Brokerage trading platforms have marked a before and after for the stock brokerage industry, almost permanently abolishing the old commission-based model that significantly increased the cost of trading stocks and other financial instruments.
The New Trends
The adoption of this trend by the largest brokerage firms globally has been a turning point that seems to have no return and investors are applauding this new status quo. As a result, some studies reveal that the number of registered traders on the various platforms globally seems to be almost doubling year-on-year, indicating the growing interest that people are showing towards this interesting activity. You can opt for the CTB platform for the perfect brokerage process. For that you will not have to worry about the Global CTB scam. It’s a hoax.
Throughout this article we will analyze in detail some of the main trends related to trading and how this practice has evolved to become what we know today.
From stock brokers to trading platforms
Until the 1970s, securities brokerage, that is, the buying and selling of financial instruments, was done manually through phone calls and purchase records. From then on, the introduction of terminals and private networks made the task easier, allowing brokers to communicate directly with other brokers or through a stock exchange operator to carry out their operations.
- It was not until 2000 that trading platforms based on computerized programs and web interfaces began to be introduced that allowed traders to carry out their operations online at a much lower cost and faster.
- Subsequently, some firms began to develop platforms that allowed investors to access individually to carry out their operations without having to have telephone contact with a broker to place their buy and sell orders.
- In this way the first online brokers emerged and later new players in the industry introduced advanced trading platforms for individual investors in order to democratize investment tools.
Fractional Shares and CFDs
Some of the latest innovations in financial matters include so-called Contracts for Difference, or CFDs, and fractional shares. CFDs are contracts that trace the value of an underlying financial asset, a share or a commodity, without the need for the trader to own the asset directly.
