Millennial is the name given to the generation born from 1981 to 1996 which includes me. Fast forward and that means we’re now turning 40 and should have our lives together.
While your 20s were focused on friendships and partying, your 30s were spent progressing your career, building families, and ticking many life goals including building a home and upgrading the car.
Now in your 40s, if things have gone well, you’ll have a decent wage, expenses in check and some disposable cash. Now is the perfect time to consider accelerating the path to paying off the mortgage early, or even setting up for early retirement.
While the property market is certainly an option for many, other opportunities include entering the stock market.
In the 2020s, Millennials can often afford to take a portion of their income, or overall wealth and risk it, for the opportunity to grow our wealth beyond what’s possible with a simple 9-5 job. How much of your income or savings you’re willing to invest is a very personal decision as we all have a very different risk appetite.
Disclaimer: What you are about to read is certainly not financial advice, so do your own research.
Stock Trading as a favourable investment for millennials
The days of term deposits with 5% interest are long gone, so making higher rate of returns through investments is a highly risky endeavour. This is because there’s a possibility of making profits and losses in equal measure. For this reason, I only invest amounts that I am prepared to go to zero and know our family would still be financially fine.
Some investments are less risky than others, such as stock trading. Stock trading is a manageable way for millennials to start their investment journey before becoming gurus in analysing investment opportunities. Also, stock trading provides various companies that millennials can invest in to diversify their risks instead of putting all their eggs in one basket.
The Trading Platform
As a millennial trying to find their standing in stock trading investing, it helps to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of stock trading. You can utilize many resources to learn stock trading, such as eBooks, YouTube videos, social media, and by getting insight from the gurus of stock trading.
Once you’ve found a level of comfort in the information and are keen to dip your toe in the water, it’s time you find the right trading platform to start.
With the many trading platforms available, how do you pick the right one for you? This article will give you tips to help with your selection process.
1. Determine your investment needs
Knowing what you need from your investment, including what to invest in, will help you find a suitable platform. This is because different trading platforms have varying capabilities.
An Online Trading Platform by Maqro is good for trading ASX stocks, while another platform is known for mutual funds or bonds.
Choose one specific to your needs to get the most from your platform. Although using an all-inclusive tool is advantageous, you’ll get more from a platform specializing in a given trade.
2. Check the Interface
Interface refers to the trading platform’s site where you’ll be undertaking your operations. Although most millennials are proficient in navigating software, you included, it helps to have a system that’s easy to use.
Trading itself is a complexity, especially in the early stages; you don’t want the platform’s complexity to add to your pile of stresses.
One of the main aspects to look out for is a menu, which helps you quickly access information just by clicking a button.
3. Additional Features
Yes, a trading platform is mainly meant for trading, but a provider should go beyond this to enhance user experience as you utilize the platform.
Besides the actual trading aspect, the right platform will provide additional information, such as the current prices and performance of stocks in the market and provide general information about trading, stocks, and various economies.
The aim is to settle for a platform that offers information and data to help you make your trading decisions.
Another essential feature to look out for is security. You want to safeguard your investments. Inquire about the platform’s security features:
- Have they adopted data protection laws?
- Do they utilize a log-in system or have a multi-factor authentication system?
- Who has access to your account?
Asking such questions will help you gauge your stocks and personal data safety. Be sure to settle for the trading platform with advanced security features.
4. Platform Performance
A trading platform’s performance is an essential aspect to consider; it more or less determines your success rates and the kind of customer experience you’ll have. With the many platforms available, of course, there are rankings, just like any other industry, where for instance, a given bank is the most preferred due to its performance.
As a beginner in stock or NFT trading, you might not be well aware of the platforms performing well. Consider looking for reviews on various platforms; you’ll be getting feedback from first-hand users. They’re more experienced; therefore, consider taking their advice even as you do your due diligence.
5. Watch our for the fees
Last but not least, check the trading fees. Different trading platforms will ask for different prices for their services. You need to weigh your options by comparing prices with several platforms. The comparison will help you gauge how much you should be paying on average. It’ll also help you from being conned, where you’ll pay more for fewer services.
It’d also help to consider the payment options available. Some platforms will ask for a one-time fee, others monthly or yearly payments. With others, you’ll have to give them a percentage for every trade you make.
In this case, the right trading platform is one whose payment plan is convenient to you, prices are transparent, and one you can afford comfortably based on your budget.
Conclusion
As a millennial, you’re now better placed to decide on the trading platform to use for your investment journey.
Be sure to implement the tips discussed, research the hell of any company you are planning on investing in before doing so, so you’ve adequately assessed the risk and remember: past performance is not a prediction of the future.
