A Solution to the Trading Game

Not all stocks go up

Most retail investors lose money when investing for themselves. Having just skimmed through the main online brokers, it would seem that the average is about 75%. It is always stated on the landing page, right next to the option to ‘sign up’. 

To me, this begs the question, why would anyone then sign up? If you are a first-time investor, and you see this on the front page of an application, surely alarm bells are ringing. 

The average daily trades via electronic brokers in January alone was 8.1 million, an increase of 23% from the month before and the retail market now accounts for up to 25% of all equity trading on any given day.

The rise of the retail trader is great for the investment world in general, and people wanting to take control of their investments is to be commended, but here are a few surprising facts recently brought to light by an FCA survey, which highlights some of my growing concerns:

• Key reasons that are on the increase as to why people are investing: 

1. The thrill of investing. 2. The status that comes from a sense of ownership in the companies they invest in.

• For many investors new to the experience, the ‘challenge and novelty’ are more important than the more conventional reason of making money.
• Around 38% surveyed did not list a ‘single functional reason’ for investing in their top three stocks. In any context, this statement is absolutely shocking, and a little frightening.
• The top stock purchased almost every week, is Apple, and it will be bought, most likely, on an iPhone. Since the first lockdown, the stock has doubled. The current PE ratio is around 33 having hit a high of 41.9 in December; but this doesn’t stop people using their stimulus cheques to buy more. Last week according to Vanda Track Retail Flow, the net flow into Apple was another $406m from retail investment.
• 10% do not view ‘losing some money’ as one of the risks of investing. I cannot find the words as to how shocking this is.
• Most are reliant on tips from social blogs and networking sights for their stock picks. Even TikTok videos are now suggesting hot stocks to buy. This has subsequently fuelled ‘pump and dump’ price manipulation on stocks such as GameStop, whose stock is trading in the hundreds of dollars rather than its value of around $30.

With all this in mind, and the billions being invested into the stock market by the newly enthused retail investor, what can be done about the damaging fact that in some cases up to 80% of them will lose money? 

Our answer is: The Portfolio Platform, and this is exactly why we built it. 

With the online investor numbers increasing at such a rate, but the knowledge and understanding remaining inadequate, we decided to try and help. We have decades of experience in the financial markets and we wanted new investors to retain the excitement of investing, but also, retain their capital.

Nobody is saying you can’t buy Apple shares to feel that sense of ownership, but don’t risk money that could affect your life and don’t expect them to keep going up. GameStop, was and is a con, there is no other explanation. The instigators bought shares, then they told the rest of the world to buy them and the stock soared 1700%. They subsequently sold out and made millions.

Reminiscent of Jordon Belfort in The Wolf of Wallstreet, one of the day traders who started the movement made over $25m in a few months; he finally sold out the stock he paid $10 for at over $300 a share. As with all Ponzi schemes, it’s the last ones in that lose all their money. Shouting ‘hold the line’ is not a slong term investment plan in my eyes.

If retail investors want to take risky bets on penny stocks with money they can afford to lose, then that is their business; it’s no different to putting a few quid on the horses. BUT, if you want the thrill of investing, without joining the 80% losing money, then please do have a look at The Portfolio Platform.

What you get:

We have found the best traders from all over the world, and we have put them on a single platform for anyone to ‘autotrade’ their strategies. You can log into your account and see your trades live. There is a Dashboard so you can monitor individual teams’ efforts in increasing your capital. You can get the thrill, and the sense of ownership, without having to actually pick the stocks yourself; that, you leave to the traders who have years of experience.

Scroll through the trading teams here. The average trader on our site made over 49% last year. Don’t risk your money by trying to make 1000%, it can’t be done without taking excessive and dangerous risks. 

You want more from your money. That’s understandable. The average equity fund will make a return of around 10% a year if you’re lucky. Last year that was -10%. That means over the last 2 years, the average UK based equity fund has made you no money at all. This is another reason the average investor is disheartened. Take matters into your own hands, but within reason. Look to TPP for the answer. 

Costs

Put simply, there are no hidden fees. What you will pay is a subscription to the traders you wish to work for you. Browse all the strategies available, pick the one that suits you best and link your account; add a few more if you wish and build your own hedge fund, it’s all very easy to set up and you retain complete control. 

Each strategy will charge a set amount each month that will go towards paying the traders. You retain all profit. Most hedge funds will charge a 2% management fee and a 10% performance fee. On the platform, you pay neither, just a monthly subscription.

Is your money safe?

The accounts are only held at Tier 1 brokers. They hold billions in capital for clients and they are the custodians of your money. Nobody other than you, the account holder, has access to those funds. 

The way it works is that our traders simply place a trade on their own account, and an ‘autotrade signal’ is then sent to your account via our software, so you place the same trade automatically. The trade size is adjusted via the control panel on the platform which you control.

Increase or decrease your scaling as you wish depending on how much capital you have in your account. You can do this on multiple traders and teams simultaneously. It couldn’t be easier.

Don’t just buy Apple or GameStop because you’ve heard of them. To find the best stocks, you need to put in hours of research and contrary to what some believe, not all stocks go up. Trading is a profession that requires years of training and inexperience can be expensive. 

We want you to enjoy investing, but we also want you to make money doing it. Check out The Portfolio Platform and see the results for yourself. This is the future of investing, it combines the old world, with the new and we know you’ll love it.