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 Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.
The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.
At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.
According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.
It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.
The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.
The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.
As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.
Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.
Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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