Recommendations for Stock Broker platform

[BigDataPro]

I always have had an impression that stock market is gambling. May be I was conditioned that way during younger years.

Anyway, for the past 3-4 months I have been studying Price Action, practising equity trading, candlestick patterns etc with Mock currency (Paper Trading). Now I want to do it with real money.

I would like to start with equity trading and am looking for a cheap/discount broker platform that doesn't charge too much for every buy/sell transaction.

What online trading platform do you use? Are there any transaction limits per month? What are the fees?

Thanks

[woody1]

I always have had an impression that stock market is gambling.

Short-term trading is. Long term investment isn't.

I've seen lots of counter-arguments against trading being gambling but the fact is if you risk money on an uncertain outcome then that is gambling.

[BigDataPro]

Short-term trading is. Long term investment isn't.

I've seen lots of counter-arguments against trading being gambling but the fact is if you risk money on an uncertain outcome then that is gambling.

True. I agree that trading (Short term) and investing (Long term) are completely different things. I learned a few Fundamental Analysis basic ratios for the Investing and few Technical Analysis / Candlestick patterns (Steve Nison) during my free time, gained some basic understanding about Risk vs Reward ratios etc.

I just want to start small through a cheap broker and test the waters.

[ladymuck]

I used to tinker many years ago and I think I used ig.com it was simple enough to use (and lose!)

[BigDataPro]

... it was simple enough to use (and lose!)

Having studied, watched many different books & videos on Trading/Investing, I have realised that except for the factors that cannot be controlled by us, it is quite possible to get a decent return through careful selection of stocks. Having said that most people would have lost a lot during events like Covid.

Since last month I have slowly started investing real money in a non-UK market and the returns till today is not that bad. Careful selection of stocks and patience is the key!

Now I want to do it in the UK with an affordable trading platform.

[ladymuck]

Yeah, I made a few bob through luck and guesswork but only a couple of hundred quid. It didn't interest me enough to make a proper effort of it.

[woody1]

You might be better asking on a trading forum but FWIW I've heard good things about Interactive Brokers.

Seems this review agrees.
https://uk.stockbrokers.com/guides/s...aling-accounts

[BigDataPro]

You might be better asking on a trading forum but FWIW I've heard good things about Interactive Brokers.

Seems this review agrees.
https://uk.stockbrokers.com/guides/s...aling-accounts

woody1 Thanks for the link. I have picked the cheapest one from that list!

[Lance]

if you want super-powered gambling then use a leveraged platform.
You bet $10, they 'add' $90 to your buy. So you now have $100.
If you sell at $150 you pay them back $90 plus a fee (say $5), and you keep $45.

Turning $10 into $45 for a stick that has only increased by 50% is tempting no?


I tried it with this platform https://www.plus500.com/en/?id=12933...hoCn1QQAvD_BwE

Thing is, if the stock dips even a tiny bit, you go into negative, they liquidate 'your' stock and keep your $10, plus any more cash you put in. So only do it if you have a decent amount of cash you are willing to lose.
Almost exactly like gambling. The odds are stacked in their favour.

There's even a warning banner at the top that says " 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. "

[woody1]

Re. leverage

In addition to CFDs, there's also spread betting, futures, options. There are even 3x leveraged ETFs for many stocks.

At least with options and leveraged ETFs, you can only lose the amount you've invested. With CFDs, spread betting and futures, you can lose a whole lot more; potentially draining your account until you get a margin call.