The retail trading markets have seen an immense rise in the UK, thanks to the CoronaVirus pandemic. During the lockdown period of 2020, the Bank of England cut down the interest rate for savers. As people also got the time to educate them and tried something new, it increased amateur traders. As traders can’t speculate in the financial markets without having a trading account, it eventually led to the popularity of banks and brokers offering such services. Among those, the online platforms were the biggest winners.
With an online retail trading account, you get the assurance of accessing the trade market 24/7. Also, you don’t have to be a professional to open an account, and your transaction instrument won’t be limited for specific reasons. It’s pretty easy to open, too, as all the verification process happens online. So perhaps, people thought, why not make some money trading! It’s effortless, anyway!
However, things are never as straightforward as it sounds. Some other reasons also contributed to the recent retail trading frenzy online. Some of these reasons are:
User-friendly online platforms
The online brokers that offer easy-to-open trading accounts also usually come with a powerful, easily accessible web platform to trade. Usually, traders can perform all trading activities on a smartphone and an internet connection, irrespective of where they are. These platforms are rich with features and make trading activities feel like a breeze. For example, a detailed snapshot will provide you with a complete overview of your holdings, including live quotes, key figures, and datasheets. You could also explore different markets through a stock screener using an intuitive search engine and access historical reports, multi charts, economic calendars, detailed recommendations, etc.
One place for multiple global trades
Some advanced platforms, often the same ones, also work as a full suite for the global trader. In one place, you will get access to stocks and securities from all over the world. Thus, you can create a hugely diverse portfolio with assets from different markets and exchanges—the usual facilities, including 24/7 live price, intuitive trading chart, and trade-related news, also apply to global markets. Moreover, thanks to automatic orders and customized watchlists, and such, you won’t even need to remain awake and active all the time.
Commission-free trading opportunities
Not only do the online brokers charge little to no fee for maintaining your trading account, but also they offer commission-free or zero-fee trading on some particular assets. Alongside, you can trade the market at any condition and direction with CFDs FX, indices and futures on Commodity CFDs. It also requires no commission if you don’t use any leverages.
The bottom line is that people had some extra cash in hand and nothing much to do during the pandemic. Hence, they doubled up in opening trading accounts to make some money. With trading becoming so effortless and inexpensive, the real surprise would have been if people still didn’t want to invest and make money.
