of the US semiconductor sector relative to sovereign competitors. Fundamental events, such as shocks to the supply-demand imbalance in consumer electronics, PCs, smartphones, servers and memory, together with trade policy and technological changes, could affect the fund's future performance.

• Utilities SPDR (ticker XLU) - SPDR SELECT SECTOR FUND - is an exchange-traded fund traded in the United States. The fund seeks to deliver investment performance in line with the Utilities Sector Choice Index. The index tracks communications services, electricity suppliers and natural gas distributors. The fund invests primarily in large US utility sector companies. As a result, its performance is affected by factors affecting companies in this sector, such as regulations, energy prices and environmental concerns. These companies typically offer relatively high dividend payouts because of their stable businesses and are considered countercyclical stocks, making the fund an ideal choice in severe market downturns.

• Energy SPDR (ticker XLE) - is a fund traded on an exchange in the US. The ETF follows the performance of the Energy Select Sector Index. The ETF consists of large-cap US energy companies. Specifically, it invests in companies that develop and produce crude oil and natural gas, provide drilling and other energy-related services. Regular rebalancing of holdings depends on market capitalisation. The fund is linked to energy giants in the US energy sector and, as a result, its results are strongly influenced by macro and micro conditions affecting these companies. The most important factor is the price of oil and natural gas, determined by supply and demand forces. Demand and supply for these energy carriers are influenced by geopolitical factors, existing and new reserves, economic development, regulation, trade policy and technological advances.

Other important features of the platform

In addition to the aforementioned benefits, the platform also offers many customisation options for your convenience. If things don't work out, the support team is always on hand, and operators offer help in 17 languages, so you're sure to get the advice you need in a language you understand. There's also live chat, so you can chat with other traders.

On the platform, you'll find an entire education section, with plenty of video tutorials. The lessons are in simple and easy to understand language, with examples on the chart, so even for a newcomer the lesson will be understandable and useful.

The news section helps you stay up-to-date, and the possibility to set the news feed display directly on the working part of the screen allows you to follow news updates without having to stop working.

With the flexible settings you can easily choose your preferred chart format, number of windows, notification options and so on.

As you can see, this platform is really very functional and easy to work with.

In our opinion, this is the best platform for ETF trading.

Open a demo account today and see for yourself!