Trade with $0 commissions on Firstrade

It’s no secret that an excellent trading platform is an essential factor in the success of any trader. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Firstrade platform, which has recently gained popularity in the past few months.

If you are interested to know whether this might be the platform for you, continue reading below. I’ll provide you with a comprehensive review of the Firstrade platform to identify if it’s worth trying or not.

Firstrade Platform Background

Before anything else, let’s take a closer look at what Firstrade is. The company was established in 1985 in Queens, New York. It initially focused on serving local communities, particularly those of ethnic immigrants. In the past few years, they switched to $0 commissions for options and stock trades.

Pros:

• $0 options and stock trades
• Easy to navigate trading experience
• Supports multiple regions

Cons:

• Limited mobile and web platform functionalities
• No crypto, forex, and futures option trading
• Limited customer support

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One of the best tricks for living a happy life is to turn off the news. This includes social media feeds. Both mediums are designed to constantly bombard you with sensational elements to keep you hooked. They are not the source of truth or any useful information.

The same goes for stock investing. There are TV channels dedicated to talking about stocks 24/7, but you need to avoid them. You also need to understand that historically stock picking has been a losing game.

Why Stock Picking Fails

Two words: Market Efficiency

Stock prices are constantly adjusting to the news that is available to all market participants. Without insider information, it’s impossible to predict future news. Can you tell if Apple will fall above or below their next earnings forecast? I don’t think so. If you had that magical ability, you’d be wealthy beyond imagination.

Stock pickers wrongly presume there are mispriced stocks that can be identified in advance and exploited for profit. They don’t realize that virtually all of the information about a stock, a sector, or an economy is very quickly digested by the entirety of market participants and swiftly embedded into the price of that security.

Because information is available so quickly, you never have an advantage over the millions of other market participants. Stocks are always “priced fairly” given the current information that is available. This market efficiency ensures the prices agreed upon between willing buyers and willing sellers are the best estimate of fair market values.
In other words, when you try to buy underpriced “winners” or sell overpriced “losers,” you have to think the person on the other side of the trade is misinformed or stupid. Why else would they be taking the opposite position?

Read more: How to buy tokenized stocks through crypto exchanges

Millions of investors, and an army of brokers, believe their own personal version of this fairy tale. And when someone indicates that they are beating the market while selecting individual stocks, they are also confessing the belief that the market is composed of fools.

Consider an online newsletter that shares “insider secrets” and recommends certain stocks. What are they basing these recommendations on? The only information they have is widely available to the public, for free.

If the newsletter worked, why would the author be sharing that information? Why not just keep the secret and make a fortune picking stocks? Furthermore, if the recommendations were sound, who on earth would be willing to part with a stock rated “buy” and sell it to you? And what kind of dimwit would later buy when the recommendation was to sell?

The reason that newsletters underperform the market is the same reason that individual investors underperform the market. They overestimate their knowledge and ability to predict the future.

Remember, when you decide to buy and sell stocks, you’re competing against Warren Buffett, the giant Yale endowment fund, corporate insiders, and an army of PhD quants who stare at numbers for 14 hours each day. Why do you think you have more information than the professionals on the other side of the trade?

And even if you somehow did know more than those people, what makes you think that anyone can predict the future prices of any given stock? You can’t! And neither can most professionally managed mutual funds and hedge funds.

Research on the Failure of Stock Picking

Research shows that from 1975 to 2006, 99.4% of portfolio managers displayed no evidence of genuine stock-picking skill, and the 0.6% of managers who did outperform the index were “statistically indistinguishable from zero”.

This doesn’t mean that no mutual funds have beaten the market in recent years. Some have done so repeatedly over periods as short as a year or two. But the number of funds that have beaten the market over their entire histories is so small that the False Discovery Rate test can’t eliminate the possibility that the few that did were merely false positives, in other words, they got lucky.

Individuals Are Even Worse

Individual investors:

• Underperform standard benchmarks (e.g., a low-cost index fund)
• Sell winning investments while holding losing investments (the “disposition effect”)
• Are heavily influenced by limited attention and past return performance in their purchase decisions
• Engage in naïve reinforcement learning by repeating past behaviors that coincided with pleasure while avoiding past behaviors that generated pain
• Tend to hold undiversified stock portfolios

These behaviors deleteriously affect the financial well-being of individual investors.

Individual investors who hold common stocks directly pay a tremendous performance penalty for active trading. Of 66,465 households with accounts at a large discount broker during 1991 to 1996, those that traded most earned an annual return of 11.4 percent, while the market returned 17.9 percent. Overconfidence can explain high trading levels and the resulting poor performance of individual investors.

Read more: The best online stock brokers in Europe

Most investors also underperform the market by choosing to chase after hot companies that receive loads of publicity.

In their book Creative Destruction, Richard Foster and Sarah Kaplan analyzed the companies of the original S&P 500 Index created in 1957. Quite shockingly, only 74 of the original companies remained on the list in 1997, and just 12 of them ended up with returns that outperformed the index for the 41-year period through 1998. 12 out of 500!

Keep in mind that these 500 companies are some of the biggest and most influential in the world. They are not small, distressed firms that you’ve never heard of. They are giants that people love to talk about. Just think about how many people bought the stock of these “safe investments” while trying to outperform the index.

And the authors sum up the problem with stock picking quite well:

As the ’80s passed and we made our way through the ‘90s, both of us observed that almost as soon as any company had been praised in the popular management literature as excellent or somehow super durable, it began to deteriorate.

If you still aren’t convinced, have a look at the 2010 study “Stocks of Admired Companies and Spurned Ones” by Meir Statman and Deniz Anginer.

The study was based on Fortune Magazine’s annual list of “America’s Most Admired Companies” from 1983 to 2007. The authors created two portfolios from the data, with one representing the most admired companies and the other representing the “spurned” or least admired companies. The “admired” portfolio contained the stocks with the highest Fortune ratings (which were popular companies like Disney and Google), and the “spurned” portfolio contained the stocks with the lowest Fortune ratings (which were no-name companies like Jet Blue and Bridgestone).

Can you guess the outcome?

Stocks of admired companies had lower returns, on average, than stocks of spurned companies. 16.12% annualized return of the spurned portfolio versus the 13.81% annualized return of the admired portfolio over the nearly 25 year span.

Not only that, but they found exactly the same results as the authors above.

We find that increases in admiration were followed, on average, by lower returns.

More media coverage and hype results in more popularity, which causes more people to buy the stock. This results in higher stock prices and ultimately, lower future returns.
Conclusion

The research is clear. Investors lose when they trade frequently and attempt to pick stocks. Keep in mind that even if someone could outperform the market by selecting individual stocks, they’d likely still underperform after accounting for taxes and transaction costs.

And how about the million-dollar question: If stock picking is so hopelessly futile, why does the media continue talking about it? Why do brokers continue selling it? Why do individual investors keep chasing it?

Read more: Index Investing for European Investors

A couple of reasons actually.

People are suckers who love a good story. Research and reason don’t sell magazines.  No big brokerage firm is going to place a full-page ad that says, “Trading your portfolio with us will cost you a fortune over time in fees and expenses, therefore you’re almost guaranteed to underperform an appropriate index fund.” No, they keep hawking the latest high-tech mutual fund, selling the dream while collecting those fees.

People desperately want to be better than the average, and smarter than the next investor, even though they probably aren’t either.

The best way to win this game is by refusing to play it. Invest in a global mix of low-expense ETFs via a good broker like DEGIRO and you’re good to go.

And Yet… I Still Pick Stocks

While all the evidence seems to be in favor of using low-cost index funds, the truth is that there are plenty of investors that have made big returns by picking stocks.

By going with the masses and choosing an index fund, you will only get average returns. This might be a fine strategy if you are adopting a defensive position, perhaps a bit later in life when you’ve already achieved your desired level of wealth and just want to grow it slowly over time.

All the wealthy people I know have either invested a huge chunk of their time and energy (10 years+) into a single project that becomes their golden egg, or picked a few stocks early in their trajectory and multiplied their money many times over. Even more common is a combination of both of these strategies – investing time in a business that eventually makes a lot of money, then investing part of that money into stocks or other businesses and multiplying the original wealth with minimal additional effort.

This strategy works well because these kinds of people are provably high performers that tend to be among the best and most informed in their industry, and they can spot new trends and markets before anyone else can. And therein lies possibly the only instance where the efficient market hypothesis breaks down.

What these people are doing is not stock picking in reality, and they tend not to care much about stock prices at all. They are applying their experience, connections, and vision to identify where the world is going, then betting on the companies that have already gained a foothold in those new trends.

Adopting such a strategy is especially well suited to tech investors because among all industries the tech industry is probably the most open and well discussed. While many commentators have long spoken of the tech bubble, and that investing in tech only works until it doesn’t, I believe that every company is now becoming a tech company, and this is not a trend that will end soon. For example, we have an upcoming monetary revolution that is driven by, guess what, new technology – in the form of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other protocols that are upending a very low-tech and tightly controlled monetary system.

Final Thoughts

So yes, in general, stock picking is a loser’s game and the chances of you making money in the long run by picking stocks are slim. However, if you’re lucky you can strike it big, so if you fit a certain profile, then stock picking might work for you.

As for me, I combine my deep knowledge of the tech industry together with that of nascent technologies like crypto, as well as my natural interest in spending time reading about investments, in order to try and generate outsized returns. So far, so good, but will it work long-term or will I spectacularly lose it all at some point? Only time will tell…

If you’ve been investing in cryptoassets for some time, you might have amassed some good gains in Bitcoin, Ethereum or other cryptocurrencies.

You might be considering rebalancing your portfolio so that crypto isn’t overly dominant, but there is one major problem. Banks still don’t like to deal with crypto exchanges, and you can have problems passing fiat currency through your bank account after withdrawing from an exchange. If your intention is to invest in stocks with that money, you can now bypass the banks entirely by using stablecoins to move money to an exchange that offers stock trading and accepts crypto deposits.

Buy fractional stocks on eToro

Disclaimer: Your capital is at risk.

Read more: How to buy crypto from a traditional stock broker

On the other hand, you can also buy traditional stocks from platforms that allow trading in both cryptos and stocks, with eToro being my favorite for this purpose. The big advantage with buying stocks in eToro is that you can buy fractional stocks. Some stocks have risen so much over the years that they have become inaccessible to many investors. The solution is fractionalization. Not many stockbrokers offer this service, but eToro is one of them.

Of course, eToro also allows you to use your crypto deposits to buy full stocks (not fractions).

So what you would do in this case is to transfer your crypto to eToro, sell it for Euro or USD, then use those funds to buy stocks within eToro itself.

If you’d like to learn more about how eToro works, please head over to my in-depth review of eToro for a comprehensive look at what you can do on this popular platform.

Buy stocks on eToro

Disclaimer: Your capital is at risk.

What are your thoughts? Have you found any other ways of buying stocks with crypto? 

How do you reach the market if you are not that good and knowledgeable enough? Fortunately, there is a solution to this. With this method, you can learn from the best and be a good investor yourself as well. For assistance, several new traders shift to copy trading.

All you have to do is to pick a seasoned investor and copy their trades. But, do you think copy trading is a good idea? It has its advantages. Here is how beginner investors can benefit from copy trading.

Check out my in-depth review of eToro since it’s my favorite platform for copy trading.

Is Copy Trading For You?

Copy-trading, in its essence- is very straightforward. You just need to pick a trader’s portfolio you like the look of and then decide how much you want to spend on it. Though, as a reminder, you still need to learn how things work, just like any online investing strategy.

Always remember that your money is still at risk if you are not knowledgeable enough. Do your research and expand your understanding of the markets whenever you have the chance.

As other people say, copy trading can benefit you if you want to trade without any knowledge or experience actively. It is a good way to start if you are a newcomer. Also, you do not need to think about anything because your investor (the one that you chose) will be the one to make decisions for you.

You just need to take the steps that they do. Without any awareness of how things work, you will slowly understand how the market works.

How Do You Benefit From It?

You can also make adjustments and make it more suited for your portfolio- which means that you still have control over the trades you make. The financial market has such vast information, and this method of learning makes you benefit at the same time because you can still make a better profit instead of spending time reading articles, resources, and other papers.

Bear in mind that each person has their learning curve as well. No matter how talented you are, you need the time to learn things.

The most crucial aspect if you want to take things to the next level is that you just have to analyze what the investor is doing and see if his decisions are rational.

Copy-trading brings you to another level

By using copy trading, users can easily duplicate other traders’ success and carefully track their activities. There is no obligation to do an inch of research yourself.

Moreover, many investors use social network feed to discuss their behavior and explain their logic behind their actions. This is a good opportunity for inexperienced traders to learn more about the financial market. As you know, studying involves reading charts, trends, and analyzing maps.

It will take a long time before you can understand those indicators and charts. If you can not read them, why not let the investor you chose back you up instead while you sit and relax and earn a manageable passive income?

When you are looking for a passive source of revenue, you may consider copy trading. Again, you do not need to do anything, but your preferred trader will do it all for you- the dealings of acquiring, selling, and exchanging financial instruments. It can even help you with your emotional decisions.

As you can see, the most common error novice traders make is that they make decisions based on what they feel or based on their instinct. It is not like what you think is always right; bear that in mind.

However, if you pick a professional investor and follow their ways, you do not need to worry about those things. A professional investor has already faced those struggles and difficulties in the past, making them calmer and collected by today.

Things You Need To Be Aware Of

Copy-trading may sound like a super cool thing, and it’s a very clever idea that can help traders move to the next stage, but traders do need to be careful of something.

You should not only go with the flow and blindly copy others.

Final Thoughts

Some aspects still need to be taken into account by you in the end. You should look at how traders are classified and look at the results of their trading. If you want to make a logical and informed decision, your best chances come when the copy trading site that you chose has a rating system on its own.

It can be seen in this article that copy trading is acceptable for several financial targets. If you’re a total novice or you just do not have time to investigate the markets yourself, copy trading offers a solution to several barriers to investment.

Robo advisors are slowly but surely becoming a mainstream option in the investment sector – making it possible for everyone to access low-cost financial guidance. As the number of online robo advisors continues to rise, so does the range of available services. 

InbestMe is one such automated investment platform currently available in the online retail trading market. Although based in Spain, its fintech solutions extend to investors from across the globe. 

In this review, I run through the fundamentals of InbestMe, covering its core features and whether it measures up as a reliable financial platform for your investment needs. 

What is InbestMe?

InbestMe is an automated online investment management platform that allows you to create a personalized portfolio based on your financial goals. 

In other words, the platform designs an investment plan that fits your risk profile, values, and objectives. This is achieved thanks to a dedicated algorithm – which is capable of calculating the future profitability of different scenarios based on historical data, market analysis, news, and other contributing factors. 

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