Economy
Important Qualities and Features to Look for When Choosing an Online Trading Broker
A large number of people turn to market investments to multiply their fortune, and why not? After all, haven’t we all heard stories of the fortunate few who have raked in millions while tossing in their beds?
It is hard to not get swayed away by prospects like that. But market investments, be it stocks, cryptocurrencies, or forex, come with their fair share of risks.
But as they say, risk comes from not knowing what you are doing. The investment business can be extremely rewarding, yet at the same time, very unforgiving as well.
Play your cards right and you could very well plan an early retirement, but put the wrong foot forward and you are bound to lose your balance.
Given the high risk that accompanies investment in online trading, it is important to arm yourself with the best tools possible. To be profitable in the online trading market, the first thing that you need to have is an online trading broker that is reliable, easy, and intuitive to use and aligns with your investment goals and style. There are various online trading brokers for you to choose from.
But you must be careful while making the decision. While not many, there are some brokers that tend to make a profit at the expense of clients. You just need to do a little research and you will find an ideal broker for you; one that serves your interests. Here are some important qualities and features to look for when choosing an online trading broker.
Availability of Investment Research
If you are new to the world of investments, this is one feature you can really benefit from. Truth be told, this feature is essential not just for beginners, but also for veterans. An investment broker that offers research papers for free can help reduce your trading expenses and at the same time help you make more informed decisions. While stock and mutual fund research can also be purchased, it can be quite expensive.
Quality of Customer Service
When it comes to online broker services, the quality of customer service is something that is often overlooked. Depending on what kind of asset you are trading on, your trading hours could be spread across the day and not just be limited to the opening bell and the closing bell of the stock market. While selecting an investment broker, it is important that you opt for one that offers excellent customer service round the clock. The customer services should be competent, efficient, and well trained
Regulations
The best way of judging the credibility and reliability of a broker is to look at the regulations and requirements that the broker adheres to. For instance, when it comes to cryptocurrency, the investment business remains largely unregulated. However, when it comes to forex, the brokers must be members of the National Futures Association and must strictly abide by its rules. The same applies to other investment platforms as well.
Website Interface
While using an online broker, the website of the broker is amongst the most important aspects that one must consider. Given that all your trade would be made via the website, it is important that the interface and the navigation of the website are intuitive and easy to understand.
You might end up selecting a broker with a lower cost per trade, but if the website of the broker is poorly designed, it would take longer to complete a trade and the extra effort required may not be worth the few bucks that you saved on the cost of a trade.
The experienced investors at https://www.trusted-broker-reviews.com/ic-markets/ suggest taking a free trial of the brokerage services before making a commitment. Various brokerage services offer such free demo accounts and these can go a long way in experiencing the broker first hand.
Types of Investment Options Available
To cement your position in the investment market, you need to diversify your investments. You should invest in different kinds of assets, from stocks to mutual funds, cryptocurrencies to forex. This helps you stay afloat even when the prices go down or the market hits a perigee. The ability to invest in different investment options is a great feature to have in online trading brokers.
Costs Involved
While selecting an online investment broker you must be careful of the various costs that you incur beyond the initial application fee. These costs are often difficult to identify while registering and you could be in for a rude awakening further down the line.
Cost Per Trade
Cost per trade is often used as a standard benchmark to compare the cost incurred while using different trading brokers. This is one aspect that can be easily quantified, which makes it a good way of comparing different brokers. While this might be a straightforward way of comparing brokers, there are various other costs that also must be considered and a low cost per trade may not exactly translate into a lower overall expenditure. For instance, if you invest exclusively in mutual funds, a low cost per trade would be pointless for you.
Initial Investment Required
More often than not, brokers require you to make a minimum initial investment, which can be thousands of dollars. If you are a newbie, investing such a large amount on the get-go doesn’t make sense and carries a huge risk. As a beginner, you should try and opt for a broker that either does not require any initial investment or at least limits it to a reasonable amount.
Making the right investments can help you make a notable profit, but at the same time, it can also be equally disastrous. The unpredictable nature of the value of such assets makes it important to make the right decisions at the right time. As such, choosing the best broker is important for your success as an investor.
There are various factors that must be considered while selecting the right broker for you; all the way from website layout and cost per trade to the investment options available and the statutes and regulations. Keep an eye out for these features and qualities, and you will be able to select a broker that suits you.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent Petroleum Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has advised Nigerians to begin to look into the direction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as an alternative energy source to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.
The National President of IPMAN, Mr Chinedu Okorokwo, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, as the federal government continues its dialogue with the organised labour over the hike in the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.
On May 29, 2023, during his inaugural speech, President Bola Tinubu said the payment of subsidy for fuel had ended because there was no provision for it in the 2023 budget beyond June 30.
His announcement triggered the hoarding of fuel by marketers, and when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited increased the price of the product across its retail outlets, prices of food, transportation and services went up, forcing the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to threaten a nationwide strike, which was supposed to start today but was stopped by the National Industrial Court.
At a meeting on Monday night between the government and the labour unions, it was agreed that the adoption of CNG as an alternative fuel would be the best option, and it was agreed that the CNG conversion programme earlier planned in 2021 should be revived.
CNG, which is a gas mainly composed of methane and produces less emission, is the cleanest burning fuel operating today with less vehicle maintenance and longer engine life.
In the interview with NAN, Mr Okoronkwo said bringing CNG, which was cheaper than even firewood, as an alternative energy, would create relief for the government and its citizens.
“We have also discovered that bringing an alternative that is cheaper than even firewood which is CNG, will not only create relief for the government and its citizens but it is environmentally friendly.
“The CNG is abundantly available in Nigeria than anywhere in Africa.
“In the Niger Delta region, you see billions of tonnes of gas flare being wasted daily, these are huge amounts that should be accruing to our GDP, but we are wasting it because there is no market for it.
“So, we are asking the government to create the market. How do you create the market?
“What Egypt and India did was to give soft loans to be paid back within stipulated periods; from there, you can get vehicles to use gas instead of fuel,” he said.
“There’s a franchise for the bottling of CNG so that an average woman in the kitchen can use it,’’ he added, noting that the introduction of CNG would cushion the effect occasioned by the high price of fuel currently as a litre of CNG would not cost more than N130.
He advised that repairing the local refineries as well would reduce the impact of the removal as it would eliminate the cost of importation and exportation.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that Nigeria’s tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio has been upwardly reviewed to 10.86 per cent from the 6 per cent earlier reported to reflect better data sources and improved estimation using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) manual.
The OECD manual is an improvement over the System of National Accounts (SNA 2008) classification of taxes.
Although the System of National Accounts conceptual framework and its definitions of the various sectors of the economy are reflected in the OECD’s classification of taxes, the OECD classifications provide the maximum disaggregation of statistical data on what is generally regarded as taxes by tax administrations.
In a disclosure, the statistics office said the country’s total tax revenue compared with its GDP was at that level in 2021, higher than 8.40 per cent in 2020, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the previous year, the ratio was 10.20 per cent, marginally lower than the 10.36 per cent recorded in 2018 but higher than the 9.02 per cent in 2017.
The NBS said the revised computation considered more comprehensive coverage of data at the federal, state, and local government levels and revenue items not previously included in the computations, particularly relevant revenue collected by other government agencies.
The review of the tax-to-GDP ratio was initiated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the NBS for better measurement of the ratio.
The data used were sourced from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), FIRS, NBS, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Joint Tax Board (JTB), and other relevant agencies of government that collect revenue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
VFD Group Plc has announced its intention to list its shares on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) after leaving the NASD Over-the-Counter Securities Exchange, where it has been trading its stocks for the past three years.
This development, according to analysts, is a strategic move that would allow the company to gain access to public equity markets, increase its visibility, and strengthen its financial position.
VFD Group Plc is a leading proprietary investment company with a proven track record of generating attractive returns for its investors through a variety of investment strategies.
The company has a diverse portfolio of investments in various sectors, including banking, technology, media, energy, and real estate. The group has been listed on the NASD OTC Securities Exchange since 2020.
Speaking on this big step, Mr Nonso Okpala, Group Managing Director of VFD Group, stated, “We are excited to take this next step in the evolution of our company.”
“Listing on a major stock exchange will give us access to a larger pool of investors, enhance our profile, and provide superior returns to our investors,” he added.
With the intention of listing on the NGX, the company will delist from the NASD and is subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions.
VFD Group noted that it would provide additional updates as the listing process progresses.
At the close of business on Tuesday, the securities of the organisation closed on the NASD OTC exchange at N244.88 per unit, the same rate they finished in the preceding trading session.
Business Post reports that the NASD was created to provide an avenue for public companies to transition smoothly into the country’s main stock exchange.
However, it has witnessed the movement of firms from the NGX to the NASD, especially due to the very strict regulatory requirements by the former.
