Saturday, October 1, 2011
Is wireless trading right for you?
The online wireless trading revolution inches ever more closely with each new innovative wireless device. WiFi has become the buzz word for the decade as more and more laptops, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), phones, and pocket PCs come equipped with the ability to connect to the internet from virtually anywhere.
Many brokerages are scrambling to offer wireless capability to their panoply of product offerings. The most nimble ones already offer the ability to place equity, option, mutual fund, and futures trading orders and to review order status. Some are offering real-time quotes and charts as well as market updates and news.
Usually the same commission schedule applies whether you are trading using your personal computer or your wireless device. But this can vary from one brokerage firm to another. Online security, always of paramount concern, likely occupies the minds of even the most computer savvy of individual investors. But with today’s encryption standards, the likelihood of foul play is virtually minimized to insignificance. The risks of market deviations likely outweigh the risks of someone else getting to your sensitive data. All of the same security features that are available on personal computers, are almost always available on wireless devices.
So what about placing wireless trades while outside of the US? This prospect is wholly dependent on what type of device you are using. For example, a wireless phone with web capabilities will typically allow you to trade from virtually any country in the world. On the other hand, Palm® and Pocket PCs usually have a limited range within the US due to the coverage of those particular networks. As more investors enter the wireless trading fray, it is expected to significantly boost the quality of wireless services provided by brokerage firms. The various firms will be ever so anxious to provide the next greatest streaming application for real-time stock market quotes, market news, futures trends, and more. From here, it only gets better.
So the question bears asking: Is wireless trading right for you? The answer to this question lies in how you rate yourself as a techie. If you consider yourself to be an eight or better on a scale of ten (in terms of how comfortable you are with gadgets), and you are also the type of person who likes to have tight control over your accounts, then wireless trading is likely for you. The wireless coverage is rapidly expanding and you will likely be very happy with the added freedom to trade from wherever you happen to be. On the other hand, if you still dread programming your VCR or DVD player, perhaps you should stick tight with your personal desktop computer. There is no reason to jump into the wireless trading community unless you decidedly see the need.
Labels:
Online Trading
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