Top 5 Ways to Develop Your Online Trading Portfolio

Building a trading portfolio is one of the most common ways of spreading risk and investing in a range of interesting products. You can tailor your portfolio to suit your specialist knowledge, buying or selling products as you see markets turn. Whilst it can be a good idea to follow other traders or use the services of a talented portfolios investments manager, we’ve some top tips to help you better develop your own online trading portfolio, so take a look…

1: Use the forums

Trading websites often host an area for traders to chat. On these forums, you’ll find traders sharing their tips, predictions and recommendations on things to avoid. Whilst they won’t always be right, it can be useful to read what they have to say and reconsider your potential investments. As they say, two (thousand) heads are better than one!

2: Ask the experts

Many trading services employ the talents of experts who analyse the markets, write up reports, make recommendations and more. Sometimes you can even ask an expert a specific question, and they’ll respond to you. These people have made a career from watching the markets, so it seems prudent to at least consider what they have to say.

3: Follow successful traders

Some traders are more successful than others. Some sites allow you to view the most successful traders and “follow” them (much like Twitter or Facebook). You can then see what they’ve been trading, how well they performed, and potentially read posts about their theories or predictions. Trading features might also include a “mimic” mode in which you can copy the trades which other investors make.

4: Take training

Webinars, offline meet-ups and guidebooks, amongst other options, are great ways to learn about trading. Even top traders can benefit from learning something new, particularly if they’re venturing into an unfamiliar market. The markets are often changing in terms of products, pace and prices, so taking some trading to keep up to speed should help you minimise your losses and improve on your gains.

5: Use a variety of platforms and sites

It’s tempting to continue using one site and trading platform once you’re used to it. However, different sites and platforms offer different services and features. Some are better equipped to help you trade in a particular market, whilst others will have more options and tools which are specific to a market you may not normally trade within. Even if you’re satisfied with the service you’re using, you might still benefit from looking elsewhere and combining your forces.

The lowdown:

Developing an online trading portfolio is a great way to spread risk, stay engaged with the markets and (hopefully) make a steady profit. Exploring your options can improve these factors even more, and there are plenty of tools and other resources out there to help you do it.